International Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IPI) will focus on strengthening its export markets and local presence.
IPI vice president for sales and marketing Stanley L. Uang said they started talking with trade lawyers in different countries to help register their products for protection of Intellectual Property Rights.
“We are now in the process of protecting our trade rights because that is the first step we should take before we become competitive globally,” said Uang.
Uang said this was a lengthy process they have to take to protect selected products like their Efficascent oil and Bioderm soaps.
Middle East is the biggest market for IPI.
IPI is looking at other markets in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar and other countries in the Asean Region.
“The Middle East is the biggest market now because we have a big number of Filipinos based there. We will be pushing to tap new markets in the Asean region where we see a lot of Filipinos also. In the United States, we are in the process of getting FDA (Food and Drugs Authority) approval,” said Uang.
IPI reported double digit growth last year but also sees a need to engage the community and allow them to earn a living through IPI.
“We are designing a program that will allow people in the community to earn from our products,” she said.
She said this is in line with IPI’s thrust to advocate the use of herbal and natural raw materials.
Uang said that IPI plans to launch the program by yearend to strengthen their brand as a leader in natural and herbal products.
“Through this program, we can create awareness and make people understand the value of using products made from natural raw materials. In our alcohol brand for example, we have been emphasizing the use of ethyl alcohol which is environment-friendly but some people still don’t understand that,” said Uang.
IPI has been in the business for 53 years since 1959.
Their wide product ine includes liniment oils, sports liniment, rubbing alcohol, germicidal soap, ointments and cough syrups, food supplements, and tonic drinks .
“We continuously innovate and improve our products. Now, our thrust is to replace imported raw materials with those that we can source locally. We are still a long way from that goal because at present, 70 percent of our materials are still imported,” said Uang.
she said they aim to strengthen the IPI brand in the country and abroad.