How will we know you will still be here next week?”

 

That was what skeptical Filipinos often asked whenever they came for consultation at Marie France back in 1985. The slimming center offered a unique approach to weight loss: noninvasive, no diet, no pills.

 

It was a new and revolutionary concept in the Philippines where, owing to many lifestyle and environment factors, people didn’t really step out to exercise even as they loved to eat.

 

But Marie France was a foreign company, and Filipinos were leery of potential fly-by-night enterprises.

 

Its concept was that you had to pay for the entire cost of a weight-loss program, sometimes involving up to 30 sessions, as it believed clients would be more committed—thus get desired results—if they paid the course of treatment in full.

 

Thirty years hence, Marie France, the pioneer in the noninvasive weight loss and slimming category in the Philippines, is “still here,” and has been a household name. It’s the biggest company in its category.

 

“We created the market here,” says Robin Horsman, director of Marie France Group of Companies. The Briton has been visiting the Philippines frequently since 1982 when he launched Svenson, the hair-loss treatment center and sister company of Marie France, so that he’s become quite familiar with local ways and culture.

 

“Filipinos love to eat,” he adds, “but the lifestyle here, it’s not as easy to exercise because it’s very humid. And people don’t walk to their offices in the morning. Our idea of noninvasive, no-diet, no-pills, which remains our tagline, appealed to the Filipino psyche.”

 

Body wrap

 

Marie France was first to introduce the body wrap, called Fat Mobilization System or FMS, which used cold bandage wraps that dropped the temperature of the body and induced it to generate heat to burn calories.

 

Even as Marie France now has many new state-of-the-art slimming solutions, FMS is still the core of the business, says Horsman, especially as it has introduced a “more comfortable and more efficient” technique called FMS Elite.

 

Much has changed in the last 30 years, as Filipinos are now concerned not just about looking good, says the executive.

 

Filipinos have also become more informed about the ill effects of excess weight on one’s overall health and wellbeing.

 

In recent years, the company has brought in nutritionists for a more holistic approach.

 

“People now look at not just weight loss but also body sculpting,” says George Siy, president of Marie France Group of Companies. “They’re concerned about texture, firmness, overall aesthetics.”

 

Many of the clients are women who have tried exercise, but without much success in burning off the fat in some stubborn areas.

 

Little secret

 

“People used to hide,” Siy recalls of the decades before oversharing on social media. “They’d sneak into the elevator and then sneak out. That’s why we never had branches in malls… Now people don’t mind as it has become a status symbol.”

 

Still, Siy adds with a laugh, their clients of mostly affluent women don’t really bring in more of their friends “as they want it to be their own little secret. They want people to think that they’ve achieved it naturally… That’s why we remain discreet.”

 

None of its current 10 branches, including those in Cebu and Pampanga, is in the malls.

 

Filipino women have always been ahead when it comes to beauty, says Siy.

 

“Even before it became popular in South Korea, if you go to the clinics in South America and the United States, Filipino women comprised a big portion of the market. In other countries, women go for things like this after they’ve paid for necessities. But here, women prioritize clothes, cosmetics. It’s a necessity.”

 

Women still make up the majority of Marie France clients, though it has increased its men’s market significantly in the last 10 years. It expects men, in the near future, to be just as conscious about their looks as women.

 

“Young people are vainer,” says Siy. “Worldwide media is creating demands on men. Older men used to think that they must make money and that’s it. Now people my age find that their wives are more demanding.”

 

There have been changes in relationship dynamics, too, as women are now dating younger, more attractive men.

 

“They’re being compared,” he adds.

 

First dibs

 

Being the biggest of its kind has its advantages. Marie France gets first dibs at any new machine on the market, say its bosses. It typically gets exclusivity on such machines before other companies can buy them many months later—by which time Marie France has already cornered the market.

 

“If another company introduces a new machine, that means we probably passed on it, because it didn’t pass our standards and protocols,” says Horsman.

 

It doesn’t launch a machine unless it has been tested in-house—and found stable—among directors and staff.

 

“We’re sometimes also involved in the research,” says Siy. “The foreign manufacturer comes to us and asks our help to research on the effects and efficacy of the machines. We no longer just apply what they give us, since they are usually not made in Asia and might need refining. If you come here, you won’t find anything better in the world. It’s not just hardware, we’re focused also on the training.”

 

Since Marie France pioneered the noninvasive approach, it has become the first choice of women who shun surgery.

 

“Also, you can do surgery only so many times,” Siy notes. “Some who have undergone surgery also need nonsurgical support for maintenance.”

 

Celebrity marketing

 

Long before other companies used celebrity marketing, Marie France has already been doing it, with client testimonials in its print advertising.

 

Its most effective and popular endorser is Dawn Zulueta, who has been with the company since end of 2005. The actress is the ideal client who sticks to the programs and achieves her goals, they say.

 

When she signed up, Zulueta had just given birth to her first child and was trying to get back in shape to prepare for her show-biz comeback after a long hiatus.

 

She was very committed; she’d fly in from Davao, where her family was based, to meet her treatment schedule.

 

Zulueta was formally presented as Marie France endorser in 2006 at the same time as the UltraShape machine, which is said to burn fat using high-frequency ultrasound waves. Similar to liposuction but without the knife and needles, it was such a hit among clients and is still among the most in-demand treatments today.

 

Since 1985, other industry players have come into the picture, but “it keeps us on our game,” says Horsman. “If we were the only game in town, we could have easily gone complacent. Because we’re not, we always have to stay ahead of the curve, we have to have the latest in technology. That’s our big advantage.”

 

What he seems to be saying is, they will still be here next week, or the next decade. You can count on it.

 

Marie France celebrates its 30th year in a bash on Sept. 22 at Nobu Hotel.