Pharmaceutical firm enters direct selling

CEBU, Philippines - International Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IPI) enters into the profitable direct selling business with the introduction of Beautiful Horizons, Inc., extending business opportunities to greater number of Filipinos.

About 70 percent of the products offered by the new direct selling arm are made by IPI, while it is also importing some of its cosmetics and beauty products offering from abroad, said IPI vice president for sales and marketing Stanley Uang in a press conference.

Now initially running with over 50 product lines, the company is confident of the market’s acceptance of its products, strongly backed by the IPI’s strong research and development (R&D) capability.

The company will be formally launched in the next few weeks, with store headquarters located at JESA Building on Mango Avenue.

In the few years, the company plans to hit over 50 store outlets across the country, riding on the popularity of direct selling business in the Philippines and its sustained growth.

“As a sister company of IPI, the maker of famous brands like Efficascent oil, Omega Pain Killer, Casino Rubbing Alcohol, and many more. We assure the public of the same high quality and value for money that have made IPI products a household name for more than 50 years,” said Beautiful Horizons general manager Marvin Agustin.

According to Agustin, since the company is 100 percent Filipino-owned, it has designed an attractive discount package for member-customers, at least 27 percent, the highest in the industry today.

Aiming to hit the thick working class consumer base, Agustin said affordability and quality of its products are just few of the main reasons why the company is upbeat on competing with established direct selling companies.

Based on the Euromonitor latest survey, the direct selling is not a dying industry, but companies are merging to pull its resources. Beautiful Horizons, on the other hand, is confident of competing head-on with the direct selling giants.

Currently, the company has pre-registered over 80 members, although, it has yet to start its massive market introduction, said Agustin.

With P250 registration fee, and kit and products, affordability and quality are the two main vehicles for the company to gain more members in the short term, Agustin added.

IPI has invested at least P100 million for the establishment of this direct selling business. Large chunk of this investment went to the research and product developments.

 According to Uang, aside from taking advantage of the good prospects in the direct selling business, the Castillo-owned pharmaceutical firm also considered this business as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR)—providing business opportunities for Filipinos.

At present, products available in the network include cosmetics, personal care, home care and wellness, fragrances, and baby products.

Some established brands of the IPI like Mama’s Love Casino (gel sanitizer), Winner dishwashing liquid, Everclean detergent and softener, Gastripac dietary supplement, among others, are included in the company’s pilot product line up.

IPI has maintained two manufacturing plants in Cebu, with over a thousand regular employees. It is one of the country’s largest health care and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) makers.

IPI was founded in 1959 in Cebu, with only one product—Efficascent Oil. Now the company makes diversified range of pharmaceutical and health care products which include liniments, antiseptics, herbal food and beverages, as well as cosmetics, toiletries, and medical devices. /JMD (FREEMAN)