Nick Martinuik of MySpray Therapeutics in Canora recently attended the 126th Canton Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, China.
Martinuik left on October 27 to attend the event which claims to be the oldest and largest of its kind in China, and returned on November 10.
“After attending, it would be safe to say it’s probably the largest in the world,” said Martinuik. “This is a global show with purchasers attending from all over the world.”
Martinuik said through the MySpray laboratory and manufacturing operation in Richmond, B.C. he has developed many business contacts, including a marketing agent in the region where the Expo took place.
“We were invited by the international trade association ‘Royal Classical Agriculture Ltd.’ which has many connections to the Chinese and global markets,” explained Martinuik. “They recognized our unique products would be an excellent fit to promote in that region.”
After receiving positive feedback and response, Martinuik is pleased with his decision to make the trip to China.
“It is very clear to me that we have created something unique and unlike anything else in the world,” he said. “Going into the Expo I believed that the medicinal mushrooms would be the big draw, but surprisingly our product that received the most attention was MyPain LiniMint. Pain is universal in every country and when people feel the rapid relief it gets their attention.
“We also received attention for being able to formulate and produce any products that different regions of the world are searching for. Each region has its own specific health concerns and we have made connections with various countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Morocco and India, to name a few. “
Martinuik said the connections made with international companies should be extremely helpful going forward.
“We are now preparing to meet with some of these companies to help develop and manufacture products specific to these many regional health issues,” he reported. “Each country has different government regulations and health agencies to work with, but within days of returning home I was informed that we are already approved in Bangladesh and we have plans to meet soon.”
Martinuik said a number of other Canadian natural health companies and natural food-based companies also made the trip to China for the Expo.
“I had also been to Shanghai a few years ago to attend a very similar Expo which really prepared me with the experience to return,” he said. “In business we need to understand the size of our market share and looking at Canada we have a small population of approximately 35 million over a large land mass, whereas that is the same population of some cities in these other countries.”
In many respects, the Asian approach to health and medicine is much different than here in North America. Martinuik said there is much we can learn from their experience.
“It can be seen right from our differences in diet and lifestyles,” he explained. “They rely heavily on traditional medicines and methods that have been used successfully for thousands of years and place more validity on experience than on new experimental medicines, as we do here in the West.”
China has numerous medical facilities devoted to traditional medicine, and even the pharmacies and western-style hospitals have integrated the modern approaches with proven old school methods.
“We must put into perspective that eastern medicine is the origin of medical science and has been in existence for thousands of years, and our modern western approach to medicine is under one hundred years old at best,” said Martinuik. “Canada has only just celebrated its 150th birthday. I believe we have a lot to learn from experienced cultures that are not influenced by dogmatic western marketing methods for only new pharmaceuticals. We need to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each style of medicine globally to integrate them into a common- sense approach with the goal of improving health and wellness, and not just being focused on shareholder profits.”
Martinuik said he thoroughly enjoyed the visit to China and becoming aware of the opportunity to help people on an international scale.
“My highlight is being entrusted to formulate new products for different health concerns globally,” he said. “Being a Canadian company comes with an understanding of having very high regulations in production and a gold standard in quality.”
