Alibaba Health and Allergan Announce Strategic Partnership to Establish a New Retail Benchmark in Medical Aesthetics

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that on September 13, Alibaba Health, a benchmark enterprise in internet healthcare, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Allergan, a global leader in medical aesthetics. On the same day, the Alibaba Health Medical Aesthetics Platform, featuring LBS (Location-Based Services) for medical aesthetic institutions, was officially launched on the Mobile Taobao and Tmall apps. This collaboration between the two companies marks the establishment of new service standards in the field of medical aesthetics.

Representatives from both sides sign strategic cooperation agreement (Photo provided by the company)

It is reported that the two parties will leverage innovative technologies such as mobile internet and artificial intelligence (AI) to integrate their advantageous resources in China’s medical aesthetics sector. They will actively explore an online-to-offline (O2O) model and collaborate through the Alibaba Health Medical Aesthetics Platform in areas including authentication verification of medical aesthetic products, consumer education, and online appointment services.

“Allergan’s Senior Vice President and President of Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Steve Shi, stated: ‘This collaboration with AliHealth will enable Chinese medical aesthetics consumers to access professional consultation services and a diverse range of treatment options more conveniently. In the future, Allergan will work hand in hand with AliHealth to help tens of millions of Chinese medical aesthetics consumers seek care at accredited medical aesthetics institutions, choose licensed practitioners, and use approved products, all under the guidance of well-trained professionals.’”

Zhong Congdi, Head of the Global Consumer Healthcare Division at Alibaba Health, believes that establishing strategic partnerships with renowned upstream brand companies like Allergan, while collaborating with medical aesthetic institutions and industry associations, can help jointly create standards for “New Medical Aesthetics.” This approach helps ensure the quality of medical aesthetic products and services on the platform, improves the consumer rights protection system, and enables more people to access high-quality products at reasonable prices and enjoy transparent services through legitimate medical institutions, thereby addressing the lack of sufficient mutual trust between offline medical aesthetic providers and consumers.

Alibaba Health disclosed that the first step in their collaboration is to provide consumers with tools and services for authenticating legitimate products. For instance, medical aesthetics consumers can easily verify the authenticity of Botox® by scanning the drug traceability code on the packaging box via the Mobile Taobao, Alipay, or Alibaba Health apps, thereby ensuring safety while pursuing personalized aesthetic enhancements.

In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese people have turned to medical aesthetics to enhance their appearance and build confidence. Sales data from Alibaba Health’s 2017 Singles’ Day shopping festival showed a 520% year-on-year increase in the transaction volume of medical aesthetic services. According to Deloitte’s “China Medical Aesthetics Market Analysis 2017” report, China’s medical aesthetics market is projected to reach $20.6 billion by 2020, positioning it to become the largest medical aesthetics market globally.

Against this backdrop, Alibaba Health has established a medical aesthetics service platform based on the location-based services (LBS) of medical aesthetics institutions. By integrating online and offline channels to deliver standardized new medical aesthetics services, it aims to enhance consumer service experiences. Consumers can access the Alibaba Health channel via the Mobile Taobao or Tmall apps, click on “Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics,” and then select nearby, vetted, and compliant medical aesthetics service providers based on their geographic location.

In addition to requiring medical aesthetic institutions and physicians to display their licenses and credentials, the Alibaba Health Medical Aesthetics Platform provides consumers with the “Worry-Free Beauty” guarantee, which includes authenticity assurance and a commitment to 100% no hidden charges. The platform also offers complimentary 90-day insurance, convenient financial installment services, and authentic photo-and-text reviews from millions of users, thereby achieving transparent pricing and standardized service processes to create a trustworthy platform for medical aesthetic consumption.