‘Great step forward’: Haleon to beef up Centrum’s digital marketing and e-commerce sales in Thailand

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Haleon is working with e-commerce enabler CREA to grow the digital presence of its brands, including Centrum, in Thailand. ©Getty Images

Haleon, formerly GSK Consumer Health, has entered into a partnership with CREA – an e-commerce enabler to increase the presence brands such as Centrum across Thailand’s e-commerce and social media platforms.

Aside from Centrum, brands under Haleon include vitamin and mineral supplements brands Caltrate, oral care products Sensodyne, Paradontax, Polident, and digestive health product Eno. 

CREA would be helping to drive demand, generate content, sales, and consumer data to more effectively manage supply chains, as well as to respond to changes in consumer demand.

“We believe that our understanding of human health behaviours combined with CREA’s strong digital expertise will allow us to make a great step forward in promoting access to self-care through ecommerce in Thailand,” said Jean-Francois Couvé, general manager, Haleon.  

For instance, CREA would help drive brand awareness and demand generation through e-commerce platforms Lazada, Shopee, via short video streaming app TikTok, as well as influencer marketing.

A lot of operation goes behind in supporting brands in reaching consumers. One side is to leverage on technologies and expertise to scale the volume and operation by providing seamless service of the value chain, from demand generation to fulfilment.

“At the same time, we allow them to operate seamlessly across multiple channels, with opportunities to operate in different marketplace,” Alessandro Piscini, founder and co-CEO of the Thailand-headquartered firm told NutraIngredients-Asia.

Piscini believes that TikTok and the brand’s own website are also opportunities for brands to grow online.

“We also see that there is a huge and growing interest to increase the presence of channels, and we see TikTok as an opportunity, as well as more specific channels like the brand.com, which is the brand’s website, to grow the relationship with the consumers.

“I think TikTok is very important for us even outside of our partnership with Haleon, because we see it as a growing channel in SEA,” he said, adding that the decision-making process on which product to purchase was increasingly influenced by content on these platforms.

On the commercial front, Piscini said that the plan was to generate sales through promotional activities and providing support to sellers.

Product purchase can happen anywhere

Brands should also build an omnichannel journey for consumers, instead of only focusing on e-commerce, since product purchase could happen anywhere, Piscini pointed out.  

“Companies should look at customers’ journey and build an omnichannel journey for them. The decision-making process on which products to purchase can happen anywhere now. You might be an offline store and having consumers deciding whether to buy the product online.

“Both offline and online channels should co-exist.”

Aside from Haleon, CREA has also worked with US-based SuperOrdinary and enjoys a presence in Singapore and Malaysia.