Food supplements manufacturers Ecarma Health Options, Green Leaf Herbals, Inc., Herbcare Corporation, Natural Quality Corporation, and Pascual Laboratories; virgin coconut oil (VCO)-based food supplements distributors Elixirs Pacific International Corp., Prosource Int’l. Inc., and Viviendo Philippines, Inc., and RCC Amazing Touch Int’l, Inc. met with Nobuo Iwasawa, a Japanese health and wellness expert, to present their respective credentials and manufacturing capabilities to supply the growing LOHAS market.

These companies also participated in BIO-Search, a health and wellness show organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) in May.

The LOHAS movement has dictated Japan’s fast growing health conscious public.

An integrated market for goods including health care and natural cosmetics and services that primarily appeals to consumers’ environmental and social awareness and responsibility.

LOHAS includes, among other things, advocacy for Health Lifestyle Attitudes; Renewable Power/energy; Alternative Transportation (Hybrid Vehicles); Energy-Efficient Electronics & Appliances, aside from Natural and Organic Foods and Beverages; Personal Care Products (Skin Care, Hair Care, Cosmetics); Vitamins, Minerals, and Dietary Supplements/ Alternative Healthcare.

A recent study revealed that 29 percent of Japan’s population is into LOHAS. Its primary consumers are in their 20s to 50s, strongly LOHAS-inclined and consists of young families with children, educated women, and those who are in their early retirement age.

They are described as shoppers who "put premium on information, especially about products and services, attuned to trends and brand images, and considerably goes for quality.

Iwasawa, a noted LOHAS authority who not only wrote extensive articles advocating such conscientious living, but also a distinguished authority and active speaker at various health and nutrition conferences, disclosed that the Japanese nutrition market alone has reached US,000 million or 3,200 billion Japanese yen in sales in 2004.

This market includes dietary supplements and functional foods, and is only one of the components of the LOHAS movement.

Japan’s LOHAS movement has a counterpart in the United States called Cultural Creatives.