From door-to-door to e-commerce: South Korea’s Pulmuone launches immune and slimming products with new retail strategies
Known as ‘YourLac’, the new brand currently consists of two products – an immune-supporting probiotic and a weight control sachet powder.
With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the rising trend of self-medication, the health functional food market in South Korea is expected to surpass KRW$5tr (US$4.4bn) this year.
A retail channel crucial for sales growth is e-commerce, which is why the company has decided to branch into this space after 37 years of providing door-to-door sales service.
Pulmuone Health & Living Naver Smart Store, Pulmuone‘s official online shopping site, is one of the websites where the products are sold.
“Pulmuone Health and Living, a company formerly focused on door-to-door sales of health functional food and healthy food, is now launching its first brand for market sales ‘YourLac’," Seo-hee Han, category manager for health functional food said in response to queries from NutraIngredients-Asia.
“We now focus on market sales as online and the demand for health functional food is skyrocketing,” she explained.
Zinc, vitamin C, probiotics combi
The two nutra products under the ‘YourLac’ brand – ‘Immune Postbiotics’ and ‘The Slim Goodbye Diet’ – are targeted at female buyers.
‘Immune Postbiotics’ – a product for supporting immune function – is targeted at housewives in their 30s and 40s who take care of the entire family’s health needs -said Han.
The product, which comes in stick sachets powder, contains 1bn CFU of the firm’s proprietary probiotic strain Lactobacillus Plantarum PMO 08, zinc, and vitamin C.
According to the firm, Lactobacillus Plantarum PMO 08 is isolated from kimchi and since the product does not contain allergens such as milk, it is suitable for consumption by both children and adults.
Weight control
The other product, ‘The Slim Goodbye Diet’ is said to aid weight control by preventing the conversion of carbohydrates into fats. It is targeted at women in their 20s and 30s who are interested in weight management.
It active ingredients include garcinia cambogia extract for body fat reduction. Aloe gel is added for skin, liver, and immune health, while non-digestible maltodextrin is incorporated for healthy bowel movement, Han explained.
Prior to the launch of YourLac, the company sells health functional food and dietary supplement brands via door-to-door sales.
One example of such brands is Pulmuone Lohas, which launched a new probiotic product last month.
The product boasts a bacteria CFU of 10bn – the maximum CFU recommended by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
Similar to ‘Immune Postbiotics’, it also contains Lactobacillus Plantarum PMO 08, vitamin C and zinc. However, it also contains prebiotics and Lactobacillus plantarum PMO 08 culture solution powder as a source of postbiotics.
