Tongrentang and WeDoctor Highlighted in 'Find Medicine at Tongrentang, Seek Care via WeDoctor' Slogan as Both Brands Enter 2023 Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands

Recently, the 2023 Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands list (hereinafter referred to as the “List”) and its full report were released. Against the backdrop of ongoing uncertainty in the global economy, this year’s List welcomed six new entrants. WeDoctor, a digital healthcare company, made its debut on the List as a representative brand of China’s medical services industry. Yunnan Baiyao, Beijing Tongrentang, and CR SANJIU were included as leading brands in pharmaceutical manufacturing, pharmaceutical retail, and pharmaceutical commerce in China.

This year’s Top 100 Brands list features companies from 21 industries, with only four from the healthcare sector: Yunnan Baiyao (ranked 68th, $2.665 billion), Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. (ranked 81st, $2.159 billion), WeDoctor (ranked 89th, $1.717 billion), and CR SANJIU (ranked 96th, $1.559 billion). The total brand value of the healthcare companies on the list amounts to $8.100 billion. Notably, WeDoctor is the only healthcare brand newly added to the list this year. Tencent, Alibaba, and Moutai occupy the top three spots, respectively.

The ranking report suggests that the healthcare brand lineup has expanded with the inclusion of the digital health platform WeDoctor and the return of CR SANJIU. The report notes: “Among the six brands making their debut on this year’s list, some achieved substantial value growth over the past year or were relatively less affected by uncertain shocks; others were included because new reference data became available, enabling Kantar to objectively calculate their brand values for the first time.”

Kantar BrandZ data is considered the gold standard in the field of global brand valuation. Business-oriented, it combines rigorous financial analysis with extensive brand equity research to quantify the contribution of brands to corporate financial performance, and is hailed as the most comprehensive brand equity database. Eligibility criteria for inclusion in its Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands list include: the brand was originally founded in mainland China; the brand belongs to a publicly listed company, or its financial data has been audited by a major global accounting firm and made public; and Chinese unicorn brands must have publicly available, up-to-date valuations.

Top 100 Healthcare Brands: Total Brand Value Reaches $8.1 Billion

Among the four listed brands from the healthcare industry, WeDoctor focuses on upgrading medical services through digital intelligence and stands as a representative of innovative medical services in China. As an internationally leading digital health platform, WeDoctor is the founder of China’s first internet hospital—the Wuzhen Internet Hospital. According to available information, WeDoctor has built five major business segments—digital healthcare, digital pharmaceuticals, digital traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Health Academy, and Digital Health Center—underpinned by its digital capabilities. Notably, its digital healthcare business has successfully pioneered the “Digital Health Community” model, collaborating with local governments to co-establish and lead the operation of provincial- and municipal-level regional Digital Health Communities. This model has already been implemented in provinces and municipalities including Tianjin, Shandong, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi.

In the internet industry, healthcare services are regarded as a “slow” track. WeDoctor has been continuously building an integrated online-to-offline healthcare service loop, providing patients with efficient and convenient digital health services. This has earned brand trust among consumer-facing (C-end) patients and established significant industry barriers. Together with Tongrentang, which is also featured on this list, WeDoctor has jointly shaped an industry brand landscape characterized by the slogan: “For medicines, go to Tongrentang; for medical consultations, turn to WeDoctor.”

Sirius Wang, Chief Product Officer of Kantar Greater China and CEO of Kantar Marketplace Greater China, specifically pointed out: “True insights have become the ‘bellwether’ for corporate investment, with technology-driven forward-looking data illuminating the optimal path for brands to move forward.”

According to media reports, WeDoctor has recently seen the successive implementation of several major business projects. On August 31, WeDoctor’s “Shandong San-Yi-Lian Inter-Provincial Supply Guarantee Center for Pharmaceuticals and Consumables” was officially launched, completing the closed-loop integration of its capabilities in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and intelligence. On September 11, WeDoctor signed a cooperation agreement with Jiangxi Ganjiang New Area and Jiadao Capital, establishing Jiangxi Province’s first traditional Chinese medicine industry fund. Alongside the upgrading of China’s healthcare industry, digital health platforms represented by WeDoctor have become important drivers promoting the industry’s digital and intelligent transformation.