Traceability tactics: BYHEALTH to beef up messaging via ‘hero’ milk thistle product

01-Nov-2021 - Last updated on 08-Nov-2021 at 06:46 GMT

Major China dietary supplement firm BYHEALTH is enhancing the way it conveys the traceability of its product ingredients with new initiatives coming up next year.

The company observed that safety, together with product effectiveness and bioavailable are on top of mind for consumers.

Showing consumers that its ingredients are traceable would help “put their mind at ease,” Jesse Gu, head of sales and marketing at BY-HEALTH International told NutraIngredients-Asia.

“We have observed that consumers are usually concerned about the safety, the effectiveness, and sometimes, the bioavailability of the complementary medicine product.

“By choosing premium raw materials around the world, ensuring the transparency and traceability of our raw ingredients, using cutting-edge and patented technologies in our products, conducting various testing of the products, we could put consumers’ minds at ease when they choose to buy our products,” she said.

She revealed that one of the plans next year was to communicate its traceability efforts via one of its hero SKUs – the BYHEALTH Milk Thistle tablets.

The product is part of the company’s international SKUs that is sold in Australia, New Zealand, and also sold into China via cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) on its JD and Tmall online flagship stores.

Next year, China consumers who purchase the product via JD or Tmall flagship stores will receive a raw milk thistle seed that comes with a traceability certification.

This is also the first time that the company has started such an initiative with its international product range, which also consists of collagen gummies, iron sachet, and grape seed capsules.

Gu said that the milk thistle seeds used in the supplement were already certified by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) based in France.

The CPVO certification grants intellectual property protection to support the creation of new plant varieties.

“Our milk thistle seed is certified by the CPVO, which means that from seeding to planting, harvesting, manufacturing, and testing, the whole process meets the standards of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP).

“Every seed has its own identity. Consumers will receive a certificate when they purchase the product, where they can trace back to where our milk thistle seeds were planted …This is a very creative way to connect and be friends with our consumers,” she said.

She said that the milk thistle was sourced from Spain. The entire product is blended, packaged, quality tested in Australia and is certified by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

On the other hand, consumers can also find out the origins of various ingredients used in BY-HEALTH’s products sold in China via the firm’s website.

Beyond ingredients

While the origin of ingredients is of interest to consumers, Gu also noted that the origins of other aspects do play a role as well.

“[To the consumers,] it is not only about the country of origin of the products. Sometimes, it is also about the origins of the technology, the product research, and the raw ingredients.”

In this regard, she said that the company was sourcing premium ingredients from 23 countries as well as collaborating with various international partners, such as Germany’s BASF, New Zealand’s Fonterra, and the US-headquartered Dupont.

She added that the company would first focus on conveying its product traceability and transparency in China, but such initiatives would also be formally launched in its overseas markets later down the road.

Messaging via tourism

At the moment, the company is educating consumers about its efforts in safe and quality manufacturing via its BY-HEALTH Transparency Factory located in Zhuhai.

The factory is opened to the public and is in fact considered an educational centre as well.

On the other hand, the company is operating a Nutrition Exploratorium, also located in Zhuhai.

BYHEALTH exploratorium 2 — BYHEALTH Nutrition Exploratorium's section where mental stress analysis is performed

“It is a nutrition-themed museum with mixed-use for education and recreation,” Gu said of the national tourist hotspot listed in travel sites such as Trip.com.

“You can have your skin test, your bone health test, genetic testing, chronic disease test, and even a mental stress analysis, and after all that, they will analyse your health. There is also a section where the algorithm can predict your health in 25 years. After all these tests, they can build a bespoke vitamin supplement for you.”