CJ CheilJedang Starts Subscription Delivery on Personalized Health Supplement Platform 'Pilly'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] CJ CheilJedang has officially launched its attack on the personalized health functional food (hereinafter referred to as health supplements) market by partnering with CareWith, a startup providing healthcare services.

On the 27th, CJ CheilJedang announced that it will start a subscription delivery service for health supplement products on ‘Pilly,’ a personalized supplement recommendation platform operated by CareWith. This is the first move since CJ CheilJedang signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with CareWith in February to establish a business model for ‘personalized health supplements.’

The product introduced through ‘Pilly’ this time is ‘ReturnUp Fermented Enzyme,’ a supplement that aids digestion. It is made by fermenting six healthy grains (wheat, quinoa, brown rice, oats, lentils, glutinous barley) using CJ CheilJedang’s patented strains, and includes rice bran fermented with ‘kimchi-derived functional probiotics,’ providing anti-obesity and anti-cholesterol effects. This has been proven through a national project titled ‘Development and Industrialization of Rice Bran Fermentation Products Using Kimchi-Derived Functional Probiotics,’ conducted jointly by CJ CheilJedang and Chosun University.

By subscribing through ‘Pilly,’ customers can receive the ‘ReturnUp Fermented Enzyme’ product once a month at a 40% discounted price. ‘Pilly’ holds over 400,000 accumulated subscribers based on more than 650,000 health survey big data records, and CJ CheilJedang plans to sell various health supplement products tailored to consumer demand.

A CJ CheilJedang official stated, “We are building a business model that allows the purchase of personalized health supplement products through joint research with startups,” adding, “While expanding the product lineup from basic nutrition to special care, we plan to develop our own brand of personalized health supplements in the mid to long term based on our research and development expertise.”

Meanwhile, CJ CheilJedang is focusing on discovering new business models for the personalized health supplement sector. This year, it has consecutively signed MOUs with genetic analysis specialist EDGC (Eone Diagnomics Genome Center), microbiome bio venture HEM, and healthcare startup CareWith, and since July, it has been providing customized healthcare services in partnership with Shinhan Life.