Execs optimistic about China's growth
A1: Herbalife Nutrition is a global nutrition company, and China is one of our strategic markets for growth. We are committed to further expanding our product portfolio, investing in innovation and enhancing digital capabilities to offer Chinese customers a better personalized approach to daily nutrition. We have confidence the "new development stage" will benefit the company.
A2: An important objective of the 14th Five-Year Plan is to build a "Healthy China." Herbalife Nutrition, with our global experience and expertise in the health and nutrition industry, is committed to contribute to this effort.
As we look to the future, we continue to refine and make investments in the market. For example, we are making investments in our digital infrastructure in China in order to align with increasing online shopping needs of Chinese consumers. We have invested in a digital transformation, including partnership with Tencent and a personal store on WeChat, so our distributors can better serve their customers.
In China, the younger, fit and active millennial demographic make up a majority of our audience. Thus, we've introduced our Herbalife24 product line, and sponsored sports teams and athletes including e-sports team Guangzhou Charge of the Overwatch League.
And we have opened the first product innovation center globally, based in Shanghai, with expectations of new product launches to double in the next five years
A3: Since entering the Chinese market in 1998, Herbalife Nutrition has been committed to continuously improving our local manufacturing and innovation capabilities. In China we have built three manufacturing facilities, including a botanical extraction facility, and quality laboratories.
Additionally, in 2020, we opened the China Production Innovation Center in Shanghai, the Company's first product innovation center globally. With an investment of over 160 million yuan, the center includes research and development space dedicated to creating new products and packaging and will house several laboratories. Also, we plan to conduct studies around weight management, sports nutrition and personalized nutrition to better serve consumers. The center is expected to enable us to double our new product launches in the next five years.
A4: We have noticed in recent years, China has continued to open up to the outside world and has created more development opportunities for foreign-funded enterprises. We are in support of initiatives that encourage foreign investment in China.
For example, in January I participated in the US-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' dialogue and exchanged ideas with Chinese officials and businesspeople.
A5: Herbalife Nutrition reaffirmed our commitment to continuing to improve communities around the world as a leading global corporate citizen when last year we formed an Environmental, Social, Governance committee. We understand the great responsibility that comes with being a leader, and this new committee will provide important oversight on the company's overall strategy and management of ESG matters.
Additionally, in January, Herbalife Nutrition joined the United Nations Global Compact, the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. With this commitment, the company is demonstrating its long-term support of the Sustainable Development Goals as outlined in the UN Global Compact's Ten Principles.
