CJ Nutra Makes Impressive Showing
in Health Food Market
- Hongsam-yu Hanppuri and FatDown emerging as hit products

Just a little more than three years have passed since CJ Corp. launched its brand CJ Nutra with its foray into the domestic health food market. Despite the short period of time, the brand has gained popularity among people, particularly those in their 20s and 30s who take the lion's share in a classification of customers according to their age.
In reality, a flood of health food products have sprung up on the domestic market riding the public concern for health and well-being, but many of the health functional products are a far cry from meeting public expectations. A recent survey, released by Korea Consumer Protection Board, indicates that health food products are listed as the items with the highest complaints from consumers. Even though the domestic health food market has posted steady growth, consumers' distrust over prices of health food products and their marketing structure are found to be widespread.
Behind the feat CJ Corp., however, has made for the short period of time is CJ Corp.'s strategy of producing health food products customers can choose with trust in terms of quality and safety as well as offer them at reasonable prices.
Lee Kang-pyo, executive vice president of Research Division I at CJ Foods R&D, said, "CJ Corp. is putting energy into churning out top-quality products suiting the tastes, functions and nutrition, meeting customer satisfaction. Economical prices are also important because even excellent products could be overlooked due to prices", he said. Staff members in charge of safety management at the Food Safety Research Center put more energy and focus on consumer safety during manufacturing process, he said.
Lee Dong-un, research scientist of Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods Division at CJ Foods R&D, said Korea's health functional foods market is limited to such forms as powder, capsules, tablets, granules and pills, unlike the United States where juice- and mayonnaise-type health functional foods are allowed.
Only one year has passed after the act governing health functional foods went into effect, and the law needs to be revamped once the health functional foods market is stabilized, said he, adding that he shares the view that the prospects for the health functional food market are rosy.
Lee Jin-hee, director of Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods Division at CJ Foods R&D, said that in the past, people considered how to have foods at ease when they earned petty incomes, but now they tend to favor foods conducive to health. Corresponding to the mega-trend of public awareness toward health, CJ Corp. has unveiled many health functional foods. Given the increasing number of people seeking to stay fit with healthier food, CJ has launched highly functional products such as Low-Fat, FatDown, and Spot, earning raves from customers. Aside from health-boosting foods, CJ offers CJ Nutra, a health food brand providing general services related to health. CJ has been introducing innovative health culture services in keeping with the 21st century. Following the launch of functional products related to health, dieting, eating of uncooked food, and prevention of aging, CJ is offering one-on-one health consulting services, setting up online and offline health multi-purpose shops including oxygen rooms and health cafes.
CJ Nutra has 32 kinds of products, exclusive 17 kinds being sold on Herb Vitamin Shops. The products of the brand range from vitamin & minerals to functional products. CJ Corp.'s strenuous R&D is expected to widen the diversity of produce with the goal of producing up to 100 items by 2008, company officials said.
Lee said the health food business sector contribution to CJ Corp.'s sales is now minimal, but the company is raising its investments into the sector with a potential of business opportunities thanks to a boom on health and well-being. CJ Corp. posted 2.5 trillion won in sales last year.
CJ Corp. has put on the market so far this year "CJ Nutra DHA" and "Hongsam-yu Hanppuri", and it is expected to develop and launch new products on a continuous basis, company officials said.
Marketing channels of CJ Nutra products have expanded to include discount stores, department stores, convenience stores and home shopping centers on top of exporting them. Sales are increasing every month, company officials said.
In January 2003, CJ Nutra product outlets were opened in the formation of "Shop in Shop" at Lotte and Hyundai department stores. CJ Nutra outlets have now maintained their presence at 12 department stores across the nation as well as such large discount stores as E-Mart, Home Plus, Costco, Carrefour and Wal-Mart. You can buy CJ Nutra products from CJ home shopping and their website (www.cjnutra.com).
