The world's fastest growing over-the-counter health product company in 2009 to 2013, Swisse Wellness is using Sydney as its springboard for global expansion.The vitamins, minerals, and supplements brand Swisse Wellness started in Australia in the 1960s when the founder, Kevin Ring, began manufacturing herbal and vitamin supplements for his own health food store in Melbourne. As the company grew, it outsourced production to a contract manufacturer in Sydney in the 1990s."We chose one of the leading local manufacturers, which was based in Sydney," Swisse Wellness CEO Radek Sali said.When the business outgrew its Melbourne warehouse, the natural progression was to make Sydney its national and international distribution hub."Sydney has a good business culture, and I can't speak highly enough about the can-do attitude of the State Government," Mr Sali said."The multicultural and multi-lingual workforce is very useful for exports. Sydney is an extremely valid location for basing an export business."
Swisse Wellness's turnover has grown from $100 million a year in 2010-11 to $240 million in 2012-13. In February 2013, it launched in 20,000 drug stores in the US. It will further expand in European, Asian, and Latin American markets with a distribution deal it signed in November 2013 with PGT Healthcare, the international joint venture between Proctor & Gamble and Teva Pharmaceuticals.To assist the company's ambitious export plans, the NSW Government introduced Swisse Wellness to offshore buyers in South East Asia, and sourced a comprehensive report on the state of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements market in the US, including consumer profiles and market trends to assist in product development.The department wrote a Jobs Action Plan for the Sydney warehouse, which included Payroll Tax deductions. It introduced Swisse Wellness to the NSW Office of Science & Medical Research, to collaborate with the company's research program.The department also facilitated a promotion by the Government's tourism marketing agency, Destination NSW, in which Swisse Wellness partnered with Qantas to bring the high-rating US TV program, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, to Sydney and Melbourne in March 2013.
The promotion exposed Swisse Wellness to Ellen's global TV audience and was also covered in the press and on radio."Ellen's values and what her show is all about are closely aligned with our brand values of celebrating life every day, so it was a brilliant fit," Mr Sali said.Supplements Vitamins Aromatherapy Skincare Sale Always On - Tell Your friends about us ! Be first to know about new products & special offers 5 out of 5, reviewed on Jan 18, 2017 Was this review helpful? Not working for me 1 out of 5, reviewed on Jan 12, 2017 reviewed on Dec 27, 2016 Best Suppressant on the market! reviewed on Aug 11, 2016 No change in hunger for 3 weeks ......its crap reviewed on Jan 20, 2016 reviewed on Dec 11, 2015 1 person found this helpful, do you? it did not work for me!Once again you reign supreme! reviewed on Aug 11, 2015 reviewed on May 05, 2015 3 people found this helpful, do you? reviewed on Feb 26, 2015
3 out of 5, reviewed on Feb 07, 2015 I think it's working.. 4 out of 5, reviewed on Oct 02, 2014 1 of 3 pages Australia's No. 1 Multivitamin Brand Swisse is now in Singapore Australian former Wimbledon champion and world number one Lleyton Hewitt, MediaCorp artiste Rebecca Lim and Singaporean celebrity chef Willin Low launched the world-renowned range of Swisse vitamins and supplements in Singapore recently. Swisse is 100% Australian-made, and committed to world-class pharmaceutical manufacturing standards; scientifically supported research and development in nutraceuticals and complementary medicine. A market leader in the Australian health and wellness industry and is at the forefront of integrative health in Australia, Swisse is now taking its products and philosophy to the world.People can now purchase vitamins, perfumes, medicines, soft drink and more from vending machines in Melbourne A group called Vitamin Warehouse has installed several vending machines in a shopfront on Fitzroy Street in Melbourne’s St Kilda that are open 24 hours a day, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
The 13 refrigerated vending machines were installed in December, and Vitamin Warehouse Managing Director Hari Shotham says he plans to place thousands more across Australia. Mr Shotham claims the Fitzroy Street outlet is Australia’s first vending-machine-only shop, and he says each machine is already turning over $1000 a week. “With a target of 20 machines we are on target to $20,000,” he told the publication. “Vitamin Warehouse is disrupting the vitamins and health supplements industry by installing 10,000 state of the art refrigerated vending machines with a built-in 46 inch interactive computer screen,” says Mr Shotham. These screens allow “the purchase of over 1,000 products of Swisse, Blackmores, Nature’s Own, Healthy Care, Centrum, Herron, Cenovis and every other brand not previously possible in any current pharmacy health food store or supermarket retail outlet.” “Furthermore instant [access] to any naturopath of the brands available as well as to over 4,000 Australian naturopaths using on-spot interactive chat through our touch screen computer,” he says.
