BIOSTIME’s New Product Launches Aim at Mother & Baby High-Growth Segments

The COVID-19 epidemic has accelerated premiumization, and segmentation trends in China's infant nutrition sector, driven by a greater awareness of the role diet plays in the development of children's immune systems. China is the world's second-largest market for maternal and infant products and is expected to reach 4 trillion by the end of 2020 ^[1]. Young parents of the post-90s generations are becoming the main force driving the consumption of mother & baby products. Their diversified and high-end demands have led to a more segmented and sophisticated maternal and infant market. To align with these trends, BIOSTIME, a brand under H&H Group that focuses on maternal and infant nutrition, recently released four new products, including three baby nutrition products and an upgraded iteration of its HealthyTimes organic milk powder.

Doubling down on baby nutrition products.

BIOSTIME launched three new baby nutrition products, including a probiotics platinum edition, calcium and vitamin D granules, and DHA algae oil + ARA gel candies, to meet consumer demands for intestinal health-promoting products, bone health, and visual/cognitive development. Bifidobacterium breve M-16V is used in the probiotics platinum edition. This bacterium is included in the positive list of “Strains that can be used in infant food," but is rarely used in other products, allowing BIOSTIME to differentiate its products from its competitors. Biostime’s three new products, together with BIOSTIME’s existing probiotics powder for children, probiotics sachet (for children), and probiotics drops, mean Biostime now has a comprehensive portfolio of infant nutrition and probiotic products.  

Data shows that probiotics supplement, a traditional strength of H&H Group, has maintained a high growth rate in recent years. In 2019, BIOSTIME probiotics realized 1.26 billion yuan  in sales, an increase of 20.1% ^[2]. In the first three months of this year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the demand for probiotics supplements increased significantly, and BIOSTIME revenue increased by 36.3% year-on-year ^[3]. In addition, H&H Group's annual financial reports for the past four years show that the proportion of probiotic supplements in overall revenue has increased from 7.8% in 2016 to 11.5% in 2019. According to Euromonitor data, BIOSTIME has been the NO.1 brand of infant and children probiotics in the world for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 and accounts for 70% of China’s infant and children probiotics market share.

Upgrading the organic infant formula brand

H&H Group also upgraded its HealthyTimes organic infant formula by adding the brand name BIOSTIME on the packaging to further increase brand recognition in the Chinese organic infant milk powder market.

In recent years, China’s organic infant milk powder market has been booming with a year-on-year growth rate of 22%, nearly three times the growth rate in the overall milk powder market (8% growth of the whole milk powder market) ^[4]. H&H Group's 2019 annual report shows that the revenue growth of HealthyTimes organic infant milk powder maintained strong growth momentum by increasing 33.8% year-on-year. According to Nielsen's latest data in 2020, the growth rate of HealthyTimes organic infant milk powder has already exceeded 59%.

The past year has witnessed BIOSTIME’s continuous efforts to expand its infant formula portfolio by focusing on high-end, super-high-end, organic, goat milk, HMO, and other segments.

• In 2020 H1 launched BIOSTIME HMO (human milk oligosaccharides) infant formula in cross-border e-commerce channels.

• At the end of last year, it launched a 100% goat milk protein formula, which achieved sales of 150 million yuan in just one month of its launching ^[5].

According to the H&H Group 2019 annual report, BIOSTIME infant formula sales increased by 12.5% year-on-year, driven by the strong growth of high-end milk powder lines, including the Star Series, HealthyTimes organic infant formula and goat milk powder. It ranks NO.4 in the super high-end infant milk powder market in China ^[6] and so far has registered seven series of infant formula milk powders ^[7].