CJ Corp. is striving to reposition CJ Nutura as a health functional brand contributing to public health by offering at reasonable prices heath products, made in a scientific method and are trusted by customers. In particular, the company attaches priority on diversifying marketing channels. PatDown and chlorella products are now added to the items put on the market at home shopping channels. CJ Nutra Herb-Vitamin Shops made their debut on March 2 last year in the formation of "Shop in Shop" at the Onuri pharmacy chain. CJ Nutra Herb-Vitamin Shop is emerging as the latest heath food outlet as some 20 health products are made available, depending on the age group, and pharmacists offer consulting on nutrition and to customize customers' needs and tastes.
A total of 403 Nutra Herb-Vitamin Shops have opened just in two months after their debut. Thanks to such a rapid growth, CJ Corp. has raised a target of opening outlets from 600 to 1,000. The shops have witnessed their sales in the first five months of the year increase 40 percent over the same period of last year. Company officials expect Nutra Herb-Vitamin shops to replace Vitamin House shops as the nation's No.1 brand in the pharmaceutical marketing area in the near future.
Reflecting the recent trend of health and well-being, the popularity for FatDown, a beverage for reducing body fat, and Hongsam-yu Hanppuri has shot up. Chlorella, vitamin and well-being products have also gained popularity.
In particular, CJ Corp. made an achievement: Selling 3 million bottles of "Insam-yu (ginseng) Hanppuri" in 10 months following its debut on the market, riding the popularity of consumers.
So far ginseng health functional products have been made only with saponin, a key substance of ginseng. But Hongsam-yu (Red Ginseng) Hanppuri (One Root) is one of CJ Nutra health functional foods CJ Corp. has developed and put on the market. The red ginseng product is differentiated in that each four-year-old ginseng root is ground and put into a Hongsam Hanppuri bottle with the brand CJ Nutra to keep non-saponin substances plus saponin. Hongsam-yu Hanpurri is designed to help family members, including tired office workers and stress-pressured college applicants, making the taking of red ginseng easy and convenient.
CJ Corp. has came up with the latest "FatDown Fiber Pro", aimed at reducing more body fat by strengthening the content of hydroxycitric acid (HCA) three times as much as FatDown. FatDown, containing HCA extracted from carcinia cambodiga, is considered effective in reducing body fat. The health functional product has enjoyed popularity among those who make their body slim through physical activity and working out.
CJ Nutra's Chlorella 100, purely naturally nurtured chlorella product, is good for the growth of children and activating their brains as well as office workers with irregular dietary habits and women on a diet with a danger of malnutrition. Chlorella 100 is characterized with the content of 3,000 mg of chlorophyll per 100 grams. CJ Corp. has gained a patent from Japan on a technology nurturing chlorophyll.
Starting out in Los Angeles, CJ Corp. has exported Morning Meal Replacement since November 2002. A total of 10 Morning Meal Replacement and other health functional foods have been exported to major U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Washington and Los Angeles, as well as Canada. CJ Corp. plans to export FatDown to the major U.S. cities and Canada and further to European and Asian countries.
Het-Bahn, Korea's first precooked rice, is an example of foods CJ works to produce in a bid to meet the needs of customers for healthful, delicious nutrition. Among CJ's many outstanding food products are Het-Bahn, which is ready to eat after just two minutes in a microwave oven.
CJ Group operates in a broad spectrum of food-relate fields. Its food and service businesses include the manufacture and distribution of a great variety of food products and the operation of bakeries and family restaurants. CJ's products have long been recognized for their nutritional quality and delicious taste of its food products and for the excellent of its services.
CJ's pursuit of better health for humanity extends to the fields of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, including such products as lysine and Erythropoietin. In fact, CJ is one of the world's leading producers of lysine.
CJ co-established Dream-Works and acquired the exclusive rights to distribute Dream-Works movies in Korea and China. Also in a joint venture with the Village Roadshow of Australia and Golden Harvest of Hong Kong, CJ established CH CGV. CJ Media rounds out CJ's entertainment group, securing outstanding media content for both domestic consumption and export.
Home shopping and logistics are just two of the ways CJ is making life more convenient for its customers. CJ Home Shopping has taken excellent advantage of this and it expanding its reach daily with a view to eventually creating a network that links Northeast Asia. nw