Jingshi Joe Zhou is the CEO and co-founder of TSI Group Ltd., Shanghai, China. Established in 1996, TSI Group is a Hong Kong registered global researcher, developer and manufacturer of ingredients and finished products with offices in the U.S., EU, Australia, Japan and China. The North American division is based in Missoula, MT. Prior to co-founding TSI, Joe was a senior research scientist at both Amway and Avon. He has an educational background in both China and the U.S., and has received advanced degrees in chemical engineering, chemistry and industrial pharmacy.
 
Health E-Insights: TSI recently restructured and formed two global divisions. Why?
 
Mr. Zhou: Forming two global divisions focused on value services and innovation is the most important strategic decision we have ever made as a company. This decision was the result of careful consideration of TSI’s internal capacities and the future growth directions of the global nutraceutical industry. Since the establishment of TSI in 1996, we have built an extensive platform with capabilities ranging from manufacturing, both raw materials and various dosage forms, product development in ingredients and formulations, and world-class quality systems, including analytical testing and supply chain management. We combine this with local sales, marketing and customer service in all major markets globally. Using this platform, we are confident we can provide our international customers the best solutions for their product needs—the highest quality at the lowest total cost. Further, TSI has developed a unique innovation model that allows us to bring more evidence-based ingredients and formulations to the marketplace.
 
Health E-Insights: How do you envision your value services and innovation products divisions working together?
 
Mr. Zhou: Value and innovation are two key propositions. TSI is striving to be the best so we can consistently meet and exceed our customer’s expectations around the world. The creation of two divisions is our way of maintaining customer focus. Internally, we have a very open information sharing system, so both divisions work seamlessly for one goal and that’s to deliver the best value to our customers.
 
Health E-Insights: Your company has made several corporate acquisitions in the past two years. Do you see this strategy continuing?
 
Mr. Zhou: Yes, we made several acquisitions in the past two years. We invested and became the majority shareholder of NPD in Brisbane, Australia, in 2010. We also acquired Yessamin Health in Nantong, China, from a Norwegian parent company, and we invested in JYT Bio-products, one of the largest softgel production facilities in China. The execution of these investments is part of our business strategy and it’s always under constant evaluation.
 
Health E-Insights: Does the company plan additional expansion in Asia?
 
Mr. Zhou: In the past, TSI focused its sales and marketing efforts on developed markets, such as the U.S., EU, Japan and Australia. TSI will continue to do so since they represent the majority of our businesses. However, growth in the developing countries in Asia, such as China and India, has been significant in the last several years, and we believe these markets are going to continue this growth for many years to come. These markets have the ability to become the largest in the world. TSI has a majority of its operations in China, so this already gives us a geographic advantage in expanding our sales and marketing efforts in Asia. In the past 12 months, TSI invested a fair amount of resources in studying the Chinese and Asian markets.
 
Health E-Insights: What do you think is the future of dietary supplement manufacturing in China?
 
Mr. Zhou: The future of dietary supplement manufacturing in China is very bright for the following reasons. First, China is already the largest supplier of the raw materials in this industry. Second, the quality standard of Chinese manufacturers has improved significantly in recent years. Third, the Chinese market is going to become a major supplement market in the world. Major foreign brands around the world will come to China, and they will bring quality culture with it. This will further increase Chinese manufacturers’ understanding of quality aspects of supplement manufacturing.
 
Health E-Insights: How do you feel your business has changed since you first entered the marketplace?
 
Mr. Zhou: The requirements for more safe, evidence-based ingredients and formulations, and the requirements for more strict GMP conditions to ensure the quality and integrity of products are two of the very positive changes for this industry, as well as our business.
 
Health E-Insights: Will TSI be introducing any new unique branded ingredients?
 
Mr. Zhou: The primary goal of our innovation products division is to bring unique evidence-based ingredients as well as for­mulations to the marketplace. We are working on a three- to five-year pipeline of these ingredients and formulations. When they are ready—and only when they are ready—we will create a brand for the ingredient or formulation, as this is one way to differentiate them from others.                                               
 
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