Hyundai Department Store joins hands with Nestle for bio expansion

Jang Ho-jin, chief executive officer of Hyundai Department Store, left, and CEO of Nestle Health Science Greg Behar pose for a photo during a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony at Nestle headquarters in Switzerland. [Courtesy of Hyundai Department Store Group]

Hyundai Department Store Group has partnered with the world’s leading food corporation, Nestle Group, in a strategic move to expand its bio business, seeing it as a future growth engine.

According to Hyundai Department Store Group on Monday, the department store operator has signed a strategic business partnership agreement with Nestle Health Science SA, the healthcare and biotechnology arm of the Nestle Group. Nestle Health Science is a provider of health supplements and comprehensive nutritional solutions.

Currently, the company has 34 functional health supplement and medical food brands, including the global number one personalized nutrition brand Persona, the top U.S. collagen provider Vital Proteins LLC, New Zealand’s vitamin brand GO Healthy, and the nutritional drink maker Boost.

Hyundai Department Store will exclusively distribute Nestle Health Science’s key nutritional products in the domestic market, in accordance with the partnership, through various online and offline networks, including Hyundai Department Store Co., Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp., Hyundai Department Store Duty Free Co., and Hyundai Ezwell Co.

It is also in discussions to domestically produce Nestle Health Science’s major branded products by Hyundai Bioland Co., a healthcare company within the group. This includes joint development and production plans for new health supplements and foods tailored to Korean customers, as well as nutrition supplements and medical foods.

Last year, Hyundai Bioland took its first step into the health supplement distribution business by signing an exclusive domestic distribution agreement with Nestle Health Science for the vitamin and nutritional supplement brand Puritan’s Pride Inc.

“We’re exploring ways to jointly develop nutritional supplements that incorporate natural ingredient-based materials independently developed by Hyundai Bioland with Nestle’s vitamin and high-protein product development technology,” said the department store operator.

Hyundai Department Store’s focus on the bio business is driven by the growing importance of bio health as a core driver of growth for the company. The increased emphasis on health management post-pandemic has elevated the significance of the bio industry.

“In line with the our business direction of providing better value while accompanying customers’ lives, we are pursuing various new businesses. We’ll put even more effort into securing new growth drivers for the group and realizing social value,” said Jang Ho-jin, chief executive officer of Hyundai Department Store.

The Korean healthcare market is projected to grow at an annual average of 6.7 percent, reaching 450 trillion won ($335.6 billion) by 2030. As there is currently no dominant player in the industry, major retail conglomerates are actively entering the market. In the U.S., major U.S. offline retail company Walmart Inc. has also ventured into the health and wellness sector as part of its business diversification strategy.