Sotaehwan Monolabs CEO "Legalizing Dietary Supplement Subdivision to Resolve Information Asymmetry and Enhance Consumer Convenience"

AI-Based Personalized Health Supplement Recommendations
Subscription-Based Delivery System

Sotaehwan, CEO of Monolabs.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Among the ‘100 Major Regulatory Innovation Tasks in Food and Drug Safety’ announced by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 11th of last month, there was a task noteworthy for the health functional food (HFF) industry. It included a plan to revise related laws by June 2024 to allow the previously strictly prohibited repackaging and sale of HFF.

The HFF repackaging business has so far been operated through a regulatory sandbox without formal legalization due to opposition from the medical community and others. Since April 2020, starting with Monolabs, Pulmuone, and Amorepacific, 17 companies have passed the regulatory sandbox. So Tae-hwan, CEO of Monolabs, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 2nd, "We have continuously communicated with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety while operating the regulatory sandbox, and the significance of this announcement lies in the specification of a concrete legalization period."

Regarding the necessity of HFF repackaging, CEO So cited resolving information asymmetry as the foremost reason. Consumers purchase HFF for their health but often do not know what exactly helps or how, relying heavily on advertisements and marketing. Even when consuming HFF, basic nutrients essential for physical activity and health should come first, but many still do not know which nutrients they actually need. CEO So explained, "Since the HFF business is producer-oriented, the market suffers from severe information asymmetry. There is an expectation that HFF repackaging can contribute to creating a transparent market where consumers can know more and reasonably consume the nutrients they truly need."

Monolabs has focused on resolving information asymmetry. A representative example is the AI-based personalized HFF repackaging subscription service ‘IAM____’. For consumers struggling to choose appropriate HFF, the AI algorithm selects necessary ingredients based on age, gender, and health status, packaging the required components into one pack and delivering it monthly to their homes. Thanks to CEO So’s expertise as an IT professional, including founding the famous game company 4:33, the service based on an IT platform was possible. He said, "We analyzed global HFF-related papers using AI and researched personalized recommendation algorithms with clinical doctors over a long period. We prepare and provide 23 types of basic verified supplements and continue to upgrade them."

Leveraging the subscription model, continuous information delivery is also achieved. It helps consumers manage their health independently by providing necessary nutrients, health information, and the latest research. The health management solution continues to expand based on HFF repackaging. CEO So stated, "We believe our role is to easily and conveniently deliver information to customers and help them take care of their health on their own."

He also expressed an aggressive intention to expand services after the legalization of HFF repackaging. He emphasized, "The core of the 4th industrial revolution is ‘mass production of diverse products.’ Until now, we were in the stage of verifying the business, but now the goal is to incorporate consumer preferences. We believe we have completed the platform to support this." He is also accelerating entry into overseas markets. CEO So explained that entry into China, one of the world’s largest markets, has already become visible. He emphasized, "Many countries do not repackage HFF, so the value of repackaging is significant. Since Korea’s HFF quality is excellent, it is fully competitive globally."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.