China focus: Trump’s tariff threat, BYHEALTH’s Q3 performance and more

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This edition features plans to bypass potential tariff hikes under the new Trump administration, BYHEALTH’s Q3 losses, promising research on probiotics for improved sleep, and more.

Trump’s tariff threat: China botanical extracts suppliers look to SEA to mitigate economic impact

There are plans among China botanical extracts suppliers to build operations in South East Asia in a bid to bypass potential tariffs hikes under the new Trump administration.

Yinjun Hou, vice chairman of Shaanxi Plant Extract Association, said that some of their member companies have been adopting a wait-and-see approach since last year.

The election of Donald Trump as the new US president on November 5, however, is likely to send these plans into action.

BYHEALTH’s lacklustre performance continues into Q3 as profits slide 106%

China health supplements giant BYHEALTH said that upgrades for two of its core products were slower than planned in Q3, which was one of the reasons affecting the company’s sales.

The company continues to see weak performance as net profits fell 106.30 per cent in Q3 of 2024, resulting in a net loss of RMB$22.42m (US$3.15m). The company reported a net profit of RMB$355.7m (US$49.5m) during the same time last year.

Gut-brain axis: Lactobacillus strain shown to lengthen sleep duration in 28-day trial

The supplementation of a Lactobacillus strain could lengthen sleep duration by about an hour in healthy adults under mild stress, say findings of a 28-day clinical trial that took place in China.

Researchers pointed out this could be due to changes in the gut microbiota and production of certain short-chain fatty acids after probiotics supplementation.

China sees greater shifts in multivitamin spending from pharmacies to e-commerce – Haleon

The company pointed out a growing preference for spending online, leading to “some weakness” in the pharmacy channel. E-commerce now brings in about 30 per cent of the company’s revenues in China, up 13 per cent yoy in terms of organic growth.

China is Haleon’s second largest market after the US. The consumer health company is especially strong in China for its bone health brand Caltrate and pain relief brand Fenbid.

Kids’ bedtimes affects gut microbiota: Study

Prior research has shown that children who go to bed early, and therefore wake up earlier, have a lower BMI and better performance at school for certain subjects.

Given this, the objective of the current study was to examine the metabolic mechanisms associated with early bedtime and wakefulness in children, with special attention to the composition of their gut microbiota and metabolic pathways.