Kenvue embarks on a new journey in Chinese market
Kenvue, a pure-play consumer health company, recently finalized its separation from Johnson & Johnson, and became a fully independent company, starting its journey in China with a brand-new identity. In September, Kenvue's Chinese name Ke Fu was officially launched, marking the opening of a new chapter in the Chinese market.
In November 2021, J&J announced its intent to separate the company's consumer health business. In September 2022, the new company's name Kenvue was unveiled. Kenvue was then listed on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2023.
Kenvue China's first Innovation Open Day was successfully held in Shanghai on Friday. This event showcased Kenvue China's innovation capability and how the company is committed to realizing the extraordinary power of everyday care with continuous innovation.
"About two years after announcing the separation plan, Kenvue has started its journey in China with a brand-new identity, which is an exciting milestone. Kenvue has longstanding connections with the Chinese market. Since the 1980s, the company's brands such as Motilium, Daktarin, Band-Aid, Motrin, Tylenol and Johnson's Baby have been present in China. These iconic brands contributed to the healthy life of tens of millions of Chinese families over the past 30 years. With over three decades of legacy and heritage, Kenvue China, with its unwavering commitment to Chinese patients and consumers, will now be focused more than ever to dedicate itself to creating a better life for Chinese people," said Declan Rooney, president of Kenvue China.
The business of Kenvue China expanded with J&J China over the past three decades. Shanghai Johnson & Johnson, Johnson &Johnson China and Shanghai Johnson &Johnson Pharmaceuticals, which now are subsidiaries of Kenvue China, were founded in Shanghai in 1988, 1992 and 1995 respectively.
In order to cope with the changing market and meet the personalized health needs of the public, many multinational healthcare companies are choosing to split their businesses to improve the healthy lives of consumers or patients with more flexibility and concentration.
As a world-leading consumer health company, Kenvue has more than 22,000 employees around the world, committed to benefiting 1.2 billion lives every day. In China, Kenvue's business extends to multiple sectors including over-the-counter products, medical devices, healthy food and cosmetics. The company has four plants in Beijing and Shanghai, with more than 90 percent of products manufactured in the local market.
The Shanghai research and development center has more than 100 scientists, working on new product development for Chinese and Asia Pacific markets. By building solid capabilities and offering a broad platform for careers, Kenvue remains committed to building the best place to grow talents in the industry, and supporting the talents to become the top of the industry.
Realize the extraordinary power of everyday care
In recent years, driven by the Healthy China Initiative, the Chinese government is making tremendous efforts to shift the focus from treatment-centric healthcare to health-centric healthcare, aiming to support everyone to be the first person responsible for their own health. On the other hand, the health awareness of the public has also gradually increased, and more demands have been made on daily health management.
Rooney highlighted the purpose of Kenvue at the event on Friday, which is to "realize the extraordinary power of everyday care".
"In our view, everyday care represents science-based, holistic health solutions, available whenever and wherever it's in need, empowering individuals and families in daily life to manage and improve their health and quality of life so that they can enjoy more vibrant lives. Our vision to deliver everyday care perfectly aligns with the current trend to build up Healthy China," Rooney said.
Kenvue provides a broad portfolio throughout the healthcare journey, from disease prevention such as Listerine, to intervention such as Rhinocort and other OTC brands, and restoration such as Aveeno and healthy food in the future, delivering holistic solutions to cover the daily health needs of everyone.
Earn trust with science
Kenvue has powerful and diversified portfolios of products globally. All of Kenvue's offerings are based on rigorous clinical evidence, and designed to improve the overall health outcome of patients and consumers through continuous innovation navigated by needs.
On top of that, Kenvue has supported authorities to publish Joint Tips on Pain Management, Blue Book of Caring for Sensitive Skin of Infants and Children, Joint Tips of Holistic Oral Health and more guidelines such as the Consensus on Common Disease Management are in progress.
When commenting on the innovation of everyday care in Kenvue, Rooney said, "the innovation of everyday care in Kenvue is founded on in-depth insights of the daily health needs, and provides great support to improve adherence to treatment and shape health behaviors by optimizing product stability, convenience of use, flavor, color and dosage, which will ultimately improve the overall health outcome in the long term."
Stemming from profound insights into patients and consumers, the innovation of Kenvue plays a role in daily rituals and behaviors, eventually accumulating over time to yield substantial health benefits.
In the future, Kenvue will introduce more products in health management. For instance, in pediatric fever management, beyond OTC products, Kenvue will also provide cooling patches for physical cooling and healthy food. Kenvue pledges to become the expert in pediatric fever care, with more products catering to the various needs of children's fever management.
Through innovative product design, Kenvue continuously refines the patient's self-care experience. A better experience makes it easier for patients to adhere to treatment, fostering a positive cycle of compliance that bolsters their confidence and discipline in managing their health, ultimately leading to long-term health benefits.
Health and care anytime, anywhere
Founded on rigorous science and continuous innovation, Kenvue keeps partnering with associations, academic institutions and business partners to advance people's health literacy as well as access to health products, empowering patients and their families to obtain scientific information and products when needed, and make the right health choices for themselves and their families.
Pediatric fever is a common issue for parents, particularly in the middle of the night, which makes timely access to fever relievers an urgent need for many families. To address this, Kenvue partnered with Meituan in the Little Yellow Light Project. Leveraging Meituan's big data and logistic capabilities, coupled with Motrin and network of offline pharmacies, Kenvue has fulfilled more than three million nighttime orders in two years, effectively addressing the urgent nighttime medication needs for families with babies. In the future, Kenvue will follow the Little Yellow Light Plan to the broader market, aiming to light up more stores in thousands of counties, and promoting the continuous sharing of high-quality healthcare resources.
Children's health is pivotal to the well-being and future of the nation. They need more than trusted, science-based health products. Collaborating with healthcare authorities and pediatricians, Kenvue disseminates scientific knowledge on children's health through health education and scientific research. This empowers more families to develop health literacy from an early age, including the importance of oral hygiene, caring for sensitive skin, managing fever and respiratory conditions and practicing safe medication. This comprehensive support enables children to establish healthy habits and health management patterns early in life, setting them on a path to lifelong well-being.
In Kenvue, everyday care is holistic, scientific, accessible and deeply rooted into every moment and scene of life. It empowers everyone to make the right choice for their own health and their family members, which will have a profound impact on people's well-being and the whole of society, according to Rooney.
"As a leader, innovator and advocate of everyday care, Kenvue China will continually make our best efforts to improve health literacy and access to products, drive the development and upgrading of the health industry by accelerating innovation, supporting health education and fostering local partnerships," said Rooney. "We firmly believe that the extraordinary power of everyday care will help us further unlock the enormous potential of the Chinese market. We hope that we can join hands with everyone to use this power to build up a healthier China, and a healthier future."
