Over ten million orders in stock! The battle of stockpiling imported nutritional products ahead of s

In the cross-border bonded warehouse, shelves are piled up to the ceiling, and workers shuttle to count nutritional products from around the world. These packages will be delivered to millions of consumers in a few decades.

Mr. Li, a warehouse manager of a cross-border e-commerce company, is still checking the inventory list at 3am. His bonded warehouse has already received over 1.6 million cross-border goods. This year's Double Eleven stocking volume has increased by at least 30% compared to last year, especially for imported health products. Many businesses have started stocking up two months in advance, "he said, pointing to the full inventory.

At the same time, a self operated warehouse on a certain platform in a comprehensive insurance zone also presents a similar scene. The warehouse manager revealed, "The proportion of orders in the healthcare category has significantly increased. Based on big data analysis, we have pre packaged our best-selling products to ensure that customers can place orders and be shipped out on the same day

01. Market Feast: Rapid Increase in Cross border Nutrition Demand

 

By 2025, the size of China's health product market is expected to exceed 430 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of over 10%. At the same time, the import volume of cross-border e-commerce has soared from less than 60 billion in 2017 to 560 billion in 2022, and is expected to double again by 2025.

In this blue ocean, nutrition and health products occupy a core position. In the sales proportion of Tmall Global and JD International, health products rank among the top. What is more striking is that Tiktok Global Shopping has grown rapidly by virtue of the dual field model of "content+shelf", and has become the third largest cross-border channel. Its diet and nutrition GMV has increased by 204% year-on-year.

Low market concentration means huge opportunities. In 2023, the CR10 of the domestic health product market is only 40%, and the CR10 of online channels is even lower at 24.53%. Except for Tonkin Health, which has a market share of 10%, the market share of other brands is relatively small, and emerging and cross-border brands still have great opportunities to achieve overtaking on the curve.

02. Stock up strategy: "Pre production of semi-finished products" mode becomes the key to victory

 

Faced with sales events like Singles' Day, the stocking strategies of major brands and platforms are particularly crucial. Pre packaging of semi-finished products and nearby packaging have become the mainstream choice for cross-border nutritional product stocking.

In the traditional cross-border import mode, packaging materials need to be transported from China to overseas factories, processed, and then transported back to China, which takes up to 3-6 months. The Hong Kong packaging model significantly shortens the supply chain cycle by directly transporting packaging materials to Hong Kong, China and transporting semi-finished products in large packaging to Hong Kong packaging factories for packaging.

The semi-finished pre production mode not only shortens delivery time, but also reduces costs, and supply chain expenses can be reduced by more than 30%, "said a cross-border e-commerce supply chain expert. More importantly, it has improved market response speed, which is crucial for critical sales periods like Singles' Day

03. New Consumer Trends: Segmented Races and Younger Demand

 

There is a clear new trend in the consumption of imported nutritional supplements during the Double Eleven shopping festival in 2025.

The five major sub sectors - cardiovascular and cerebrovascular nutrition products, oral beauty products, comprehensive nutritional supplements, bone and joint health products, and gastrointestinal health products - have already taken up 70% of the market share of cross-border imported health products.

In the segmented categories, some top brands have established significant advantages. For example, in the glucosamine market, the top brand Yijie holds a 42% market share in cross-border import channels; The proportion of CR2 in cross-border coenzyme Q10 is 16%, with Pripril having the highest proportion.

The trend towards younger consumers is another obvious trend. The post-90s generation with an income of 100000 to 300000 yuan has become the main consumer group. They obtain information through social media, focusing on brand reputation and ingredient safety.

At the same time, women aged 36-45 in first tier cities, family "health guardians", and high-income men are also core customers. These consumers have a prominent demand for benefits such as cardiovascular health, oral beauty (such as collagen), and bone and joint maintenance (such as glucosamine).

04. Platform Competition: The Rise of Content E-commerce

 

Double Eleven is not only a battlefield for brands, but also a stage for major e-commerce platforms to compete.

The rapid growth of Tiktok global purchase has become the biggest highlight. During the Double Eleven period in 2024, Swisse、 The single day sales of cross-border brands such as American OLLY in the world of Tiktok exceeded 100 million. The platform has successfully entered the market through a content e-commerce model, driving a 204% year-on-year increase in GMV of dietary and nutritional categories.

Traditional e-commerce platforms are also constantly adjusting their strategies. Tmall Global has optimized its investment rules in 2025, opening up the "Overseas Brand Special Approval Channel" to attract high-quality brands to settle in. At the same time, its "Black Friday" campaign has added a "Science and Technology Health Museum" to tilt traffic towards smart devices and subscription services.

Live streaming e-commerce continues to maintain its important position. On Double Eleven in 2024, Movefree's official overseas flagship store, ranked first among self broadcasting merchants on Hot5, achieved a cumulative transaction amount of nearly 10 million yuan through self broadcasting. Live streaming has become one of the important channels for businesses.

05. Supply Chain Innovation: Cost Reduction, Efficiency Enhancement, and Compliance Assurance

 

Faced with fierce market competition, supply chain innovation has become the key for brand owners to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Hong Kong packaging provides a new solution for cross-border imported health product enterprises. Compared with the traditional mode, the packaging mode can significantly reduce transportation costs, labor costs, tariffs, and other aspects. Especially by transporting large packaged semi-finished products to Hong Kong, China and then repackaging them, it not only reduces the cost of logistics transportation, but also avoids the high labor costs in developed countries overseas.

The Hong Kong packaging model has shortened our supply chain cycle from the traditional 3 to 6 months to 5 to 7 working days, greatly improving market response speed, "said a brand owner who adopts this model.

With the increasingly strict supervision of imported health products by customs, compliance has become an important consideration factor in stocking. Starting from 2025, customs will conduct strict inspections on imported health products, and compliance with legal import procedures is fundamental to the survival of enterprises. Brands need to ensure the provision of customs declaration forms, inspection and quarantine certificates, and other documents to avoid false advertising.

Data reference source:

[1] Market Working Committee of China Health Association Forecast Report on the Development Trends of China's Health Products Industry in 2025, November 2024

[2] Hong Kong Trade Development Council Analysis of Hong Kong's Food Trade and Logistics Advantages, September 2024

[3] Tmall Global White Paper on Consumption Trends of Imported Nutritional Products in 2024, December 2024

[4] Hong Kong Food Industry Association 2024 Hong Kong Food Safety Regulatory Annual Report January 2025

[5] Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong Transit Trade Statistics for the First Quarter of 2025

[6] JD Consumer and Industrial Development Research Institute Observation of Imported Health Category Consumption on Double Eleven in 2024, November 2024

[7] Tiktok E-commerce 2024 Health Category Content Ecology and Consumption Trends Report, December 2024

Related Summary:

01. Hong Kong packaging

On the eve of the Double Eleven War, the staff in the bonded warehouse were busy dealing with the upcoming surge of orders. The imported nutritional products packaged in Hong Kong have been neatly placed in the quick sorting area due to their early arrival.

02. For efficiency competition

As Singles' Day approaches, the focus of preparation for the imported nutrition industry has clearly shifted from the marketing battlefield to supply chain optimization. Brands that can stand out in this "efficiency competition" not only need to have market insights and marketing capabilities, but also need to have foresight and flexibility in their supply chain layout.

03. Provide supply chain drive

The emergence of the Hong Kong packaging model has provided a new option for imported nutrition brands to balance quality and efficiency. For the entire industry, the 2025 Double Eleven may become a watershed, marking a new stage for the imported nutrition industry to move from "marketing driven" to "supply chain driven".