Time-honored TCM Brand Tongrentang Goes Global

IN September 2014， Beijing Tongren- tang， a famed time-honored brand of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） industry， opened four new pharmacies in Auckland， New Zealand. In early October， the company signed a memorandum for in-depth cooperation with the University of Western Sydney（UWS） in Australia. Soon afterwards， Ding Yongling， deputy general manager of Tongrentang， visited New Zealand and Australia with her colleagues. They expressed their desire to increase cooperation with local partners in health preservation， healthcare， product development， and combining Western medicine with traditional Chinese therapies. The facts show that Tongrentang has made a big step forward in opening the Oceanian market.

Oceania Ambition

With over 340 years of history， Tongrentang has successfully transformed itself from a time-honored Chinese brand to an international trademark， with branches in 19 overseas countries and regions. It now has 110 overseas retail outlets and a production and research base in Hong Kong.

In 2004， Tongrentang started to enter the Oceanian market. Over the past decade， 60-odd Tongrentang products have been registered in Australia meeting the countrys accreditation standards， and five pharmacies have been opened in Sydney， Brisbane and Melbourne. There are more than 20 TCM doctors at these Tongrentang pharmacies to provide TCM diagnosis and treatment for over one million customers， earning the company a secure reputation in the Australian market.

Tongrentang recently signed a memorandum of cooperation with UWS， in which both sides agreed to launch joint scientific research on the safety of TCM ingredients and promote TCMs modernization and popularize it in the international market.

Scott Holmes， deputy vice chancellor of UWS， indicated at the signing ceremony that Tongrentangs cooperation with the university set an example in the promotion of TCMs globalization. According to Holmes， Australia is the first Western country to recognize TCM and establish a stringent registration system. In July 2012， TCM became part of the countrys National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for Health Professions. This is the same scheme that regulates other medical practitioners such as physiotherapists， chiropractors， dentists， nurses， and midmives.

This success can be reproduced elsewhere. To that end， the four new pharmacies in New Zealand will continue the dual Tongrentang pharmacy-clinic model of providing both medicine and diagnosis.

Spreading Tongrentang Culture

Tongrentang is distinctive as both an economic entity and a TCM cultural ambassador to the global market. Cultural diffusion， effective medicine and excellent medical skill are the secret of Tongrentangs successful overseas development.

“In addition to selling our products， each of our overseas pharmacies also provides free medical consultation and organizes lectures on how to preserve health through TCM concepts. To help foreign consumers understand and accept our culture we also set up TCM museums in bigger stores and cultural corners or cultural walls in smaller ones，” said Ding Yongling.

Last year Beijing Tongrentang， in cooperation with APT Satellite Holdings， jointly founded the Beijing Tongrentang Mass Media （Hong Kong） Co.， Ltd.， which runs an international television channel to spread Tongrentang culture and TCM concepts， covering around 70 percent of countries and regions of the world. The channel started pilot transmission in 2014.

Overseas Opportunities and Challenges

“Well gradually shift the traditional operation mode of promoting medicine sales through medical service to that‘attaching equal emphasis to medical services and medicinal products. Well set up TCM health centers that provide all-around TCM health preservation services to foreign consumers，” said Ding Yongling， adding： “Tongrentang will open six more new pharmacies in New Zealand in two years. On top of the developing retail outlets， we plan to utilize capital operations to develop local resources and promote the development of the TCM industrial chain， opening a new page for TCM to enter the mainstream Western market.