How IVC tapped into the Australian market by using Horizons

Industry	Pharma
HQ	China
Company Size	500+
Founding Year	2010
With Horizons since 2021

Global presence, great potential

The International Vitamin Corporation (IVC), based in California, USA and Jiangsu, China, was established in 2010. They are one of the largest manufacturers of over-the-counter health supplements in the word.

Over the last 10+ years, IVC has undergone more than 11 cross-border mergers and acquisitions, some of which have been significant (like the 2019 acquisition of American supplement giant GNC’s manufacturing capacity). Through these M&A activities, IVC has consolidated the manufacturing, product R&D, and supply chain management of their business under one umbrella, allowing the company to provide the most value at the least cost to customers worldwide.

These activities have allowed IVC to steadily grow its market share in the nutritional supplements industry and establish more than 10 factories across Asia, North America, and Europe. At present, IVC and its companies have a footprint and market influence in more than 80 countries, and are committed to entering every market as a leading global provider of nutritional and health supplements.

However, with the Covid-19 pandemic situation, their ability to open new markets was challenged—particularly in APAC where they had planned expansions for 2020-2021. During these challenges, they discovered global employer of record (EOR) services.

IVC realized that with EOR support where needed, they would be able to quickly scale their operations in new markets, anywhere in the world, without business trips or company incorporation formalities. EOR would allow them to be flexible to easily start new business in the face of economic uncertainty.

After assessing the EOR marketplace, IVC decided that Horizons would be the best fit for their Australian expansion—the price, ease of communication, and the global & regional reputation of Horizons helped IVC make their decision.

"The general trend of the health market is going global. Anticipating this, the top priority for us is employing global talents—quickly, affordably, and compliantly—and that is something Horizons excels at facilitating.”

Sheng Liang, HR at IVC

How did they get there?

Before Covid-19, as part of its globalization strategy, IVC wanted to change the way they structure their international offices.

Where before the company had international offices that were completely localized with full back office and operations in each country of operation, IVC had an ambitious target to transition these offices into a ‘branch-like’ structure with a central command. If this were achieved, the company would be able to optimize the resources shared between different countries and regions and increase organizational efficiency.

With Horizons EOR, the HR side of this critical mission became easy in countries where EOR is utilized. IVC realized that when it comes to international operations, it’s better to have the best person for the role working the job, no matter where they are located.

For example, IVC has 7 factories globally and the company’s products can be found in over 80 countries worldwide. Does IVC need an entity in all 80 of those countries? They decided not.

For the case of Australia, IVC had several considerations:

Australian market share:
With a valuable and well-documented health and fitness market, it’s no wonder IVC wanted to enter the Australian market.

Speed:
The faster you enter a new market, the quicker you can learn how to be successful. The fastest way to enter new markets is to partner with a company like Horizons who can ensure local hiring compliance (because as an EOR, Horizons would be legally responsible for such matters).

Cost:
IVC could have chosen to set up a local entity, but this would have required serious time and financial burdens. IVC would have need to hire a local HR and legal back-office just to employ a small team of salespeople. They decided to go with the smart option and use an EOR.

Risk:
Compliance burdens when entering new markets are serious. Mistakes can mean delayed company openings, damaged relationships with employees, and massive fines. By partnering with Horizons in Australia, IVC avoided the risks typically associated with new international hirings in unfamiliar jurisdictions.

Efficiency:
There is already ramp-up time when hiring new employees—not to mention new offices. When starting in new, unfamiliar markets it can take many months to become efficient (after waiting months to be able to hire). When IVC no longer had to worry about local laws, taxes, or cultural / language issues when handling HR matters, they were able to scale their efficiency much more quickly.

“Horizons made every aspect of our hiring project in Australia easier. Where we normally face challenges, we were able to quickly pass through hiring formalities to get the real work started.”

Sheng Liang, HR at IVC

An international hiring partnership to last

IVC’s internationalization efforts won’t stop here. With a presence in over 80 countries already, and the relatively new (to them) tool of global EOR added to their HR toolbox, it’s only the beginning.

“Thanks Horizons for amplifying our internationalization efforts. Our project in Australia was quick, efficient, and compliant, and a lower cost than if we had started our own company there. If you’re thinking about hiring abroad, go with Horizons!”

Sheng Liang, HR at IVC

See what other clients say

"As a seed-stage, London-based startup, we were initially hesitant to expand internationally due to the administrative workload involved. Horizons completely took the headache out of the process and allowing us to hire a team of software engineers in Germany."

Gabor SzedlakCo-founder & COO

"I truly appreciated the thoroughness and the professionalism of Horizons personnel while going through the process of hiring internationally. When they spoke and commented, they spoke confidently and knowledgable on all subject matters pertaining to internal employment."

Gary PaskyVice President of Software Development

"On deciding to begin commercial activities in Asia Pacific, we needed a provider to handle the employment and remuneration of our workforce. With Horizons the result was a fast, efficient and fit-for-purpose employment solution. We recommend Horizons as an EOR provider.”

Chris MorrellManaging Director

"The collaboration with the Horizons team is excellent. Both our local employee as well as our HQ in Germany are more than pleased with the support provided and the simplicity of the service. We can highly recommend the Horizons solution to anyone."

Christoph EngelbertCo-Founder & CTO

"We needed an EOR that could provide expert support for payroll in APAC. We are pleased with Horizons’ expertise and the fact that they are flexible, responsive, and easily accessible from Belgium. They were able to provide services within the short timeline we required."

Katia FlamandHuman Resources