A private economic think tank advised companies to link the current well-being trend to product development and sales, selecting the term as a management keyword for 2004.
According to the LG Economic Research Institute, the well-being trend for seeking health, a natural environment and beauty, which started from the food sector a couple of years ago, has already made a strong impact on the consumer products industry this year.
Amid the stress of continued social and political instability, Korean consumers’ interest in living a healthy and joyful life has never been higher than this year, creating a “well-being” trend.
Benefiting from the trend, other industries like electronics, fashion and beauty have introduced health-focused products.
The food industry, which adopted the well-being trend a few years earlier than other industries, has developed food and beverage products containing healthy ingredients, vitamins and minerals.
The electronics industry is also proactively tapping consumer demand for well-being products like air cleaners.
Despite sales drops by an average 30 percent in the home market this year over last year, mid-sized air cleaner maker Chung Pung expects to sell 35,000 air cleaners this year, up from 10,000 units last year.
Air cleaners have also been selected as one of 2003’s hit products by LGERI. The air cleaner market is expected to reach 35 billion won next year, up from 25 billion this year.
Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux, which entered the local market early this year, is benefiting from the well-being trend. Particularly, the company’s robot cleaner has sold about 50 units a month since it was introduced in Korea last January.
In accordance with the consumer demand for health and beauty products, cosmetics companies are introducing dual function products which treat skin and calm or energize the spirit.
Kiehl, a product of the France-based cosmetics company L’oreal, blends cosmetic and pharmaceutical knowledge and has experienced rapid market share growth in six months of the product launch last July.
“With the range of well-being products diversifying, retail businesses focused exclusively on well-being products, providing consumers with consulting services and so on, will arrive soon,” the LGERI report predicted.
“As consumers are demanding products that satisfy multiple needs, industry boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred so that the previously separate categories of medicine, nutrition and beauty will be interlinked.”
The institute predicted some well-being products will be hit products listed on the 2004 hit product list at the end of next year.
The well-being trend is a global phenomenon as the Future Concept Lab, a European consumer trend research institute, also selected well-being as a major global consumption trend for 2004.
From hankooki.com