MBA Forum: A Healthy Feast for the Mind
Jun 23-2019
Lighted up by a beautiful rainbow in the rain-rinsed Beijing sky (a symbol of the full spectrum of opinions?), the 15th MBA Forum warmly welcome Prof. Li Keji of the School of Public Health at Peking University to speak on the healthy food industry.
A renowned scholar in healthy food and food safety, Prof. Li is a member of the State Council Food Safety Commission’s Expert Committee and of the National Food Safety Standard Committee, as well as a councilor for the Beijing Municipal People’s Government.
Prof. Li started by emphasizing the importance of healthy food in China’s overall planning for the mega-health industry. One of the major challenges for healthy food worldwide is the regulation of healthy claims, which include product manuals, advertisement, labels and other promotional materials. The Chinese consumers have certain specific notions about healthy food, due to the influences of traditional Chinese medicine and culture.
Oversight and supervision in China differ from those in Europe and the US. China relies on a set of official rules to evaluate the functions of healthy food and thus fixes the barriers to entry; Europe and the US are moving closer to evidence-based medical evaluations.
By analyzing some domestic and international business cases, Prof. Li illuminated the dynamics of the industry and the discrepancies in perception arising from marketing campaigns.
In her welcome speech, Ms. Lucy Liu, NSD Assistant Dean and Director of MBA Center, said that the MBA Forum constitutes a healthy complement to the curriculum and enables the students to uncover infinite opportunities through expert opinions on trends, policies and business models.
