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Malaysia Market
Business Today, December 2007, Vol 07 Issue 12
Chances are that when you go to sleep at night, you have more bed partners that you ever imagined possible. No, not the human kind, but the more insidious type - dust mites. According to Varsha Sheth, Managing Director of Approved Allergy Fighters Sdn Bhd (AAF), house dust mites are one of the main causes of asthma and other pulmonary disorders.
"The reason many sneeze in the home is due to the allergens that these mites carry make their way into the respiratory system and trigger asthma attacks and the likes" she adds.
As any good entrepreneur, once the problem was observed, it didn't take Varsha long to set up AAF with her partner, Michael Yap Kok Haw, who is the Technical Director of the company.
Says Varsha, AAF was set up in 2001 to ensure clean and healthy indoors for all working and living environments. She has been an entrepreneur since coming back from the United States with a degree in business administration. It was in 1984, when the local economy was on the downturn. She mustered courage and resources to try her hand in carpe-cleaning business.
By 1991, she had secured a five-year carpet cleaning contract for Changi Airport in Singapore. But she eventually came back to Malaysia in 2000 and this is when she observed the business potential. "We decided to set up AAF when we observed that greater numbers of people seem to suffer from allergies as more homes and workplaces became fully enclosed for the purpose of air conditioning," she explains.
The ready market
So, how big is the market for such products? Varsha estimates it is at least RM5 million in Malaysia and growing.
To put into perspective, in air conditioned environments, the part of the air we breathe is recycled. This means allergens which find their way into offices and homes tend to remain within the environment. That means every office in town should have such products stocked up.
Preparing for the Market
Varsha then began their research in the office, organising numerous meetings with different members of the medical fraternity.
"It was important to understand what it would take to come up with what the market needed, as far as avoidance of house dust mites was concerned. It had to be safe for use, especially considering that the bedroom would be where we'd be most vulnerable since we'd be asleep there," she says.
When the final products were designed, the Acaralogy Unit of the Malaysian Medical Research Institute was approached to assist in the testing, and the mattress encasements were sent lo independent laboratories in the USA to be tested and certified. When the test results from all these places came in with both thumbs up, the production of Demitze™ range of products went into full scale, beginning with the mattress encasement and the spray.
As marketing efforts had to be self funding, AAF had to be careful how they spent their promotional ringgit. At the same time, Varsha also knew it was important to get testimonials from healthcare professionals, so decided to offer the products to medical professionals both locally and overseas.
These detailed preparations paid off - healthcare professionals and their patients started endorsing the products, and the popularity of these products grew through the pharmacies where these products were carried.
"The customers included both children and adults who are asthmatic and / or allergic to house dust mites and their allergen. Normally they would show symptoms such as allergic asthma, rhinitis (runny nose especially in the mornings), conjunctivitis (red eyes) and dermatitis (eczema and other skin related problems)," says Varsha, describing their early customers.
Moving Ahead
With an annual growth rate of 10%, AAF has established itself as a key player in the allergies prevention industry locally. The company estimates that it controls 20% of the Malaysian market. However, as allergies are universal in nature, AAF has been gradually spreading its wings by testing the export markets.
Participation in trade shows in UAE, South Africa as well as in a trade mission to China, has given Varsha, who is in her mid-40s, the confidence of the viability of the product for exports. "Awareness is greater in developed countries in that people in these countries are more willing to listen to the advice of professional and medical specialist," she says.
"In this regard, we have been fortunate to be selected by the Malaysia External Trade Corporation (MATRADE) to be in the Women Trade Outreach Programme (WTOP). The programme has been useful in helping subsidise part of our marketing and expansionary costs, and with MATRADE's assistance, we expect to have our products on the shelves of the Australia, New Zealand and Eastern European market in the very near future," says Varsha.
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