Primed for Success Volume 3

Making The Natural Choice

At a time when ‘natural is good’, nutraceutical products are assuming a middle ground between food and drugs due to the growing body of opinion that supports their role in maintaining health and contributing to the treatment of diseases. At the end of 2013, the global nutraceuticals product market reached US$186 billion and is expected to reach US$204 billion by 2017. In the Caribbean, there has been a call for the increased use of natural ingredients and remedies to support a healthy lifestyle, and Natmed Limited is responding to this request. Founded by two Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine, Gayle Devaux-Segovia and Carlos Segovia, Natmed is the manufacturer and distributor of all natural products.

“The Caribbean Blue Natural line includes skincare, repellent, and spa products, while the Natmed Herbals line offers a range of natural herbal extracts used for the gentle support and stimulation of the body’s normal function; shared Dr. Gayle. “We also provide naturopathic care to our patients.” The Saint Lucia-based company began trading in 1996, but was officially established in 1997. Today there are eight persons employed full-time, and three part-time employees. Drs. Gayle and Carlos were motivated to establish Natmed because they wanted to ensure they had the best possible product to use on their first-born son. “My husband and I were always interested in health and natural products, but in 1996 when we were expecting our first child we dabbled around in the kitchen to come up with some products we could use on him. It turned out great and, with some encouragement from friends and family, we registered our company and produced our first product, which was the Caribbean Blue Natural in- sect repellent. We now have three children and we still use the repellent on them. We literally started in our kitchen and then started to expand, now we have a lab that is semi-automatic.” However, as the company grew, the Segovias began to encounter a few challenges, especially as it related to transportation, electricity and access to communication outlets for contact with clients. “Our main challenge in the beginning was cost of transportation, because we had to ship the needed raw materials into St. Lucia, recalled Dr. Carlos. This meant we had to ship larger quantities to make it cost effective, but then sometimes we would have quite a bit of surplus on your hands.

Electricity was also quite costly and still is, and then there was the challenge of communication. There was no high speed, reliable Internet, which meant reaching customers and clients was problematic.” Despite these set backs, Drs. Gayle and Carlos continued to work hard and persevere towards the goal they had for their business, as they believe that these two values should never be underestimated. they had for their business, as they believe that these two values should never be underestimated. “In this and any business, it is important to be consistent and keep innovating. Also, to have a successful company you have to be your own best customer. We produced our products based on our needs so our passion seemed to transcend them. This helped us to find customers who were also passionate about health, and so I think that is where we really found our niche.” The company’s customers are mainly in Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis and the British Virgin Islands. They also serve clients in the United Kingdom, via a small distributor located there. Natmed’s strategy for entering new markets in centered on in-market research activities. “We always try to do market research to see the competition, the products they are offering, the price points and the potential customers. We also participate in trade shows to gather similar information and network with potential partners and clients.” The pioneering team also shared that many of their opportunities for market expansion came through the Caribbean Export Development Agency.

Primed for Success / Vol. 3 / 2014-2015

www.carib-export.com

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