Meituan Launches Special Medical Foods Zone for Singles' Day, Targeting 'Allergy-Sensitive Babies' and Rare Disease Patients

With rising health awareness, health-related consumption has emerged as a major highlight of this year’s Double 11 shopping festival.

According to Meituan data, in the past week, search volume for foods for special medical purposes (hereinafter referred to as FSMPs) on the Meituan platform increased by nearly 40% week-on-week; search volume for nutritional and wellness products also rose by more than 30% week-on-week.

Amid the Double 11 shopping festival, purchasing health products has become a common choice for many households. “It’s getting cold, so we need to buy some supplements to help boost the health of our elderly family members,” said one consumer. Another parent stated, “Our baby is allergic to milk protein and develops eczema and diarrhea when consuming regular infant formula, so we can only use specialized formula. This Double 11, we plan to stock up in advance while the prices are favorable.”

Specialized formula milk powder is a type of food for special medical purposes (FSMP). FSMPs are specially processed and formulated foods designed to meet the specific nutritional or dietary needs of individuals with particular diseases. In addition to infants with allergies, many patients with rare diseases also require daily consumption of FSMPs. Among the 32 rare diseases listed in China’s first national catalog of rare diseases, FSMP intervention is required for all, with 18 necessitating lifelong, adequate usage. Furthermore, FSMPs can be used for nutritional support in patients with chronic diseases and those who are hospitalized.

In recent years, policy support for foods for special medical purposes (FSMP) has been gradually strengthened. In April this year, the "Special Action Plan to Promote Health Consumption," jointly issued by 12 departments including the Ministry of Commerce and the National Health Commission, explicitly proposed optimizing the market supply of special foods and focusing on the development of FSMP.

In response to policy calls and to meet users’ health consumption demands during the Double 11 shopping festival, Meituan’s self-operated pharmacy has recently launched its “Health Double 11” campaign. The dedicated event section features not only nourishing health products such as donkey-hide gelatin (Ejiao), bird’s nest, and protein powder, but also foods for special medical purposes (FSMP) including Alfamino Junior, Pepti Junior, and Neocate. Substantial coupons are also offered to users. Customers who purchase FSMP products can join exclusive community groups to enjoy personalized Q&A services from registered dietitians as well as community-only coupons.

“Meituan’s self-operated pharmacy has always been committed to meeting the health needs of diverse populations. To date, it has launched nearly 50 formulas for special medical purposes (FSMP) through an official direct-procurement model and continues to expand its product offerings, aiming to provide more health options for those in need,” said a representative from Meituan’s self-operated pharmacy.

▲ Meituan Launches “Health Double 11” Campaign. Image source: Meituan App