Together, both stores provide the brand with market access to over 85% of China’s entire B2C e-commerce market, according to data from Statista.
The brand, part of iX Biopharma – a specialty pharma company, is largely present in Australia where the products are developed and manufactured. China is its other priority market.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, Eva Tan, director of corporate and commercial strategy, said that the move into China was part of the brand’s key market expansion plan.
“The expansion into China is part of our fundamental strategy. While Australia is our first market, China is also a big priority.
“Australian-made health supplements such as Entity are regarded by the Chinese consumers as the gold standard of healthcare products due to Australia’s reputation for safety and quality,” she said.
The entry to China was further encouraged by a successful market test drive which took place last year with a medispa company, where one of the brand’s flagship products – LumeniX – a sublingual glutathione wafer – had been well-received.
Glutathione is an antioxidant that could strengthen the immune system as seen from a study conducted by J.P. Richie Jr. and et al.
Besides immune boosting functions, LumeniX is also meant for skin brightening by reducing skin hyperpigmentation and has been formulated with the patented WaferiX sublingual technology to increase glutathione’s bioavailability.
“The medispa company heard about us via a third party and said that they have been looked for companies producing sublingual glutathione but did not manage to find one.
“The response from them about our product was fantastic and that gave us the confident to officially launch in China,” she said.
The brand’s other products available on JD include RestoriX – a nicotinamide supplement that helps to increase the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels in the body.
As part of its marketing efforts, the company will be working with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and social platforms such as WeChat and Little Red Book, on top of the in-platform marketing tools on JD and Tmall.
Moving forward, it also has plans to collaborate with other distributors to sell its products in China.
COVID-19 push
While the outbreak of COVID-19 may have brought about logistical disruption, it has also provided opportunities for the company to educate the public about the importance of nutrition.
“Because of COVID-19, many Chinese are searching for products that improve the immunity and this is when we can take the opportunity to promote our sublingual glutathione supplement for boosting the immune health,” Tan said.
She added that the company has been providing its staff with the glutathione supplement to improve their immune system.