What do you think about vending machines in Australia selling cheap vitamins and medicines?*They will take business away from pharmaciesThey’re a bad idea for public healthThey’re convenient and a smart ideaWe’ll have to wait and see if it catches onIt won’t make that much of a difference, people can already buy these items at supermarkets & servosOther (please comment below)Email Pharmacy journal raises flag for antibiotic stewardshipThe drugs don't work for back pain, but here's what doesThe vitamins and supplements industry is big business in Australia, worth an estimated $1.5bn each year. With heavily produced celebrity endorsements, huge in-store displays and unprecedented sales, an overwhelming majority of Australians now count themselves as customers. The Swisse brand, a privately owned Australian venture, is the rising star, with a legion of sports personalities and Hollywood names such as Nicole Kidman and Ellen DeGeneres promoting its motto: “Live healthy, be happy.”
It has grown 380% in the last four years and is expanding rapidly at home and abroad. But why are Australians embracing the vitamins and supplements industry like never before? Are they simply responding to wall-to-wall advertising by the big players, a line pushed by many in the medical fraternity, or has there been a shift in the way we think about health? Is it part of a preoccupation with healthy living or the product of the worried well? A decade ago, around 50% of Australians took complementary medicines, including vitamins, minerals, traditional medicines, herbs, aromatherapy and homeopathic products, according to a study done in South Australia. Now the figure could be as high as 75%, Jon Adams, an expert in the field from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), estimates, although no comprehensive national reporting system exists. The industry is growing at up to 12% annually and, according to the National Institute of Complementary Medicine, almost four times as much in out of pocket expenses is spent on complementary medicine in Australia as on pharmaceuticals.
According to Adams, professor of public health and director of the Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine at UTS, the growing use of alternative medicines is part of the development of a “paradigm of wellness” in the community. “People are looking to improve their lot and are thinking more proactively and holistically about health and not just about responding to illness. It’s a message the healthcare system in general promotes, whether it’s about quitting smoking or having a good diet,” he said. Adams says vitamins and supplements have become firmly entrenched in the way people think about their health, whether or not there is convincing evidence that the products work. “When you look at the data,” he said, “one of the most important things you notice is that it’s not just a middle-class phenomenon or people who are wealthy who are using complementary medicine. It’s men and women of all ages and socio-economic groups, right across the country.”
Women represent the largest group of purchasers, according to a survey by the Roy Morgan group last year. It reported that 73% of first-time mothers-to-be had bought vitamins in the previous six months, as had 62% of expectant mothers, 44% of women in general and 31% of men. “These people are not radical consumers who have decided they don’t like conventional medicine,” said Adams. “The evidence shows that the vast majority of them, here and around the world, either alternate between the two [different types of medicine], or use them concurrently.” According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the industry’s growth has also been prompted by concerns about adverse side-effects of some conventional drugs. Its 2011 report on world medicine said there was a view in many industrialised countries that complementary medicine offered a gentler way of managing disease. In Australia, as in other markets, an ageing population and growing obesity figures are also contributing factors.
The WHO estimates the international market for complementary medicine is worth $83bn and is experiencing “exponential growth”. The US, where 80% of the population is either overweight or obese, is the biggest player. China is second, worth an estimated $11bn per year (in 2011, according to Euromonitor). Other parts of Asia are also growing: Malaysia at 6% each year, South Korea 11% and Thailand 20%. They are increasingly important target markets for Australian brands wanting to expand internationally. Australia’s market is dominated by a few big players, including the long-time industry leader, Blackmores; PharmaCare, which owns a number of brands including Nature’s Way, and Swisse, which this year will spend around $50m (or approximately 30% of its revenue) on marketing and in-store promotions. Swisse has transformed itself from a loss-making minnow of the industry four years ago into a serious contender for top position. According to the Nielsen research group, Swisse increased its media spend in 2012 by 54% compared with the previous year.
It reflects the growth in advertising in the vitamins and supplements category generally, which was up 22% in 2012, according to Nielsen. At Swisse’s Australian headquarters, staff are treated to organic grilled salmon and salad at lunch-time, a full-time personal trainer, free fortnightly massages and a “health and happiness” day off most months. According to Swisse’s chief executive, Radek Sali, 36, looking after his employees reflects the culture of “wellness” at Swisse. In the four years he has been CEO, Swisse’s revenue has grown from $45 to $170m. “Last quarter sales were very close to being number one in the whole category, so things are going very well,” he said. Sali says as well as changing public perceptions about complementary medicines, much of the growth in recent years has come through Swisse’s push into the big grocery chains, Coles and Woolworths, though few will have missed its recent TV advertising blitz. He says Australians are embracing alternative medicine because it’s “risk-free” and they want to take control of their health.