According to data from Moojing Market Intelligence, Taobao and Tmall’s Medicinal and Food Homologous (MFH) health product market has exceeded 20 billion yuan in the past year, with the market size increasing by 22.3% year-on-year, and continues to be in a stable growth trend. The unit price per customer of MFH products has grown rapidly, with the average price doubling compared to 2019. According to the “Generation Z Nutrition Consumption Trend Report” released by Xinhuanet, young people aged 18-35 are the main force in health consumption, accounting for as high as 83.7% of the health consumer population; and, on average, each urban resident spends more than 1,000 yuan on health every year, which shows their strong purchasing power.
From once being out of reach to becoming a current consumer trend, what exactly do traditional Chinese tonics do so well that they have such magical power?
The Long Journey of Chinese Nutrition
“Chinese Nutrition” is a concept born from the traditional Chinese health culture. After thousands of years of inheritance and practice, the new idea of “homology of medicine and food” has gradually taken root in the minds of consumers, promoting the prosperity and development of Chinese tonics. In recent years, the National Health Commission has promulgated more than 100 kinds of foods with medicinal and food homologous functions, such as bird’s nest, donkey-hide gelatin, ginseng, fish maw, emblic leafflower, bergamot, etc., providing unlimited possibilities for product innovation.
It is worth mentioning that although the “homology of medicine and food” has become a consumer consensus, due to the factors such as cumbersome eating methods, poor flavor, and insufficient market supervision, the market chaos occurs and the customers’ trust is seriously shaken. There is a huge gap between market demand and product supply. To take the lead, companies must keep up with the trend and turn to the innovation path of traditional Chinese tonics.
The Transformation of New Chinese Tonics
1. The functions are further subdivided to save time and effort.
Facing a consumer market dominated by young people, the new Chinese tonic market is not absolutely oriented to price-quality ratio. The functions of Chinese tonics are complex. One ingredient usually covers multiple therapeutic effects, or multiple ingredients work together to take effect. It is difficult for consumers to quickly select the right products according to their needs.
In response to this pain point, companies should be the first to take the lead, segment product functions, and create point-to-point single products for common sub-health problems such as insomnia, hair loss, etc., while allowing consumers to quickly search product information and become familiar with the brand image.
2. Healthy, Delicious & Eye-Catching Snacks
Faced with the characteristics of “long cycle and slow effect” of Chinese tonics, the fast-moving consumption and snacking of tonic foods have become new trends.
Nourishing snacks with individual and portable packaging, novel and delicious flavors can not only effectively relieve people’s physical fatigue, but also offer consumers a more pleasant life experience. This is exactly in line with young people’s lifestyle. At the same time, the exquisite and eye-catching packaging has also triggered a craze on online platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo. The Chinese tonics, as a new consumer trend, are leading the health market.
At the upcoming “Healthplex Expo, Natural & Nutraceutical Products Shenzhen 2023” (HNC Shenzhen) – Tonic Food & Culture Festival from December 14th to 16th, high-quality tonic food therapy companies, mainly from South China, will also compete to appear, bringing together various MFH products. For example, donkey hide gelatin, ginseng, edible fungi, velvet antler, health tea, bird’s nest, honey, etc. are transformed into nutritious snacks with various kinds, good taste and appearance. The visitors can witness the innovative vitality of the Chinese tonic market and deeply experience the collision and fusion of the traditional health culture from South China and modern civilization. Welcome to take a relaxing Chinese tonic journey.
2023
14-16, Dec.
HNC Shenzhen
Tonic Food & Culture Festival
HNC Exhibits
The Way of Entry for the Rise of Brands
1. Emphasis on Product R&D to Achieve Category Breakthroughs
In order to make ready-to-eat and snackable products that are popular with consumers, it is necessary not only to improve the nutritional effect, but also to innovatively integrate the product form and the application scenarios. Creative categories and diversified marketing are inseparable from professional analyses and industry standards, so as to accurately grasp the direction of the Chinese tonic industry.
At HNC Shenzhen 2023 – Tonic Food & Culture Festival, industry forums will be held concurrently, including “Seminar on Innovation and Development of Health Food”, “Health Brand Marketing Practical Application Forum”, “The 11th Nutraceutical Industry Development Conference” (NIDC), etc., focusing on hot topics such as the innovation and the marketing of Chinese tonic food, and discussing on the functional ingredients of MFH products, the internationalization, standardization and modernization of traditional Chinese medicine, etc., to provide attendees with the most professional and authoritative answers and guidance on industry development.
2. Creating Emotional Links and Cultivating Customer Relationships
Marketing is one of the key factors in the rise of today’s brands. Brands should take advantage of cultural values to continuously engage consumers. In this regard, in order to increase its oversea market share, Korea Ginseng Corporation chose to open a ginseng museum café in downtown Manhattan, USA, to introduce the thousand-year history of ginseng to each guest in a very interesting way, so as to cultivate Western consumers. Moreover, in the Asian market, it chose different spokespersons to seize the younger consumer market and made use of the trendy culture that is popular in Asia to resonate emotionally with customers to shorten the psychological distance.
Source：Global Newswire
3. Emphasizing on Channel Operations and Cultivating Customer Stickiness
The transformation of the market is inseparable from the breakthrough of channels. Take Xiaoxiandun (小仙炖) as an example. Xiaoxiandun pioneered the “Cyclical Service” model. According to the user’s package contents, Xiaoxiandun delivered products on a weekly basis. At the same time, if the user’s address is changed temporarily, it can also be flexibly modified on the brand’s self-developed applet to ensure that the service is uninterrupted, effectively improving consumers’ stickiness and repurchase rate. A strong supply chain system is the guarantee for the smooth running of this model.
Source：Xiaoxiandun’s account on Xiaohongshu
Traditional Chinese tonic products are mostly sold offline. As the e-commerce industry ushers in a new round of development opportunities, Chinese tonic enterprises take advantage of the trend, and the proportion of online sales increased significantly. In response to users’ demands for “freshness, convenience and timeliness”, there are still more ways to play in product channels.
In order to promote traditional Chinese tonic culture, the HNC Shenzhen 2023 – Tonic Food & Culture Festival is going to welcome well-known enterprises such as Dong’e Ejiao, Xianzhilou, KONEN, CBM Ginseng, Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical Group, Huangshan Yunle, Guangzhou Hanfang, Xianzhiling, Hongshou, Jianfeng Health, GHT, etc., boosting the upgrading and development of the Chinese tonic industry. We look forward that the national brands are able to gain a foothold in the international health market!
*Text edited and translated from WeChat@hncexpo
Upcoming HNC Exhibitions
