Nasdaq-listed ChromaDex, backed by Li Ka-shing, eyes China’s health care market with its flagship Tru Niagen anti-ageing supplement
- ChromaDex links up with Sinopharm to push Tru Niagen via e-commerce channels, plans to seek approval to sell in mainland retail stores
- China’s market for such supplements is seen surging to 27 billion yuan by 2023 from 5.1 billion yuan in 2020, iiMedia forecasts
The firm, which counts Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing among its backers, has partnered with Sinopharm Xingsha Pharmaceuticals (Xiamen) to manage and market its top-grossing flagship anti-ageing product Tru Niagen on e-commerce platforms.
The Chinese market “is very important in the long term, perhaps the most important,” Los Angeles-based Fried said in a video interview. An ageing population and more discerning consumers are propelling sales while also intensifying competition, he added.
Net sales of Tru Niagen increased 24 per cent to US$14.8 million in the third quarter, accounting for 86 per cent of the group revenue, according to its exchange filing on November 3. Losses, however, widened to US$21.8 million for the nine-month period from US$13.8 million a year earlier.
ChromaDex plans to seek regulatory approval to sell the supplement in mainland retail stores. While sales through online platforms like Tmall, JD, WeChat and Koala are permissible since the product is shipped from outside China, sales growth would be capped given the per-person and per-year restrictions on purchases.