Taiwanese home healthcare product manufacturers and vendors should establish brand recognition, employ multiple marketing techniques and focus on single-function products to tap into China’s fast-expanding market, an analyst said yesterday.
A host of political and socioeconomic factors will continue to drive growth in China’s home healthcare products market, presenting enormous growth opportunities for Taiwanese manufacturers, Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) analyst Wang Chen-yi (王榛驛) told a conference on China’s home healthcare market.
China’s move to improve its basic healthcare system, medical policy and 12th five-year development plan will give rise to opportunities in the healthcare market and drive up sales of home products such as blood pressure meters, glucose meters, breathing machines and oxygen generators, he said.
PURCHASING POWER
China’s rapid economic growth, which has raised its consumers’ purchasing power, and an aging population have also fueled demand for healthcare products, Wang said.
The number of people aged 65 and over would be double and triple that of 2010 by 2030 and 2040 respectively, she said, citing statistics from Chinese authorities.
The Chinese home healthcare products market was valued at 17.66 billion yuan (US$2.77 billion) last year, and is expected to increase by 25 to 30 percent from last year to 2016, she said, quoting IEK research data.
The home healthcare product industry is still in its infancy, with development focused on portable, digital and smart devices.
Taiwanese home healthcare manufacturers and vendors are advised to focus on single-function products, such as blood pressure meters, glucose meters, weight meters, massagers and breathing machines, where their strengths lie, instead of competing with US and European manufacturers of multifunctional or all-in-one products, she said.
STRATEGIES
Taiwanese suppliers should market their products according to consumer needs, which vary with different geographical regions; employ multiple marketing strategies, such as deploying professionals to explain product features and allow consumers to test the products; and expand to cover second and third-tier cities, as well as rural areas, Wang added.
Wang also suggested that Taiwanese sellers focus on promoting brand recognition, sales via Internet and selecting Chinese partners who can help with distribution.
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