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How a US Supplements Brand Rebuilt Its China Business for Growth

A US health and nutrition brand partnered with WPIC to expand its China business across commerce, content, and customer acquisition.

Industry

Key Deliverables

In 2025, WPIC took over the China operations of a mid-sized American supplements brand from its previous trade partner. The company already had flagship stores on Tmall and JD.com, a recognised position in omega-3 supplements, and an established customer base.

Demand for fish oil and preventative health products was growing, but the brand’s China business was still centred largely on traditional marketplaces. As more consumers turned to social platforms to research products, compare ingredients, and follow recommendations, the brand needed a stronger presence before shoppers reached the point of purchase.

An Established Business With More Room to Grow

This was not a market-entry project. The brand already had meaningful sales in China, but much of the existing model depended on consumers arriving on Tmall or JD.com with purchase intent already formed.

WPIC assumed responsibility for the full China operation, including store management, pricing, logistics and supply chain, marketing, creative, influencer partnerships, and official social media accounts. Managing those functions together made it possible to set product, channel and marketing priorities around the same commercial goals.

The next phase of growth required more than improving marketplace performance. The brand needed to reach consumers earlier, focus investment around the strongest product opportunities and connect social discovery more closely with commerce.

Reaching Consumers Earlier

WPIC launched new stores on RedNote (Xiaohongshu) and Douyin while continuing to grow the existing Tmall and JD.com business. The new channels extended the brand into product discovery, research, and content-led commerce, while the established marketplaces remained central to conversion.

The product strategy also became more focused. Rather than spreading investment evenly across the catalogue, WPIC concentrated resources around products with stronger demand and growth potential, then aligned media, content, and promotions around those priorities.

More than 100 creators were activated on RedNote, generating 2.6 million impressions and over 32,000 interactions. Livestreaming and short-form video added another sales channel, generating nearly half a million dollars in sales while giving consumers more opportunities to learn about the brand’s products before buying.

Together, these changes gave the brand a broader route to consumers without weakening the marketplace business already driving sales.

What Changed in the First Year

Within the first year of the partnership, the brand surpassed US$25 million in net sales, nearly 3 times the level achieved under the previous operator.

Tmall and JD.com remained core sales channels, but growth was now supported by a wider mix of social discovery, creator content, and livestreaming. Priority products could also be supported across marketing, merchandising, pricing, and stock planning rather than through isolated campaigns.

The result was a larger China business with more ways to generate demand and convert it.

Building for the Next Stage of Growth

The most significant change was not simply the addition of RedNote and Douyin. It was the shift from a business centred on marketplace stores to one where commerce, content, product strategy and operations worked towards the same growth priorities.

For global health and nutrition brands already selling in China, this is often the harder stage. The stores are open, the products have demand, and the market opportunity is proven. Growth then depends on choosing where to place the next investment and making sure the rest of the business can support it.

For this brand, that approach turned an established China presence into a substantially larger business within the first year of the partnership.

Related work

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Superheros – New Roots Herbal

Gut Health – Microbiome Labs

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