Herbal Home to focus more on Asia

KUALA LUMPUR: Since the dawn of the days, herbal remedy has been associated with improving one's health and prolonging one's life- span regardless of culture, race or creed.

To meet the growing demand for herbal remedies, Herbal Home Sdn Bhd offers a wide range of herbal products that can easily be purchased online.

Head of information technology Justin See told Business Times that Herbal Home has a very strong presence in the Middle East, such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Qatar as well as in Europe.

This year, he said, the company will focus more on Asia, such as Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, as there is a massive growth for herbal products in these countries.

Currently, the percentage of Malaysian customers who buy Herbal Home products are only about 15 per cent, he said, adding that the company targets to increase the market share to 25 per cent by year-end.

Herbal Home was opened in Malaysia by its chief executive officer Ismail Radi, a Jordanian, some 15 years ago. He had started the herbal remedy business in Middle East before coming to Malaysia.

The company has around 5,000 customers from 63 countries.

See said besides selling herbal remedies, the company also manufactures the products as well as conducts its own research and development (R&D).

"We are mainly a herbal supplement manufacturer. Our new products are actually in sachets where you mix it into a drink and drink it like tea," he said, adding that Herbal Home also offers cosmetic products such as shampoo and anti-aging cream.

The most popular products sold at the moment is bitter melon juice, he said.

"It is actually a bitter melon powder mix that helps to improve blood sugar level," he added.

See said Herbal Home has always believed in selling its products by word of mouth. However, the company will use a slightly different approach this year, such as banners, online marketing and telemarketing. "These are the areas that we are improving on this year," he said.

Herbal Home has two manufacturing facilities in Subang Jaya and it conducts its R&D in Malaysia and Jordan.

See said the market for herbal products, especially overseas, is very big.

"Anything that has to do with health and supplement is definitely a multibillion dollar industry," he said.