ThreeSixty: Starting a health revolution in HK?
Over the weekend, I got some sad news about one of our ski instructors in Cortina. Apparently, M would not be able to join us for CNY skiing since she has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Perhaps BI, who has just completed a course of chemotherapy and is now undergoing radiation therapy and will be joining us in Cortina, can offer her some support. In any case, I wish M a very speedy recovery and return to the slopes!
So over the weekend, health was on my mind. As I was working out in the gym with PT, she mentioned having just checked out ThreeSixty, the new food store on the top two floors of Landmark. At first, I wasn't all that interested, thinking it was just another City'Super, Oliver's, Great or Gourment. But then, she mentioned it was like Whole Foods. Those who have read my post when I was in D.C. will know that I love Whole Foods. So of course, I jumped at the bait and immediately went to check it out after my workout.
ThreeSixty just opened last Tuesday and when I got there, it was bustling with people. In many ways, it does try to be Whole Foods, except ThreeSixty is still a whole lot smaller. And the fact that it's in Landmark makes it a lot less accessible to the masses (so I guess their health revolution is starting from the affluent. For the launch, though, they are partnering with three NGOs: Oxfam, WWF and Changing Young Lives Foundation, but I couldn't quite figure out what the partnership entails, i.e. whether part of proceeds are donated or whether it's free publicity for the organizations etc.)
Like Whole Foods, ThreeSixty has done a lot of work on their labelling. On fresh produce, country of origin and farming style (conventional or organic) as well as brief description of health benefits were marked on the label along with the price. Same with meats. There were lots of educational and informational pamphlets explaining the difference between conventional, organic or naturally-raised livestock. At the moment, though, I would say that the majority of the offerings are marked "conventional" (i.e. no different from what you might find at your local Park'N'Shop). But credit has to be given to ThreeSixty for clearly marking everything and for making consumers more aware of the differences of conventional vs. organic farming methods. It also uses labels to indicate which foods are suitable for certain diets (i.e. low-sodium, low-carb etc.) or when certain allergens are present (XTC's gelatos had milk marked on the allergen labels).
In the non-food area, I was happy to see products such as Seventh Generation toilet paper (free from chlorine bleaching) and non-toxic cleaning products. They also have the Wellness Centre that has a naturopath on hand to guide customers in their choices of health supplements and natural beauty products.
ThreeSixty probably has one of the nicest supermarket shopping environments in Hong Kong. Though, I imagine, they'll be wanting more space very soon. I took a couple of photos with my new HP iPAQ hw6965 (I am still waiting, with baited breath, for Apple's iPhone, but I just got fed up with Nokia's word completion on the cheap, basic Nokia I got in India that I just had to spring for a phone with a full keyboard and wifi) so please excuse the grainy quality of these pics:
So over the weekend, health was on my mind. As I was working out in the gym with PT, she mentioned having just checked out ThreeSixty, the new food store on the top two floors of Landmark. At first, I wasn't all that interested, thinking it was just another City'Super, Oliver's, Great or Gourment. But then, she mentioned it was like Whole Foods. Those who have read my post when I was in D.C. will know that I love Whole Foods. So of course, I jumped at the bait and immediately went to check it out after my workout.
ThreeSixty just opened last Tuesday and when I got there, it was bustling with people. In many ways, it does try to be Whole Foods, except ThreeSixty is still a whole lot smaller. And the fact that it's in Landmark makes it a lot less accessible to the masses (so I guess their health revolution is starting from the affluent. For the launch, though, they are partnering with three NGOs: Oxfam, WWF and Changing Young Lives Foundation, but I couldn't quite figure out what the partnership entails, i.e. whether part of proceeds are donated or whether it's free publicity for the organizations etc.)
Like Whole Foods, ThreeSixty has done a lot of work on their labelling. On fresh produce, country of origin and farming style (conventional or organic) as well as brief description of health benefits were marked on the label along with the price. Same with meats. There were lots of educational and informational pamphlets explaining the difference between conventional, organic or naturally-raised livestock. At the moment, though, I would say that the majority of the offerings are marked "conventional" (i.e. no different from what you might find at your local Park'N'Shop). But credit has to be given to ThreeSixty for clearly marking everything and for making consumers more aware of the differences of conventional vs. organic farming methods. It also uses labels to indicate which foods are suitable for certain diets (i.e. low-sodium, low-carb etc.) or when certain allergens are present (XTC's gelatos had milk marked on the allergen labels).
In the non-food area, I was happy to see products such as Seventh Generation toilet paper (free from chlorine bleaching) and non-toxic cleaning products. They also have the Wellness Centre that has a naturopath on hand to guide customers in their choices of health supplements and natural beauty products.
ThreeSixty probably has one of the nicest supermarket shopping environments in Hong Kong. Though, I imagine, they'll be wanting more space very soon. I took a couple of photos with my new HP iPAQ hw6965 (I am still waiting, with baited breath, for Apple's iPhone, but I just got fed up with Nokia's word completion on the cheap, basic Nokia I got in India that I just had to spring for a phone with a full keyboard and wifi) so please excuse the grainy quality of these pics:
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home