Bayer and Meituan Pharmaceutical Health Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement to Co-Develop Dermatological Health Category

China Finance and Economics News, October 14th: "Digital Intelligence Empowerment, Muscle Activation for Health" - The strategic cooperation signing ceremony between Bayer and Meituan Medicine Health was recently held in Beijing.

In the future, the two parties will focus on category co-construction in the field of skin health, and expand the depth and breadth of cooperation in multiple areas such as online retail, digital marketing, and health science education. Empowered by digital means, they aim to create an integrated online and offline professional, high-quality, and convenient skin health solution for the people of China, helping to improve the health literacy level of the nation.

Recently, the "Skin Health Trend Report" released by Meituan Medicine and Health shows that user demand for skin medications in 2024 has reached a new high over the past four years. In addition, the O2O market for antifungal drugs used externally on the skin, including those for hair and scalp, as well as medications for dermatitis and eczema, has seen significant growth. It is evident that consumers obtaining skin health solutions through online retail channels has become the "new normal."

Yan Wei, Head of the Broad Expansion Customer Division at Bayer HealthCare Consumer Products China, stated that most dermatological medications come from the retail end. Bayer has long engaged in deep collaboration with its partners, combining its professional expertise with the channel capabilities of chain pharmacies to enhance the accessibility of high-quality skin health solutions. "Through this renewed partnership with Meituan Medical & Health, empowered by digital means, both parties will upgrade their cooperation across three dimensions: breadth of time, width of space, and depth of innovation, leveraging their respective strengths to expand the reach of skin health services."

Data shows that Meituan Medicine has accumulated over 300 million transaction users, while Bayer has a network covering nearly 500,000 sales outlets in China's skin health sector. The strong collaboration between the two parties will not only reach broader markets in third- and fourth-tier cities and rural areas but also provide services to consumers across wider time dimensions, enabling users to access Bayer’s professional health knowledge and high-quality product services promptly and conveniently.

Previously, Bayer and Meituan's pharmaceutical health division have collaborated in the health consumer goods sectors such as nutrition products and women’s health. This collaboration has now expanded to skin health, covering areas of significant consumer interest including hair care, dermatitis, and eczema. Wang Dan, General Manager of Meituan's pharmaceutical health instant retail business unit, stated that the range of skin health products under Bayer's health consumer goods portfolio—covering external antifungal treatments, dermatitis and eczema solutions, and anti-dandruff and hair loss prevention—offers a broad product lineup that can meet the health needs of a wider consumer base. "In the future, we will also expand our cooperation into more categories and product lines."

Against the backdrop of comprehensive health, the retail end is no longer just a place for daily medicine purchases and medication guidance. The "Opinions of the State Council on Promoting High-Quality Development of Service Consumption" released in August this year pointed out that it is necessary to "strengthen the functions of retail pharmacies in health promotion and nutritional health."

Bayer has long been providing refined health education services and rational medication guidance to chain pharmacies, O2O platforms, and other partners. Meanwhile, through professional health management and disease prevention training, it supports them in building a health education system, accelerating their transformation into "comprehensive health service providers." In this collaboration with Meituan's pharmaceutical and health sector, Bayer will leverage its extensive experience and professional resources to assist the platform in offering expert-approved, guideline-recommended skin health management and solutions, empowering consumers to make correct health management decisions more quickly and effectively.

Currently, developing "high-tech, high-efficiency, and high-quality" new productive forces has become the main theme across all industries. The high-quality development of the health industry also relies on digital support. Bayer adheres to an innovative service model of "co-building and sharing." In the field of skin health, it aims to leverage digital technology to break down "barriers," covering diversified scenarios across categories. Bayer seeks to utilize platforms like Meituan Medicine and Health for more refined and real-time user operations, delivering its scientific concepts, professional knowledge, and high-quality product services in skin health to better meet users' multi-layered needs for skin health management.

Wang Dan shared: "Nowadays, on Meituan, people are not only buying medicines, but an increasing number of users are accessing health consultation services, health management plans, and more through this platform. This places higher demands on the professionalism of online health education and consultation services. This collaboration with Bayer aims to leverage its expertise in skin health to further enhance the professional health service capabilities of Meituan's medical and health platform."

On the one hand, based on the traffic and data of Meituan's medical and health platform, Bayer can focus on user pain points and needs, providing more vivid, rich, and easy-to-understand professional health content. This will help the platform offer personalized skin health management plans for different users and scientifically recommend health solutions. On the other hand, Bayer will also leverage its years of expertise in dermatology to support the online physician teams of platforms like Meituan's medical and health sector, bringing consumers more professional, timely, and precise health consulting services.

"Health accessibility should be advanced in two aspects: product services and public health awareness. We have been consistently promoting diversified online health education across multiple platforms, such as collaborating with well-known health platforms like Chunyu Health and Ping An Health, to deliver our professional health content to consumers facing skin health concerns through various touchpoints. Leveraging Meituan's digital advantages in pharmaceuticals and health, we can more precisely match professional skin health management solutions with user needs, targeting them effectively," said Yan Wei.

It is reported that the two parties are also actively exploring more possibilities in cross-category and diversified scenario services. With Meituan's diversified scenarios in both in-store and at-home businesses within the pharmaceuticals and health sector, they aim to reach a broader population and provide a more scientific and trustworthy "one-stop" skin health solution.