Renowned Chinese Herbal Brand Beijing Tongrentang Partners with Jialetao to Expand into Cross-border B2C Health E-commerce
With the rise of the global cross-border e-commerce market, China, home to over 200 million cross-border B2C e-commerce consumers, is poised to become the world’s largest cross-border e-commerce consumption market. In October 2015, Beijing Tongrentang invested in and established “Tongrentang International,” an internet company focused on the global health vertical. Its aim is to integrate global medical and healthcare resources through an internet-based model, delivering health products and services to consumers in China and around the world.
On September 12, 2016, Tongrentang International and Chongqing Jialetao signed a strategic cooperation agreement for the 2016–2017 period, aiming to pioneer a new era in the cross-border big health sector through an Internet TV-plus-e-commerce model. A reporter from VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) conducted a comprehensive review of this development.
Chongqing Jialetao Technology Co., Ltd., established in August 2015, is an internet company specializing in TV-based e-commerce. It is primarily positioned to serve households through an interactive e-commerce platform that integrates television and mobile terminals. TGO is the company’s first TV-based e-commerce platform.
Tongrentang International is capitalized by Tongrentang Chinese Medicine, which is listed in Hong Kong. In 1992, Beijing Tongrentang began to explore overseas markets, and in 2013, Tongrentang Chinese Medicine was listed in Hong Kong. To date, Tongrentang Chinese Medicine has opened 120 traditional pharmacies and clinics in 20 countries around the world, serving nearly 30 million overseas consultation and treatment patients, with over 100 million people worldwide aware of the Tongrentang brand.
On October 9, 2015, Tongrentang International’s cross-border e-commerce platform, “Tianrantao,” was officially launched. The platform will focus on imported health products sourced directly from local origins, while also facilitating the overseas “export” of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
To ensure quality and safety, "Tianran Tao" has established a traceability system for all domestic and international products. While personal shoppers and overseas online shopping platforms struggle to guarantee consistent quality and pricing for cross-border goods, the cross-border e-commerce platform "Tianran Tao" ensures that its online offerings match the quality and price of those available overseas.
From smartphones to televisions, and from the young to the elderly, consumer scenarios are constantly evolving. The collaboration between Tongrentang International and Chongqing Jialetao not only expands Tongrentang International’s e-commerce presence in TV shopping but also facilitates Chongqing Jialetao’s global expansion, with each party’s strengths compensating for the other’s weaknesses.
Beijing Tongrentang, founded in 1669, boasts a history of 347 years. As a significant carrier of China’s traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry and culture, it is actively undergoing strategic transformation in the new era. Consistently people-centric, Tongrentang International integrates health screening, health cloud computing, and mobile internet technologies to provide consumers with comprehensive health solutions spanning prevention, wellness, treatment, insurance, and rehabilitation.
Currently, Chongqing Jialetao Technology Co., Ltd. has its headquarters located in the Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing, with a registered capital of 20 million RMB. It has established a branch office in Beijing and set up R&D bases in Chongqing, Shenzhen, and Dalian. Domestically, it operates across six regional divisions; internationally, it has established five overseas subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Australia.
TGO is a new-media e-commerce platform rooted in Chinese households and driven by users’ actual needs. By integrating features such as multi-screen live interactive broadcasting, TV-based product selection, mobile ordering, and one-click payment via “Bangbang Pay,” TGO bridges television and mobile internet channels, addressing many of the pain points associated with traditional TV shopping. It delivers an innovative service experience to Chinese household TV users, enabling them to purchase specialty and premium products from across China without the need for registration, passwords, or bank card linking. Users can also directly select and buy globally curated cross-border bonded and duty-paid products on their TVs.
This collaboration will establish a strategic partnership characterized by complementary strengths, resource sharing, and mutual benefit, jointly promoting openness, innovation, and integration in China’s family health and wellness sector.
This strategic collaboration will initially focus on cross-border e-commerce in the health-specific vertical. Through TGO’s new media e-commerce platform, users can purchase health and wellness products carefully selected by Tongrentang. Additionally, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that both parties have further strategic plans for the broader healthcare sector. They will jointly build a comprehensive healthcare service segment integrating community health services, health insurance, overseas health check-ups and recuperation, chronic disease management, and sales of health supplements.
Leveraging the TGO new media e-commerce platform, Chongqing Jialetao delivers services to households and communities through multi-screen interaction between large-screen TVs and small-screen mobile phones, extending its reach to countless families. Tongrentang International meets consumers’ demand for quality by providing premium global health and medical resources, along with high-quality health products and services.