Contac Rebrands and Partners with Retail Pharmacies to Advance Respiratory Health Together

BOAO, Hainan, Sept. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Contac held a grand brand renewal ceremony at the 2021 China Health Industry (International) Ecological Conference (hereinafter referred to as the "Sipu Conference"). Gu Haiying, General Manager of GSK Consumer Healthcare Mainland China and Hong Kong; Yao Peichun, Chairman of Sino-American Tianjin SmithKline Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.; Zhang Zhanhong, General Manager of the OTC Division, GSK Consumer Healthcare; and Zhou Qiang, Deputy General Manager of Sino-American Tianjin SmithKline Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., together with executive guests from eight leading retail pharmacy enterprises in China, jointly unveiled the new brand. This brand upgrade reflects Contac's continuous innovation to meet increasingly evolving consumer demands, and underscores its solemn commitment to safeguarding the respiratory health of the general public.

Contac Brand Refresh Launch Ceremony

“Leveraging its robust R&D capabilities, Contac continues to introduce innovative products. The successful launch of this new product will help enhance consumers' effectiveness in managing respiratory conditions,” stated Ms. Gu Haiying, General Manager of GSK Consumer Healthcare for Mainland China and Hong Kong, at the brand refresh ceremony. “We hope to join hands with industry partners to jointly build an ecosystem for consumer self-health management, promote the efficient development of China's healthcare industry, and contribute to the ‘Healthy China’ initiative.”

Ms. Gu Haiying, General Manager of GSK Consumer Healthcare, Mainland China and Hong Kong

Cold medicines represent the largest category within over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Driven by substantial overall demand, they serve as a critical traffic-driving segment for brick-and-mortar pharmacies. Additionally, as a highly complementary category, cold medicines offer extensive opportunities for cross-promotion and bundled sales with other product lines, making them a vital contributor to average basket value growth for pharmacies. However, in recent years, cold medicines—particularly Western pharmaceutical formulations—have increasingly struggled to meet consumer expectations and pharmacy operational needs, largely due to tightening regulatory oversight and severe market homogenization.

As a professional brand deeply rooted in the respiratory health sector for over 30 years, Contac proactively addresses market challenges with the launch of its new product, Contac Paracetamol, Caffeine and Chlorphenamine Maleate Tablets. Containing three key active ingredients, it provides rapid and potent relief from seven major cold and flu symptoms, including fever, headache, nasal congestion, and runny nose, significantly enhancing consumers' efficiency in managing colds. Formulated without pseudoephedrine to align with current regulatory trends, the new product also delivers expanded omnichannel support for pharmacies. This facilitates rapid growth across in-store shelf optimization, the new retail O2O sector, and the development of high-quality private traffic ecosystems, ultimately helping retail pharmacies improve sales per square meter and unlock their business growth potential.

Leveraging its profound brand heritage and professional reputation in the respiratory health sector, the brand upgrade of Contac will unleash robust capabilities in brand promotion and traffic generation. Through a series of collaborative brand-building initiatives, it will empower pharmacy partners to develop private domain traffic ecosystems in a homogenized market, enhance brand recognition, and drive business growth. Furthermore, complemented by consumer education programs and respiratory health awareness campaigns, it will elevate the professional service standards of pharmacy pharmacists. By disseminating relevant health knowledge and wellness tips to consumers, these efforts will ultimately strengthen consumer loyalty and satisfaction toward both the brand and partner pharmacies.

New Contac Paracetamol, Caffeine and Chlorpheniramine Maleate Tablets Successfully Launched

At the Xipu Night Talk, New Contac invited over 400 pharmacy chain partners to jointly witness its brand relaunch event. Zhang Zhanhong, General Manager of the OTC Business Unit, GSK Consumer Healthcare China, emphasized: “The brand upgrade of New Contac represents not only our continuous innovation and breakthrough, but also the fulfillment of our commitment to respiratory health. New Contac focuses on the experience of every consumer and is dedicated to achieving mutual benefit and win-win cooperation with our partners. We aim to join hands with retail pharmacy partners to ‘share the same breath, share the same destiny,’ build a healthy and robust business market, stand firmly at the pharmacy service window, and safeguard the respiratory health of every household.”

Zhang Zhanhong, General Manager, China OTC Division, GSK Consumer Healthcare

On the occasion of this brand refresh, Contac has launched an initiative inviting industry partners to become its "Respiratory Health Brand Partners." Leveraging its new brand positioning, the brand will collaborate with industry peers to advance the principles of rational medication use, symptom-targeted treatment, and precision care tailored to specific needs. This initiative aims to enrich the respiratory health product portfolio, facilitate the exchange of innovative insights and R&D breakthroughs, and foster collaborative efforts to meet the public's growing focus on physical well-being and proactive health management. Looking ahead, Contac will continue to leverage its robust capabilities to support the development of retail pharmacies and drive the upgrading of the healthcare industry.