Wellbeing Sector

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Wellbeing Sector executives:

Yahaira Barquero
Sector lead

Health supplements alongside an aloe plant

Health & Wellbeing

Wellbeing Sector

Leading the bio revolution:

a green goldmine for sustainable

life-centered solutions

A breathing lab
for new materials & nutraceuticals

Costa Rica bets on a future where biodiversity, sustainability, and technology pave the way for development. It’s not about growing at any cost but growing better. As a globally recognized leader in sustainability, Costa Rica has "green" embedded in its DNA and can help companies deliver on this commitment - on a global market level!

The country is one of only 5 Blue Zones in the world where people live the longest. It accounts for only 0.034% of the global landmass but is home to 6% of the world’s biodiversity and 50% of its territory covered by forests, making it a natural lab for nature-based innovation.

Global leaders have already started tapping into the innovation potential of Costa Rica’s sustainability with 25 of the RE100 companies operating in the country. Industries in nutraceuticals, cosmetics, personal care, and new materials can also leverage its 32 research institutions, and over 3,400 researchers in various specialized fields offer a unique pool of talent, capable of Collaborating with multinational companies eager to explore the riches of the tropical environment – that is, within a strong regulatory framework, as Costa Rica allows access to its biodiversity for sustainable uses.

Considering the increasing trend in the popularity of ‘superfoods’ and natural supplements across the globe, Costa Rica is the right partner for businesses to thrive.The country currently exports 350 food products to 130 destinations worldwide, aided by its international brand as a place for green technologies and fair trade, developed in collaboration with local industries and suppliers.

1 of 5 Blue Zones

Costa Rica has one of five only “Blue Zones” in the globe

25 of the RE100

25 of the RE100 companies operate in the country

2.7B people

Costa Rica free trade agreements give it preferential access to 2.7 billion people and around 61% of the world's GDP

15% growth

Personal care and cosmetics exports have grown 15% from US$63.9 million to US$73.4 million in the last 5 years (PROCOMER, 2021)

#1 exporter

#1 exporter of high value-added services in Latin America (ITC, 2019)

15% annual growth

15% annual growth in technical graduates for services operations

#1 producer of golden pineapple

Costa Rica is the #1 global producer of golden pineapple and #3 global producer of banana providing a rich source of inputs for new materials based on bio-fibers

28% growth

Exports of coffee, tea, and spices have grown 28% between 2010 and 2020, from US$265 million to US$340 million (PROCOMER, 2021)

99% Clean energy

Costa Rica is powered by 99% clean energy, a quick step for carbon neutral operations.(CENCE, 2020)

7 of the Top 50

Costa Rica hosts 7 of the global top 50 food processing companies. (Food Processing's Top 100, 2021)

Top 5 city in LATAM

San Jose-Heredia Metro Area: Top 5 most competitive cities in Latin America and the Caribbean for Food and Beverage industry (Site Selection, 2018)

+2000 graduates

Over 2,000 university graduates in Agronomy, Food Technology, Industrial Engineering, Biotechnology and Nutrition in 2020

Costa Rica educational system provides over 95% of the population with basic education that results in highly qualified workforce from the lowest operational levels all the way to top management. Workforce is very dedicated, loyal and supportive to the company and has been the reason for its success in providing medical-grade aloe products for top laboratories across the globe.

Yaacov Berman
President

The sense of community, shared purpose and celebration and appreciation for life in all its forms allows for a way of thriving that can even be seen today to have a connection to vitality and mitochondrial health. It is a great time to take on that wisdom from the local ancestors and combine it with new regenerative ways of living.

Pablo Jenkins
Young Global Leader

We want to be part of a significant impact on the agricultural community and be part of the transformation process that the sector requires at the national and global level. We have established cooperation agreements with universities and diverse institutions that will generate a lot of value in the country’s agriculture, energy, and technology. We seek to innovate in production, marketing, and research of hybrid seeds of high genetic value and, especially, be part of that important change that the world requires.

Ocksan Ajú
General Manager

You can feel the live force in everything and everywhere. Its energy can be felt in this wild shrub blooming-green coffee, encapsulating a power that doesn't exist elsewhere. It's something special. Some call it a mystery, but it's just life. Maybe that's why people here live longer.

