Facts About Eye Health Between the US and Europe – Business Opportunity?

Although eye health should be a mainstream priority for the regulator and authorities, it is not. With nowadays multi-screen dependence and kids starting their exposure at very early stage, vision – one of the most precious human assets – isn’t going to get any better but rather will require more support and closer monitoring.

Corporate vs Public

While in US the eye-health ingredients market is growing at 5% per year, in Europe there are movements praising to incorporate eye-health into the public health care system. Both visions have their supportive arguments, but which one will benefit the end user the most?

On one hand, the US private race for eye-health solutions benefit the end customers are competition usually drives innovation and brings prices down. It can result in the development of more advanced technologies, at faster pace, not only providing options but also tailored treatments on the fast growing industry so-called Personalized Medicine. The clear downside is the long tail where solutions become too specific that they don’t have enough competition to bring prices down, and therefore those patients will face an expensive treatment they might not be able to afford.

On the flip-side, the existing welfare in Europe promotes large scope of free health care and treatments. Therefore, all vision-related problems will not only put pressure on health care budget, but is important to note the loss from a productive point of view of all the people that have their vision compromised. These are people that not only cannot attend to their workplace, but they might struggle to even transport themselves and use a computer to perform basis tasks. So productivity levels drop and health care costs raise. It can all be summarized on the NHS motto “Prevention is better than cure”.

As it happens on most cases, possibly the best alternative would be to encourage private research and competition that could drive innovation, and have some sort of government intervention to keep prices low and foment research on unattended fields.

Business opportunity?

Not only the research labs and ophthalmologists can take advantage of the growing demand for eye care services. Although eye care requires a scientific approach, it also requires distribution and a fashionable touch.

Companies that can make it easier than ever for customers to get fast, convenient, fashionable solutions that truly help their vision, will have a growing market to exploit in the up-coming years. Is important to prioritize the eye health first, and not get tempted on developing for instance fashionable glasses that won’t improve the vision.

All-in-one solutions

Trustworthy opticians are the local solution for most of the population. Brands like Vision Express are doing a great job by putting together health care practitioners with a variety of fashionable items that can not only improve the vision but ironically the “look” of their clientele.

Niche solutions are also in growing demand for versatile glasses that can serve the purpose. A great example is the growing sales of Nike’s Sports Glasses, which not only account for comfort, durability and performance but bring cutting-edge technology to improve the vision in the sports arena.

In addition to the traditional and well established brands, there are some thriving projects that aim to bring all-in-one vision solutions worldwide. For instance, check out this amazing project seeking to help 1bn of the poorest to see through DYI glasses that don’t require an optician.

Investing in your vision is probably the safest investment of all times, as it will surely payoff well. “Keep an eye” on the next trends and business proposition – they might improve your lifestyle considerably.