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Pandemic drives healthcare industry, leading to rise of personalized health supplement services

News highlights

Ray Ku, CEO and Co-founder of Kamee

For more than three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unprecedented impact on the global economy. But also, it has led to more consumers realizing that health care starts from day-to-day care. This realization has also driven rapid development of the healthcare industry. And it has led to substantial growth in health supplement and nutritional supplement. According to research by Euromonitor, the global health and nutrition supplement market will amount to US$869.7 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5%. It also expects that by 2026, market size will exceed US$1 trillion. Growth in the Asia-Pacific market looks the most impressive. It is estimated that the Asia-Pacific market share in 2026 will exceed 30% of the global market.

This massive market has attracted many manufacturers and companies. It has even created a wave of personalized nutrition supplement. "Personalized nutrition supplement services" refers to the industry providing supplement personalized according to the needs and conditions of individual consumers, which means less hassle for consumers purchasing the supplements on their own. For example, consumers not knowing which products to choose, or having trouble with bottles and containers. In recent years, companies in the United States and Taiwan have launched smart personalized health supplement services. These services let consumers use the smart evaluation system to conduct their own analyses and then order the health supplements they need based on the analysis results.

Ray Ku, CEO and co-founder of Kamee, who is also a certified pharmacist, said that consumers usually face two problems when purchasing health supplement on their own. First: not knowing which health supplements are suitable for them and what nutrients they need to supplement. Each person's physical condition and lifestyle are different, and experiences of relatives and friends can really only be used as a rough reference. Second: traditional health supplement is packaged in traditional packaging. It is not just a hassle to eat, but also easy to forget to eat altogether. Products are purchased through separate channels, and packages of different sizes need to be purchased at different times. Often, they are out of date and thrown away. The popularity of personalized health supplement services among modern people is due to personalized content and the health supplement needed for a single day being pre-packaged conveniently, so buying, storing, and eating health supplement is easier. This has driven the growth of global sales of personalized health supplements by more than 20% every year, which is several times higher than the industry overall.

Creates a KIHAS evaluation system; Complete personalized services in just three steps

People's bodies and lifestyles are all different. Kamee, which employs pharmacists, physicians, nutritionists, and software engineers, is committed to promoting technology combined with health professions. Through algorithms, data analysis, and medical experts, Kamee focuses on creating unique health solutions for each person. In addition to investing heavily in the R&D of the KIHAS assessment system, the company offers it to the public for free. Consumers can conduct assessments on the official website without registering, out of the hope that the public will better understand their own health conditions and needs.

Ku pointed out that Kamee's personalized health supplement service mainly requires only three steps: assessment, recommendation, and personalization. First, body and health needs are analyzed through the KIHAS smart assessment system. Second, the system recommends a unique health supplement combination based on the smart analysis results. Third, via an all-in-one small pack, the personalized health supplement is automatically delivered every month, with 30 Kamee packs per delivery (month) and each daily pack supplying the nutrients that individual needs for the day. The combination of products and delivery cycle can also be adjusted according to current needs at any time.

It is worth mentioning that Kamee's startup team has experienced pharmacists and nutritionists on its roster. In addition to that strong base in professional knowledge, it also has solid medical industry and supply chain resources. Altogether, it has a considerable competitive advantage in terms of cost and can provide top-quality products on the market at a more affordable price.

Taiwan's active startup environment offers more venture capital and accelerators

Since inception, Kamee has continuously expanded its overall business model through cooperation with the startup accelerator and VC fund SparkLabs Taiwan, located in Silicon Valley, and it has won many awards. For example, it was selected as a partner of the 2022 Google Project Hatcher and for the FINDIT 2022 Taiwan early-stage investments of the MOEA, all proving that Kamee's smart personalized health supplement service possesses great development potential.

Ku said that early venture capital companies in Taiwan were less involved in the investment activities of early-stage startups, and did not become more involved until the mid or late stage. However, a lot has changed in recent years. Not only are there more venture capital companies, they are now more willing to be involved in early-stage investment. Along with strong guidance from the government, it has gained massive energy into Taiwan's start-up. In addition, the rapid development and increase from startup accelerators also assists startup teams in fundraising, management, productization, and other areas, which helps shorten time to market. The overall environment is much more active now than in the past, so they are more optimistic about Taiwan's new companies.

Seeing such great results in Taiwan, Kamee continued to work on the Taiwan market in 2023. It also plans to enter overseas markets, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the United States, and looks to capitalize on the unlimited business opportunities in the personalized health supplement service market.

Kamee Box and smart personalized health supplement subscription service

Kamee Box and smart personalized health supplement subscription service
Photo: Company