Blue Serum
Advertising Campaign, 2017

Applications

in this sector

Personal Care

The cosmetics and personal care industry is on an upward trajectory with opportunities for growth in many different product categories, from skincare to makeup. In a future where the line between human and technological (wearable) devices blur, water is a protected resource, energy concerns ring true and natural ingredients take center stage, how will beauty brands innovate to stay competitive? Costa Rica has all the advantages, natural resources with rich properties, skilled human capital to exploit R&D capabilities, and an established trading network. We can change the health and wellness industry's face together.
Nutraceuticals

Spurred by aging populations and heightened interest in preventative physical and mental health, sales of vitamins, minerals, and nutritional and herbal supplements have surged. The rise and evolution of wellness-focused diets, such as keto, paleo, or vegan, are driving food producers to cater their products in this direction. Functional food products, such as probiotics and omega-3, are highly found in yogurt and fish oils in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and develop the quality of intestinal microflora. The use of turmeric, pepper, and other spices is now a growing trend as an anti-inflammatory natural therapy. Together, we can cultivate and grow a healthy pura vida lifestyle.

exponential Technologies

From blue zones to blue serum: Costa Rica is a test-bed for research on bioproducts and technological advancements aimed towards human wellbeing.

EXPLORE ALL TECHNOLOGIES

New Materials

Cutting-edge foams, coatings, metals and other substances to manufacture the most efficient and sustainable materials

New Materials

The innovative Costa Rican company CRN.life is dedicated to developing nutritional products focused on improving the quality of life, establishing ingredient safety and product power with natural ingredients such as moringa, the vitamin and mineral-loaded plant well known for disease prevention and cure.

R&D

Fostering new knowledge to create new products & services

R&D

Inspired by the notion of longevity Chanel’s R&D team studied Costa Rica’s Blue Zone focused on finding possible substances or organisms for health or industrial uses, among others. They found 70x more active antioxidant molecules in green coffee beans from this region as compared to others. In 2016, it became the first company to have been approved for bio-commercialization.

Analytics / Big Data

Discovering patterns and insights within large datasets

Analytics / Big Data

P&G has its Supply Chain Planning Center for Latin America in Costa Rica, from which it designs planning processes for diverse areas, such as demand, projections, materials and distribution for more than 40 countries in the region.

R&D

Fostering new knowledge to create new products & services

R&D

Dole's R&D lab in Costa Rica experiments in the areas of crop physiology, banana breeding, biocontrol, micropropagation and fruit quality to ensure the company’s exports meet the best standards.

enabling Capabilities

We've developed one of the most savvy, well-versed research professionals. With the needed technical expertise to seize business opportunities.

EXPLORE MORE CAPABILITIES

Executing new ideas to create value

Bramé (Reu-Piña) is a Costa Rican startup focused on the development of enzymes from pineapple waist, called bromelain. Through biorefining, it produces proteasa (bromelain), Crystalline micro cellulose and Fiber Pack (Sustainable Building Sheets) which is used in the acceleration of industrial processes.

Doing business by creating a positive experience and maximizing service offerings through building relationships

Yellow Pallet is a Dutch company which exemplifies what circular economy is all about. It uses banana-based inputs to manufacture transportation pallets or pallet-blocks which it provides to factories, maintenance, resins offering a much more cost-effective and sustainable alternative to wood. Yellow Pallet’s invention is a combination of the shape of the pallet, the resin composition, the recipe and the pallet-press. The shape of the pallet and the mold will be unique and patented.

Harnessing the benefits of technology to improve a specific process

Tomattisimo is a Costa Rican company, pioneers in the cultivation of tomatoes in high-tech greenhouses covering 12 hectares where they use automated drip irrigation for 100% hydroponic crops. They are certified as zero chemical residues by the government.

Understanding connections between ideas and facts to solve a problem

The research carried out by CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza) takes a systemic approach to address Latin America and the Caribbean's most pressing issues in rural areas. Specialized lines of research include the design and implementation of investigation projects using systemic approaches that contribute integrally to achieving sustainable and inclusive human welfare.

Recognizing the fragility of our environment and the importance of its protection

EARTH University, in collaboration with Israeli company Netafim, is building a new automated irrigation station as part of an agri-tech project which seeks to assess crop adaptability to new regions and water resource efficiency.