Recently, there has been an “independence” wind in the global pharmaceutical and bio industries. In the traditional pharmaceutical sector, the health functional food and general medicine (consumer healthcare) business targeting general consumers is removed so that they can focus on their respective areas. Haleon, which was spun off from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in July 2022, is the first independent consumer healthcare company. Latecomers include Sanofi’s Opella Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson’s Kenview. Halion officially launched its Korean subsidiary in March after completing various tasks such as changing product packaging materials.
CEO Shin Dong-woo, the head of Haleyon Korea, recently told Maeil Business Newspaper that he had expressed his future business strategy and ambition. “The consumer healthcare market has grown rapidly as interest in self-care in daily life such as personal immunity has increased due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “However, from a global point of view, the Korean market is not easy to target due to the strong individuality of consumers and the strong desire for customization.” He added, “We will create a ‘second centrum’ and a ‘third terraflu’ by meeting the demand of Koreans in various ways such as mold formation and size change, ingredient addition, and texture improvement.”
In addition to Centrum (multivitamin) and Theraplu (cold medicine), Haylion Korea’s flagship products include Sensodyne (toothpaste exclusively for sensitive teeth), Parodontax (toothpaste for gum care), and Otrivin (to relieve nasal congestion symptoms). Everyone is competing for first and second place in their respective categories. CEO Shin said, “These are products that have been verified in the global market for at least 40 years,” adding, “We are achieving a growth rate of around 10% every year thanks to our stable portfolio.” He added, “It is analyzed that the development of the product centered on ‘scientifically proven efficacy’ has captured consumers.”
Among them, the most beneficial item is by far the centrum. In particular, “Centrum Multi Gumi,” which was released in 2021, created a jelly sensation in the vitamin community and helped elevate Centrum’s domestic market sales ranking from No. 2 to No. 1. Currently, Centrum is responsible for half of Halion Korea’s sales. CEO Shin said, “Before, most vitamins were in the form of pills, but focusing on the fact that Koreans are relatively sensitive to the size of pills, we started R&D and released jelly forms,” adding, “It was also good to respond by subdividing consumers such as children’s versions and adult men’s and women’s versions.” “We plan to expand our lineup at least twice as much within the next three years and expand collaboration with companies specializing in consignment production to ensure stable supply of supplies in Korea,” he added.
CEO Shin, who joined GSK Consumer Healthcare, the predecessor of Halion, in 2020, has a history of working in distribution such as L’Oreal and Coca-Cola as well as global pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Sanofi. This is why he is considered to be the right person in the consumer healthcare field, which has both pharmaceutical and distribution characteristics. Consumer healthcare is similar to pharmaceuticals in that it needs to continuously verify product effectiveness, but it is in contact with distribution in areas that need to respond quickly to changing trends from time to time, he said. “The key is to focus on ‘prevention’ rather than treatment and to accurately grasp what the market demands and make it a reliable product.”
CEO Shin pointed out that the most different thing after the spin-off was the faster speed of decision-making. “Last year, during the one-on-one meeting with all employees, I heard what would be good to reduce the in-house procedures and what I thought was unnecessary,” he said. “Based on this, R&D activities have become more active than before due to the simplification of setting monthly sales targets and payment.”
It is also characterized by the expansion of the ESG management (environmental, responsible, and transparent management) stance. CEO Shin is focusing on increasing recycling rates and reducing plastic usage by changing product packaging materials. Starting this year, six kinds of Centrum containers have been changed to recycled plastic (PCR) materials. Last year, the main container of toothpaste products such as Sensodyne and Parodontax was changed to PBL (polyethylene with high recycling rates). CEO Shin said, “In conjunction with the headquarters’ goal, Haleyon Korea will also reduce its plastic usage by more than 10% by 2025 compared to 2020,” adding, “We have reduced 91 tons so far.”
Halion’s mid- to long-term goal is to raise annual sales to about 200 billion won. Last year, Halion recorded 160 billion won, up 9.2% from the previous year, thanks to the good performance of Centrum and others. We are also developing products that help joint health in line with the aging society, CEO Shin said. “We will stay close to daily life and provide necessary solutions because we know that products are difficult to survive for a long time without customer trust.” He added, “We will continue to race to become the top seller in all sectors in the domestic consumer healthcare market by 2025.”
[Reporter Shim Heejin]
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