Gummy debut: US vitamin brand OLLY retails in Singapore after acquisition by Unilever
The launch of OLLY in Singapore includes nine products: Goodbye Stress, Sleep, Glowing Skin, Undeniable Beauty, Daily Energy, Probiotic + Prebiotic, The Perfect Women’s Multi, The Perfect Men’s Multi, and Kids Multi+Omega-3.
Before its launch in Singapore, OLLY’s vitamins could only be found in Target, Sephora and Amazon in the US.
In Singapore, OLLY is available at Watsons physical stores, Watsons online, as well as e-commerce platforms, RedMart and Lazada, the latter with a flagship store set-up.
For millennials
The brand wants to attract millennials by marketing its supplements differently. Eric Ryan, founder of OLLY said: “For years, brands have focused on the ingredients of their products. With OLLY we sell the benefit, so instead of selling biotin, we sell beauty. Instead of selling melatonin, we sell sleep. To me it was such an obvious thing to do that I couldn’t understand why no one had done it before.”
On the decision to launch in Singapore, Marga Mathijssen, the global head of marketing, health and wellbeing at Unilever told NutraIngredients-Asia that the Asian region was one of the fastest growing markets for dietary supplements.
“We chose Singapore (for our launch first) as it offers a diverse consumer base to expand OLLY outside the US. Additionally, we believe that OLLY being a strong, innovative millennial brand will appeal to the progressive and health-conscious consumers in Singapore.”
She added: “When we spoke to consumers in Singapore, they told us that taking vitamins and supplements daily can be a chore. OLLY’s mission is to make health delightfully easy with its delicious gummies that fulfil your daily vitamin needs effortlessly, and effectively.”
According to her, its sleep, skin and women’s multivitamins were the best sellers in the country.
Natural gummy
The firm said its products are geared to address health concerns of millennials surrounding immunity, sleep, stress, healthy hair, skin and nails, and daily energy.
For instance, its sleep vitamins contain an amino acid, L-Theanine and botanicals like chamomile and lemon balm to encourage a calm feeling, and support a healthy sleep cycle.
Consumers are encouraged to chew two gummies 30 minutes before bed, although the company did put a warning on the packaging, “Melatonin is intended for occasional use only or managing jet-lag. Not recommended for prolonged consumption.”
Another of its popular vitamin for skin health, contains hyaluronic acid to help moisturise and collagen, a naturally occurring protein to provide skin strength and structure.
OLLY claims that all its vitamins do not contain artificial sweeteners, flavours, colours and are gluten-free. A quick check of the nutrition labels found sweeteners used in the vitamins were glucose syrup and beet sugar.
With a presence in US and Singapore, the firm is looking to grow its business across APAC. The products are manufactured in the US.
