Scaling China is an irregular column series that explores brands and businesses expanding across China. We examine the factors driving their growth, the rationale behind their expansion strategies, and share insights that might be helpful for others looking to enter into or expand in the Chinese market.

The world grew accustomed to China's blistering 8% –10% annual GDP growth in years past. Now, we're riding a 5% growth momentum since last year – still a massive figure, equivalent to the entire GDP of Switzerland. Yet, the shadow of past growth has made many observers unusually cautious, as if the current pace isn't still reshaping the global economy.

Despite the people's perceived gloom, Holland & Barrett – the 155-year-old British health and wellness giant – has picked now to plant serious roots in the domestic market. And it's not just dipping a toe in; they're launching locally developed product lines, expanding offline retail across tier-one and tier-two cities, and going all-in on China's notoriously complex e-commerce ecosystem.

We sat down with Nick Parker, Holland & Barrett's International Development Director, to discuss why they've decided to double down on China, how they're building from Shanghai outward, and why live streaming from Manchester might just sell supplements in Chengdu. We were able to get some great insights informing the decisions of a large, storied British brand to invest further into China.

CNS: First question. People with a more conservative view on business these days might ask what is fueling H&B's massive expansion into China? You've been in the China market since 2012 in different capacities, but now you're launching a domestic product line, tell us about this.

In the context of a global economy, we have to make decisions about where we want to focus. And for us, China is a great country to be looking to expand in. Why? Well, for a long time, we've seen Chinese consumers show love for our products and love for our brand, which has given us confidence, especially as we began doing e-commerce in China. There's a resonance of what we're doing for the Chinese consumer.

Also, economic indicators and consumer trends have led us see buoyant signs in the health and wellness market, both from a cross-border e-commerce perspective and also in terms of domestic trade, which is why we've – as you said – taken the decision to develop a range of products, our first ever range for the China domestic market.

H&B are one of the UK premium heritage brands with over 150 years of expertise and experience in the health, wellness and nutrition industry and witnessing their latest launch and milestone achievement of selling directly to the consumer in China as an addition to their cross-border activities shows both the strength and reputation of their products and the demand for these product from the Chinese consumer. In addition to the investment to make this a reality they have also tailored and created new and unique recipes to better serve the Chinese consumer. This is a great example of how leading UK companies continue to invest and evolve with the Chinese market blending UK hertigate and experience with the modern, Chinese consumers needs.

Stuart Dunn, Executive Director, British Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai

CNS: Great that you are seeing upward trends in health and wellness. You mentioned that China's e-commerce ecosystem played a role in H&B's decision to expand. What kind of signals have you been seeing in that space?

Really positive. So clearly, in China, you've got a huge array of different ways of communicating with customers and selling to customers. And it's important to us that we have our presence on all the major platforms. So for our cross-border business, you will find us on Tmall Global with a number of stores there, including our flagship. You'll find us on JD, you'll find us on Xiaohongshu(Little Red Book), you'll find us on Douyin.

And for us, those channels offer different consumer groups that we can tap into, different ways in which we can communicate with consumers. And actually, if I just pick one example – Douyin has been incredible for Holland & Barrett. We are different, I would say, to some other health and wellness brands in that we have over 1,600 locations around the world – some in the most iconic locations in the UK, so Central London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Oxford – and they provide an incredible backdrop for influencers to livestream on Douyin to consumers in China about our products.

Digital channels and digital communication have been a real highlight for us. The revenue-generating performance of Chinese e-commerce and social media platforms was really the signal we needed to tell us the time was right to invest in the domestic market.

CNS: For other international businesses looking to enter the China market, are there any lesser-known aspects of your journey that proved especially helpful – things that others might overlook but could really smooth the path to expansion?

I think our first move into China was with Alibaba's cross-border platform, and they were hugely supportive – both their China-based and UK-based teams. That support really helped us get started, and it became the foundation of this whole journey.

What some businesses might not realize is that companies like Alibaba actually have local business development teams in international markets. Their UK team, for example, already knew our brand inside out, which made the onboarding process with Tmall much smoother. It's a great example of how China and international teams can work hand-in-hand to help a brand succeed here.

That was our starting point in the cross-border space. And now, with our domestic range launching, Tmall is also the first domestic platform we've gone live with. So they've been with us from the beginning and remain a key partner as we grow in China.

CNS: You're using Shanghai as your launchpad for this China expansion. Does this have to do partly with the expat market here?

Yes, absolutely. H&B is a really well-known brand internationally – in Europe, in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and obviously in the UK. We know there are consumers around the world who are expats and want to access our products. And Shanghai specifically is China's most international city.

Because we recognized this, we understood that we would need distribution channels that are more easily accessible to international residents, who might find Chinese e-commerce difficult because of language barriers. So, we're also launching our products for expats to find in popular import stores in Shanghai, including Ole, with CitySuper and Costco in our launch road map as well.

One other thing I should mention, which I think is really important, is that the packaging is dual language. So the core of the packaging is in English – it's an imported product – but we've been very careful to make sure we provide point-of-sale material and an over-label on the back of the product which gives all the relevant information in Chinese as well.

CNS: What has the experience been re-entering the market in China, working with the government?

We felt hugely welcomed in China – not just by consumers, but by city officials as well. Where our entity is registered, in the Lingang area of Shanghai, has proven to be a huge support for us. I actually met them yesterday for further discussions, and we're feeling really positive about how they've gone to great lengths to help us enter the market. This local support is part of our confidence in the market.

I think in summary, I would say we've felt really supported. I think there is clearly a love for heritage British brands in China – and that's really what we've been able to bring: 155 years of history, all of our trust, all of our quality – but blend that with a localized approach for China.

So for us, it's been a really, really positive experience. In the two years since we set up our company in Shanghai, it's been nothing but growth, momentum, and lots of support.