By Patricia B. Mirasol, Multimedia Producer
RED TAPE and too much regulation are blocking the growth of the mother and baby care industry in the Philippines, adding to the problem of logistics and traffic, according to an industry player.
“The regulatory work is very tedious and the lead time is quite long,” Gray Erh, Mama’s Choice’s regional head of operations and marketplaces for the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, said in a Zoom interview on March 11. “That stops us from growing.”
Contrast that from Singapore, which has clearcut guidelines, he said.
“As long as you meet those guidelines… as long as your ingredient list is not banned, it’s pretty easy with Singapore Customs and regulations,” Mr. Erh told BusinessWorld.
Mama’s Choice sells toxin-free and halal pregnancy products from wet wipes, baby food containers and toothbrush to pillows, baby carriers and cosmetic products.
The Philippines, on the other hand, views every cosmetic product as a potential drug.
“Fair enough,” he said. “If you consider the product a drug, you need to be strict about it, but with the level of strictness, you can tell it’s going to take much longer.”
Logistical considerations such as traffic also weigh the industry, he said.
“Sometimes, it takes way longer than expected to bring the parcel to our customers, and that kind of shows bad customer service.”
The Philippine Food and Drug Administration’s cosmetic product registration process takes six to eight weeks, according to Emerhub, which offers company registration services.
Barely a third of the Philippines’ mother and baby care market has been tapped, according to Mr. Erh.
He added that while most of the company’s business is in Metro Manila because of its e-commerce reach, Mama’s Choice is looking into the logistics of reaching the bigger market outside the capital with shorter lead times.
Mama’s Choice’s revenue from its Indonesian operations is six to seven times bigger than in the Philippines, he said.
“We are ambitious, just because we see the potential here,” he said. “The growth rate remains high, and moms are getting well-educated. They know what they need for their pregnancy journey and what to get their kids.”
The global mother care product market was valued at $12 billion in 2023. It is projected to post a compound annual growth rate of more than 5.3% between 2024 and 2032, according to a report by Global Market Insights.
About three babies are born per minute in the Philippines, according to the local statistics agency.
“We know that [the Philippines] is a good market, so we plan to be aggressive here,” Mr. Erh said.
The company’s most popular products among Filipino mothers include stretch cream, which helps mothers cope with postpartum stretch marks, as well as wearable breast pumps that offer women a hands-free way to extract breastmilk.
Its Philippine arm averages 7,000-8,000 orders per month, generating about P7-8 million in sales.
Mama’s Choice was founded in 2018 to address the gap it saw in mother and baby care products.
The company seeks to “achieve the best online and offline coverage” because to focus solely on either is not the best strategy, Mr. Erh said.
“You can boost your online marketing with TikTok and Facebook… and get people to have brand recall, so when they see the product in the stores, that impulse buy is faster,” he said.
The fast-moving consumer goods market leverages volume, and that — apart from educating people about its products’ credibility — is what Mama’s Choice is doing, Mr. Erh said.
“This market will always exist,” he said. “Mama’s Choice is now also branching to babies’ [needs,] so this will help us make our market bigger, stronger and widely applicable.”