In its financial results presentation for last year, H&H Group - the parent company of Swisse - said that short video mobile app Douyin has become a key growth channel for sales of Swisse.
Last year, sales from Douyin - China’s version of TikTok - jumped 71.4% for Swisse.
Meanwhile, it achieved 29.7% sales growth in new retail channels, including Sam’s Club. Owned by Walmart, Sam’s Club operates on a membership-only model.
Some of its popular products in China include supplements for supporting cellular health, anti-aging, heart health and detoxification under the premium Swisse Plus range, the company announced on March 24.
The strong performance of Douyin and Sam’s Club contrasts with the industry-wide decline in the pharmacy channel in China, where health foods companies are now finding success in the e-commerce space more so than offline retail.
Chinese health supplements company BYHEALTH, for instance, saw a decline of 19.34% in offline retail sales in Mainland China to RMB2.52bn (US$365.68m) last year. Sales from online channels rose 2.54% to RMB1.25bn (US$181.78m).
GNC, on the other hand, said last year that the use of Douyin has helped drive consumer awareness and the success of its daily nutrition pack range.
In 2024, 38.8% of China’s online health supplement sales came from Douyin - only behind Alibaba’s Tmall (40.3%) and ahead of JD Health (20.9%).
On the other hand, the daigou channel, a popular method for selling international products into China, typically through overseas Chinese students, is also on the decline since COVID-19.
As such, H&H Group has deprioritised the corporate daigou business, leading to a 20.6% decline in adult nutrition revenue from Australia and New Zealand. The company is also anticipating a continued decline in the corporate daigou channel in the first half of 2026.
Suceka Li, rotating group CEO and CEO for China at H&H Group, said that the company would continue to invest in e-commerce and innovation.
“In the Chinese mainland, expect our mega-brand strategy and investment in e-commerce and innovation to continue to pay off as we expand our consumer base and tap into new high-growth channels – such as Douyin and new retail opportunities – to strengthen our overall leading market position," said Li.
Mainland China is a key revenue source for H&H Group, contributing 71.1% of total group revenue. The market also grew 17.5% in sales last year. Of which, sales of its adult nutrition brand Swisse increased by 13.3%.
The Swisse brand is also sold in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Oceania.
Including its paediatric nutrition and pet nutrition business, H&H Group’s total revenue in 2025 climbed 10% to RMB14.3bn (US$2.08bn).
Net profit jumped 465.2% to RMB196.1m (US$28.5m).
Baby nutrition sales returned to growth
On the other hand, its baby nutrition and care business reported 20.0% sales growth, driven by a surge in infant milk formula sales in Mainland China.
“Our Baby Nutrition and Care segment returned to growth thanks to a standout performance from our IMF business in the Chinese mainland, where our outperformance in the market catapulted Biostime to a new all-time market share high in the super-premium IMF category of 17.1% in 2025, up from 13.3% in 2024,” said Li.
Its paediatric probiotic and kids nutritional supplements in Mainland China also achieved a 2% sales growth, partly due to its expanding product portfolio, including children’s nutrition powder supplements.
