The Japan External Trade Organization conducted a Japan Healthy Lifestyle Exhibition in Manila on March 9 and 10 at the TriNoma Activity Center, an event that aimed to introduce and highlight to Filipino consumers the different variation of Japanese health products.
The exhibition was held for the first time in 2015 in Yangon and has also been held in Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta.
It was JETRO’s sixth time to conduct this event, giving a good opportunity to both exhibitors and Filipino consumers.
To promote Japanese health, lifestyle and sports products and services to Filipino Consumers, some 40 Japanese exhibitors participated in this exhibition to introduce a variety of products regarding health and lifestyle that focused on sports (sportswear and strength training equipment), health (hemadynamometer and toothbrush), healthy food (mushroom, garlic and supplement), elderly care products (wheelchair and caring bed) and beauty products (beauty appliance and cosmetics).
A promotion of sports international events such as “Sports for Tomorrow” Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan and Sports Tourism were also held.
Meanwhile, a business meeting a day before the exhibition for Japanese exhibitors and Filipino buyers to support new Filipino market was also organized, with 29 exhibitors participating.
The population of the Philippines has exceeded 100 million in 2014, with 63 percent composed of the working-ages (15 to 64), meaning it has a great potential to have an economic growth over the years.
Meanwhile, percentages of obesity in the population have risen sharply due to changes in main diet accompanied by economic growth. The government has started focusing on this situation to prevent diabetes and obesity, taking measures such as having tax on softdrinks containing sugar to restrain citizens from consuming sugar in 2018.
The research JETRO carried out targeting Filipinos aged from 20 to 50 has shown that, disregarding age, almost 90 percent answered that they are caring about their health, meaning that a majority of the people has been tackling health problems by activities and dietary restrictions.
JETRO’s goal for the exhibit was to have a stable image of “Japan as a country of Health and Longevity” and to expand as a sales channel by introducing services and commodities supporting Japanese health in large shopping malls, where local middle-high income earners visit. The target is from young to middle aged citizens that are large in number and are expected to rise in demand of health promotion.
