Mission Statement
Northeast Asia Now’s Beauty and Natural Products Trade Mission
Taiwan, Korea and Japan
December 5-9, 2005

Mission Description: The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, and the U.S. Commercial Service’s Global Health Care and Asian Pacific Teams are working to organize a Beauty and Natural Products Trade Mission to Taipei, Taiwan; Seoul, Korea; and Tokyo, Japan, December 5-9, 2005. The trade mission will target a broad range of natural products focusing on beauty and health enhancing items such as nutritional supplements, vitamins, bath oils and natural cosmetics and shampoos, etc. The goal of the mission will be to match participating U.S. companies with their choice of qualified agents, distributors, representatives, licensees or retailers in each of the three markets.

Commercial Setting

Taiwan: Taiwan has a fast growing health supplements market with over 77% of the population using nutritional supplements of some type. The nutritional supplement market is expected to reach U.S. $770 million by mid 2005. The demographics of the vast majority of consumers of nutritional supplements are: female, middle-age males and seniors. The population of Taiwan is approximately 23 million with 9.5%of that total, or 2.2 million, above the age of 65. Domestic production supplies only 25% of the total market and most of the raw materials are imported. Hence, the Taiwanese supplements market offers U.S. exporters of nutritional supplements or raw materials for supplements production great opportunities. The same can be said of natural beauty products markets with f oreign firms, especially those from the U.S., holding a strong position in this market. Taiwan consumers are open to new-to-market natural beauty products and several new entrants are enjoying growing sales. As the natural beauty products market in Taiwan continues to expand, there will be an increasing demand for high-quality imported products and U.S. natural beauty product suppliers have excellent prospects in this market.

Korea: K orea is the third largest Asian market for nutritional supplements with a market size of approximately US $2 billion. Of that total market, imports account for US $432 million, with U.S. exports supplying approximately US $363 million of Korea’s total imports. Although the nutritional supplement market is already quite large in Korea, it continues to grow at rates of 15 to 20 percent annually. U.S. products are well received in this large and growing market and needless to say Korea offers great opportunities to U.S. nutritional supplement suppliers. Korea also holds potential for U.S. suppliers of natural beauty products. In addition, a s the natural beauty products market in Korea expands there will be an increasing demand for high-quality imported products and U.S. natural beauty product suppliers will have even greater opportunities in this market in the future.

Japan: The current size of the Japanese nutritional supplements and health foods market is over U.S. $10 billion. An aging population and a rise in health consciousness among the Japanese have resulted in a tremendous growth in the Japanese health foods market. Japan's expenditures for National Health Care is over U.S. $250 billion, and rising, so it is in the Government’s interest to support healthier lifestyles, which includes nutritional supplements and health foods. Additionally, by 2040 one in three people in Japan will be over the age of 65. Therefore, Japan is the second largest market for dietary supplements in the world, is poised for even greater growth in the future. Japan also holds potential for U.S. suppliers of natural beauty products. In addition, a s the natural beauty products market in Japan expands there will be an increasing demand for high-quality imported products and U.S. natural beauty product suppliers will have even greater opportunities in this market in the future.

Mission Goals: The Trade Mission’s goal is to provide market entry or increased sales into the three markets for U.S. beauty and natural product firms, as well assisting the mission participants to gain first-hand market information and access to key government officials and potential business partners.

Mission Scenario: Exclusive of travel time, the trade mission participants will have one day of meetings in Taipei, one day of meetings in Seoul, and one day of meetings in Tokyo. In Taiwan, Korea and Japan the U.S. Commercial Service will:

• Provide a market briefing highlighting opportunities in the beauty and natural products sectors.
• Schedule one-on-one appointments with potential business partners for each participant.
• Provide a venue for the one-on-one appointments and provide interpreters as needed.

Proposed Mission Timetable:

Sunday, December 4, 2005
Arrive in Taipei

Monday, December 5, 2005
Business Appointments in Taipei

Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Arrive Seoul

Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Business Appointments in Seoul

Thursday, December 8, 2005
Travel to Tokyo

Friday, December 9, 2005
Business Appointments in Tokyo
Conclusion of Trade Mission

Criteria for Participation:

• Relevance of the company’s business line to the mission scope and goals
• Potential for business in the selected markets
• Timeliness of the company’s completed application, participation agreement, and payment of the mission participation fee
• Provision of adequate information on the company’s products and/or services and communication of the company’s primary objectives to facilitate appropriate matching with potential business partners
• Certification that the company’s products and/or services are manufactured or produced in the United States or if manufactured/produced outside of the United States, the product/service must be marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. content representing at least 51 percent of the value of the finished good or service.

Any partisan political activities of an applicant, including political contributions, will be entirely irrelevant to the selection process.

The mission will be promoted through the following venues: Export Assistance Centers, the Global Healthcare Team, the Asia Pacific Team and Trade Events List www.export.gov; industry newsletters; the Federal Register; relevant trade publications; relevant trade associations; past Commerce trade mission participants; various in-house and purchased industry lists, and on the Commerce Department trade missions calendar: www.ita.doc.gov/doctm/tmcal.html

Recruitment will begin immediately and will close approximately six weeks prior to the mission. The trade mission participation fee will be U.S.$ 2,600 per company. The participation fee does not include the cost of travel, lodging or ground transportation. Participation is open to the first 12 qualified U.S. companies. Applications received after that date will be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.

Contact Information:

Tony Michalski, Las Vegas U.S. Export Assistance Center
U.S. Commercial Service – U.S. Department of Commerce
E-mail: Tony.Michalski@mail.doc.gov T elephone: 702-366-9406
Allan Christian, Portland, OR U.S. Export Assistance Center
U.S. Commercial Service – U.S. Department of Commerce
E-mail: Allan.Christian@mail.doc.gov
Tel: 503-326-5450