Weight Watchers has insisted its weight-management venture with Danone in China will thrive amid a growing local desire to lose weight.
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The US-based firm told just-food that its research had found around 286m Chinese were overweight or obese in 2005. By 2010, the company said, that number will grow to 520m.
“The current commercial weight-loss market in China is estimated, based on our internal research, to be over $1bn and expected to grow rapidly,” a spokesperson for Weight Watchers said last night (5 February).
“The largest segment of the current market is diet pills. Our research has concluded that consumers are dissatisfied with the weight-loss products they have tried to date and are keenly interested in trying lasting, lifestyle-based methods to help them lose weight.”
The venture with Danone will mark Weight Watchers’ entry into China. The business, in which Weight Watchers will hold a 51% stake, is expected to get up and running within the next 12 months.
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By GlobalDataThe spokesperson declined to give further details on where in China the venture would first look to make its mark. “For competitive reasons, we cannot provide any other details at this point.”
She added: “We have been working on this for over a year and we’ve got a management team in place with a plan that is already under way.”
