Bayer forms strategic partnership with AliHealth

German life sciences company Bayer AG and Alibaba Health (AliHealth), a unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, have formed a strategic partnership to make Bayer's self-care products and solutions more accessible for Chinese consumers.

According to the agreement, Bayer will utilize the big data provided by the Alibaba platform to follow health trends among Chinese people and better satisfy their self-care demands.

"We will form an all-round partnership in marketing, promotion and operation within the medical ecosystem of Alibaba," He Yong, vice-president, head of marketing and innovation of Bayer Consumer Health China, told China Daily.

AliHealth's ability in big data management and analysis will offer precise and in-depth understanding of each consumer, so that Bayer can tailor adequate self-care products and solutions for them, which is the German company's expertise.

Alibaba's understanding of consumers' behavior has reached a level that everybody's Taobao is different due to purchasing preference and buying history, said Liu Xiaofei, marketing director of Ali-Health.

"In China, the government's 'Healthy China 2030' plan aims to provide equal access to health services for every citizen by 2030. Self-care will be one of the key drivers in the overall medical system to achieve this goal," said Celina Chew, president of Bayer Greater China Group.

Being an important indicator for people's self-care capability, health literacy refers to the ability to obtain, read, understand and use healthcare information in order to make appropriate health decisions and follow instructions for treatment.

The cooperation is also aimed to enhance Chinese consumers' literacy in self health care by offering personalized online medical consulting on health and diet by Bayer's specialists through Ali-Health's digital platform.

The consumption upgrade and rising awareness about personal health care, along with the growth of e-commerce, are making digital consumer health a promising sector, said He, adding that Bayer decided to make its products available through digital channels.

Bayer started to offer its over-the-counter products on Tmall's flagship store in 2016, and to date, it has launched seven flagship stores in a variety of e-commerce platforms in China.

In June, GSK Consumer Healthcare entered into a partnership with Alibaba to offer Chinese consumers better services and access to its quality consumer health products.

China is Bayer Consumer Health's second largest market after the United States.