Led the brand from 0 to 1: establishing specialist clinical differentiation, driving a sales-led B2B2C medical GTM, translating science for HCPs and consumers, and building full brand infrastructure.
PRO-SC and PRO-CR ranges · China 2021
Single-dose sachet format · China 2021
Brand Manager with end-to-end ownership: setting the clinical differentiation, navigating regulatory boundaries through a medical-first GTM, translating science for HCPs and consumers, and building the full brand infrastructure on a lean budget.
Pillar 1Upstream positioningCarved out a wedge against the mass players by anchoring the brand in condition-specific efficacy and whole-formula clinical evidence, rather than in strain counts and CFU numbers.
Pillar 2Specialist-led B2B2C architectureAligned channel strategy with the brand’s specialist positioning: prioritised healthcare professionals and medical congresses, where full-formula clinical proof resonated most, establishing professional endorsement that eased regulatory constraints on public consumer channels and drove direct sales conversion.
Pillar 3Scientific translationRan content on two tracks: clinical presentations and academic material for gastroenterologists and paediatricians, and the same trial data rewritten as compliant, readable consumer education for Chinese social media.
Pillar 4Zero-to-one infrastructureBuilt the brand system inside twelve months — packaging guidelines, e-commerce flagship and detail pages, a Baidu search footprint, and the congress and sales toolkits the commercial team worked from.
From clinical credibility to commercial demand.
Build Leven into a credible specialist probiotic brand in China through healthcare professional (HCP) communication, and grow the business behind it.
A crowded mass market, strict advertising limits, and a lean launch budget.
The Chinese probiotic market was crowded with well-funded mass players competing on generic wellness — touting CFU numbers and strain lists rather than proving what a finished formula actually delivers for specific conditions.
For a new entrant with a disciplined budget, mass-market advertising was neither practical nor strategic. As a general-trade product, domestic advertising regulations strictly prohibited condition-specific and clinical health claims on public consumer platforms. The challenge was not to outspend the market, but to find a channel where Leven’s clinical proof could be recognised on its merits and directly converted into sales.
Brand banners in a hospital · China 2021
Audience over awareness: a high-barrier, doctor-first commercial model designed for long-term repurchase.
I audited around twenty-five competing brands and concluded the problem was not awareness — it was audience. Consumers buying probiotics for general gut health are price-led, swayed by mass media, and unreliable repeat buyers. People managing a diagnosed condition are the exact inverse: they trust clinicians, judge on clinical outcome rather than price, and they repurchase. Because Leven’s unit economics depended on sustained repurchase, the primary acquisition channel had to be the physician, not the open marketplace.
I repositioned Leven as a condition-specific specialist probiotic, rebuilt the benefit hierarchy around whole-formula clinical proof, and unified the visual identity across every touchpoint. To execute this with conviction, I reallocated 70% of the working budget into medical channels — where clinical evidence could be fully articulated without the claim constraints of general-trade consumer advertising.
Medical education drove the strategy. Offline, we anchored national gastroenterology congresses, trade expos and physician forums with standardised scientific collateral. Online, I built a high-credibility digital footprint: securing first-page Baidu search authority, establishing presence on digital health platforms, and deploying an SCRM-backed content engine across Chinese social media. This connected expert explainer videos with patient education, converting a doctor’s recommendation into verified e-commerce purchase and long-term retention.
China Gut Conference · stand C035 · 2021
China Gut Conference · the range · 2021
Medical congress · at the stand · China 2020
Growth of 170%, and a repeat rate the mass market does not produce.
Expanded into 30+ leading hospitals nationwide within 12 months, proving the commercial viability of a sales-led medical GTM.
Achieved a 36% average repeat-purchase rate across the portfolio, peaking at 59% on the 28-day IBD management pack.
The commercial model rested on a clear strategic hypothesis: consumers managing diagnosed gut conditions judge products on clinical efficacy rather than price, generating predictable, long-term repurchase. The data confirmed it. Repurchase averaged 36% across the range and reached 59% on the 28-day pack for the IBD range. By the end of the year, Leven was recommended and in use across more than thirty hospitals nationally, lifting sales by 170% year on year.
Over the same twelve months, I built the brand’s digital infrastructure from the ground up: securing first-page Baidu rankings for core brand terms, rolling out a monthly clinical content pipeline, and establishing official profiles on key digital health platforms. The search footprint and clinical consultations directly reinforced each other, converting medical endorsements into verified consumer purchase and lasting brand credibility.
Growing category penetration among young heavy screen users
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Write to me → or write directly to nina@xuconseil.fr