By Madelaine B. Miraflor
There is now a price to have access to good air quality, and a New York-based indoor environmental solutions provider is willing to bet that the Philippine market is now ready to spend money for it.
Air Intellipure, Inc. announced that it has officially brought the highly sophisticated air purifying system, Intellipure, into the Philippines.
Intellipure, one of the most sophisticated, medical grade, residential and commercial air purification systems in the world, was brought into the country by Vinny Lobdell, the company’s co-founder, and his local partner, Nick Gitsis.
For the local market, Lobdell and Gitsis created the "Pure Wellness" program, the first of its kind indoor environmental solutions, as well as Intellipure’s international line of portable air purifier models costing ₱47,000 to ₱89,000 and above.
Both executives said they intend to invest ₱250 million in the Philippines over the next three years to support growth.
Lobdell and Gitsis expressed optimism that there is a big demand for their products in the Philippines, especially because it is one of the countries in the world with the poorest air quality.
Antony Papageorgiou, vice president for special projects and customer experience at Pure Wellness, said the Philippines record at least 4,000 deaths that are attributed to poor air quality every year.
Still, Lobdell admitted that the company must first invest into educating people about their product, especially the mass market, which the firm is also targeting simply because he believes "everyone has the right to live without environmental boundaries.”
“We will strong information campaign for the general public,” Lobdell said.
For now, the company is targeting tourism, wellness, and private offices as partners.
Any potential partnership with government agencies, schools, hospitals and other institutions will take time, but is already in the works, Gitsis said.
Already, Air Intellipure’s first major client in the Philippines for Pure Wellness Program is Belo Medical Group, the leading cosmetic dermatology and surgery in the Philippines.
“We are proud to announce that Belo Clinics will be the first Certified Pure Wellness clinics in Asia with the first location slated to open in BGC in November, raising the standard of indoor hygiene and client comfort and peace of mind to a whole new level,” said Gitsis.
Rationalizing her company’s investment, the group’s founder, Vicki Belo, said “People say you are what you eat, but the truth is you are what you breathe, because you only eat three times a day, but you breathe 20 times a minute.”
“If you want to be beautiful, nutrition can help but you have to breathe in Pure air,” Belo further said.
Aside from Belo, Air Intellipure also signed a deal with City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati, Fitness District gyms, and KMC’s co-working spaces.
Moving forward, Air Intellipure is hoping to capture a bigger customer base through potential partnerships with the Department of Health, Department of Tourism, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.