Page 25 - Sphere No.15 (Nov 2005)

ic pain is comparable with
that of morphine.”
For proof that TCM is
establishing itself in main-
stream western culture
look no further than
Sen Medicine Company
Limited, a retailer in
London that represents a
small but visible part of
Hutchison Whampoa’s
investment in this field. Located in
bustling South Molton Street, just
off Oxford Street, Sen is bringing
centuries old Chinese healthcare to
an upmarket clientele. Sen offers
everything from consultations,
massage, reflexology and acupunc-
ture to herbal remedies, body and
skin care.
“We are seeing a great deal of
receptivity to our products,” said
Mel Tung, Retail Operations Man-
ager of Sen. “Alternative medicine
is something that people in the
West are really interested in. People
are more and more open to trying
new things. They realise that west-
ern medicine is not infallible and
does have side effects.
“We are introducing both the
concept and reality of Chinese
medicine to a sophisticated western
audience. We are taking the best of
Chinese medicine and combining it
with western marketing. It’s the
best of both worlds. Certainly, the
feedback has been very positive.
Word of mouth is very important
to our business.”
The clientele is 70 per cent women
aged between 30 and 55. It’s a very
high-end, high-income demographic.
Many American tourists and visitors from
the Gulf States are also regular customers.
So, what is the Sen experience all
about?
As you enter Sen, the feeling is one of
calm. The clean, simple layout follows
feng shui principles and natural materials
such as walnut and stone dominate. Once
inside, customers can stop off at the liquid
health bar offering low calorie, caffeine-
free alternatives to tea and coffee such
as herbal fruit smoothies and juice
mixes.
Just beyond the health bar is the
retail area where Sen has used its
knowledge of TCM to create packaged
consumer products with Chinese
herbal ingredients and teas. The range
of more than 50 bodycare products
incorporates Chinese herbs, more
than 30 herbal tea formulae, and a range
of 11 of the highest quality Chinese green
teas available in the West. This range is
being expanded into prestige high-end
skin care and other categories such as
cosmetics and bottled drinks will soon be
available.
Further into the store, qualified TCM
practitioners from Mainland China offer
over-the-counter remedies. Sen’s senior
practitioner is Dr Wei Chunrong, a TCM
expert with over
20 years of
experience. Full
consultations are
available for more
serious ailments which
may require acupuncture, reflexology or
long-term herbal prescriptions.
“Weight, sleep and stress are the big
three problems that our customers come
to us with along with back and joint
pain caused by sitting for long
stretches of time. These all reflect
life in a big city,” explained Mr
Tung. “Ginseng is probably the
most popular herbal remedy as it
boosts energy levels. One of our
herbal treatments called ‘Poria + 10’
speeds metabolism and reduces
appetite and is quite effective in
weight reduction programmes.”
There are three main ways to
describe the effect that herbs can
have on the energy flow within the
human body. The first is tempera-
ture. Each herb is said to be either
hot, warm, neutral/cool or cold.
Typically, hot herbs are used to
alleviate cold conditions such as
certain types of arthritis and
coughs. Cold herbs are used for
conditions like high fevers, exces-
sive thirst and constipation.
The second is taste. There are five
tastes, each of which indicates the
active nature of the herb. A pun-
gent taste tends to be dispersing;
bitter is cooling and draining; sweet
has a toning effect; salty softens;
sour substances are astringent.
Finally, each herb is also linked with
specific organ networks. For exam-
ple, peppermint is cool and is linked with
the lungs and the liver.
Along with herbs that are known in the
West, TCM uses a huge variety of other
medicinal herbs including tree bark,
flower petals and clay. The herbs are con-
ventionally classified into about 20 dis-
tinctive functional categories. There are
those which nourish the body energy,
those which calm the mind and those
used to warm the interior. Usually several
S PHERE 23
the
art
of
London is the home to a retailer
offering an authentic Chinese medicine
experience that is both accessible and
credible to a western audience
By Jon Marsh
SEN