China's pharma's go global - Shaun Rein

Image via WikipediaShaun Rein of the China Market Research Group (CMR) continues his analysis of Chinese companies going global, depicting today the young, but fast developing pharmaceutical industry. His by many scandals trust is a key word among China's food and drug producers, domestically and internationally.

Pharmaceutical company respondents understood that they operate in a low trust environment and hope that a strong brand image can be used for strategic purposes to increase market share. As one respondent explained, "we believe in winning by the brand. Once you develop a good brand image you can use it as a tool to open further opportunities and create a bigger market." Creating a strong brand image and building brand awareness is especially critical to China's pharmaceutical companies as they look to win consumers' trust in the quality, safety, and effectiveness of their products.

Chinese producers have started to move into developing markets, including Russia, as a marketing strategy, rather than taking on the tightly regulated and tough developed markets. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) do also better in other Asian countries.

Respondents identify cultural differences as the most challenging obstacle facing them in their move overseas. TCM manufacturers in particular fear difficulty finding demand for their drugs in Western markets, given that raw ingredients, and medicine characteristics such as taste and smell differ greatly from Western medicine's. Thus, while a full 80% of respondents produce TCM for the domestic market, only 20% of respondents are looking to take their TCM products abroad.

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Shaun Rein is one of the leading voices on China's economy. Of course he is also a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your conference, Shaun Rein
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