A local company aims to penetrate Jamaica’s increasingly health conscious consumer market with a leading global specialty retailer of health and wellness products.

FSH Prime Jamaica acquired the retail and wholesale distribution rights for the GNC brand in Jamaica in October 2010 and officially began trading in November 2011.

“FSH Prime is committed to helping people understand the importance of preventative nutrition. We felt that GNC, being the largest global retailer of nutritional products, would provide the ideal business model and product portfolio to help achieve this goal,” explained FSH General Manager Lise-Anne Harris.

Harris told the Jamaica Observer that, through the venture, the company hopes to increase the awareness of proper nutrition and help mitigate the increase in the incidences of diseases such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, which she said are preventable in many cases by adjustments to diet and lifestyle.

“The need for multi-vitamin supplementation is often ignored or overlooked. The latest scientific research suggests that all adults can benefit from taking a multi-vitamin daily in conjunction with a healthy diet,”

said Harris.

“The GNC portfolio has a strong selection of good quality multi-vitamins for men, women, teenagers and children,” she added.

GNC stores worldwide specialise in sports nutrition, offering a variety of vitamins, supplements, proteins, etc. The local GNC head office and wholesale distribution centre is located in the Winchester Business Centre in Kingston. FSH is pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy over the next three years, with plans to open several GNC retail outlets throughout the island in towns such as Kingston, Mandeville, Ocho Rios, and Montego Bay.

“We will have persons trained in the fields of dietetics and nutrition, to assist customers, in conjunction with their health care providers, in choosing the right products to help them live their best lives,” Harris said.

Parent company GNC Holdings earlier this week reported a ten-fold increase in first-quarter net income for the three months ended March 31. The firm earned US$63.9 million for the quarter, up sharply from US$5.7 million a year ago, reported The Associated Press. Revenue for the period under review increased 23 per cent to US$624.3 million from US$506 million on strength across all of its segments.

The GNC Total Lean meal replacement line is one of the products that is reportedly doing very well. And Harris noted that it is one of the GNC products that FSH will aggressively push in Jamaica.

“Our aim is to guide people towards the realisation that the ‘quick fix’ is usually unhealthy and unsustainable, while endorsing that a total lifestyle change, including adequate amounts of exercise and proper nutrition is the best path to looking, feeling and living well,” said the FSH general manager. “The GNC Total Lean line is perfectly suited to meet this goal; by helping people to meet their reduced calorie targets, without compromising nutrition.”

FSH will aso extend GNC’s popular Gold Card customer loyalty programme to the Jamaican market. Gold Cards give users access to special deals.

“The Gold Card programme will be available through our retail channel. GNC Gold Card Members save 20 per cent the day of joining and the first seven days of the month for an entire year,” Harris told Sunday Finance.