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Good health may not come in a bottle, but that doesn't stop many people from wondering: Could it come in a capsule?

To wonder is not to be entirely naive. Dr Helen Chan, co-founder and managing director of Vita Green Health Products, said at the turn of the 20th century, average life expectancy was a little over 50 years old. It is now 75 years in many developed countries.

Of course better infant-mortality rates, decades without war, and better healthcare have prolonged life-expectancy, but so too have health and dietary supplements.

And so despite a wisp of scepticism, many consumers reserve a prayer of hope, and thereon hangs a multi-billion dollar industry of health supplements.

Ironically, Western scientists are just starting to discover the benefits of certain medicinal herbs that the Chinese have sworn by for thousands of years.

A veteran medical doctor of Western medicine for the past 25 years, Dr Chan recognises the properties of Chinese medicinal herbs in strengthening and restoring the body.

That is why, in the early 1990s, she set up Vita Green. The company specialises in using traditional Chinese herbal remedies, prepared in modern formulations and manufactured to the highest of Western medical standards, to produce health supplements.

"One day, a relative of my mother asked if I would be interested in investing in a Lingzhi wine factory in Guangxi, China, which was on the edge of bankruptcy," Dr Chan said.

"I, together with my friends who are international doctors and experts in Chinese herbal medicine, decided to turn it into a Chinese herbal supplement plant because the place had abundant wild Lingzhi and other valuable herbs."

Lingzhi, a type of fungi with health-giving powers, has been used as a health supplement by the Chinese for thousands of years. Documented use of the herb can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC).

The herb has been scientifically proven to have anti-ageing properties. It also helps improve a host of health conditions. Its many properties means the fungi is in big demand.

According to the oldest and most respected Chinese medical directories "Shen Lung? Medica" and "The Chinese Herbal Medica," Lingzhi was rated as the best among all Chinese herbs with its extraordinary healing and anti-ageing properties.

The advantages of Chinese medicinal herbs are renowned around the world. Among the precious Chinese herbs used by Vita Green, the most famous are natural Lingzhi, Yunzhi and Bird? Nest.

In 1993, Dr Chan launched her first product, "Five-colour Lingzhi," which is the company's best selling product. Over the years, Vita Green has developed more than 60 herbal formulations catering to the needs of all ages and lifestyles.

Dr Chan said Vita Green Lingzhi products are made from 100 per cent wild Lingzhi, which is more potent than commercially harvested forms.

The company set up a joint venture in Southwest China to process the herb into liquid and powder forms, while its Ap Lei Chau plant handles the secondary process of packaging.

Obstacles and opportunities
As Hong Kong is a mature market, Vita Green is inevitably facing keen competition, Dr Chan said. To tackle this, she said the company places great emphasis on the quality of its products and client loyalty helped by talks about healthcare through the Vita Green Club.

Investment in the research and development of new products also helps the company rise above the competition. "We usually spend up to five years in the development of a new product and will continue to test its effectiveness after rolling it out," Dr Chan said.

However, in these volatile economic times, Vita Green is holding the release of a number of new products, despite the successful launch of its new product line, OS21.

The Hong Kong based company, whose products are now sold in Taiwan, Japan and the U.S., is also looking at global markets, including Western Europe, South America and Mainland China.

Now that China is in the WTO, Dr Chan believes its vitamins and skin care products will gain easier access to the Mainland market as tariff barriers start to be lowered.
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