The two new milk formulas are Ganmai XinRuiLi senior goat milk powder and Ganmai MianYuLi senior milk powder. Both are targeted at consumers aged 40 and above.
In June, the firm launched its first series of Ganmai products designed to be taken in the morning, afternoon, and at night. The products were first made available on Tmall and Douyin (TikTok) before they were launched in offline hypermarkets.
Two months later, it announced Hong Kong-born actor Nicholas Tse, 42, as its brand ambassador.
“The new formulations are both designed to have a low glycemic index, for those consumers interested in managing their blood glucose response,” said Gregg Ward, Head of the Danone Open Science Research Center.
Specifically, Ganmai XinRuiLi （芯锐力） senior goat milk powder contains phytosterol esters meant to lower cholesterol levels. It also consists of four traditional oriental ingredients, namely bitter gourd, mulberry leaf, pueraria root, and Solomon's seal root.
On the other hand, each can of Ganmai MianYuLi （冕御力）senior milk powder contains 8bn CFU of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and dietary fibers to benefit gut health. It is also contains selenium-rich and vitamin C.
“As China’s ageing population continues to increase, as well as the rise in old-age related health issues, this will not only affect the quality of life in older adults, but could also lead to a significant amount of healthcare burden,” said Eric Zhou, GM and SVP at Danone Early Life Nutrition Greater China.
Among the first series of Ganmai products, the morning probiotic drink is most popular among consumers.
Local innovation
The newly launched milk powder are formulated by Danone China’s local R&D team from the Open Science Research Center for Life Transforming Nutrition based in Shanghai.
Established in 2020, the center is meant to generate local scientific evidence, promote product innovation, and increase speed to market “in China for China, and the world.”
“Ganmai products are good demonstration of this ‘In China, For China’ strategy in action.
“The unique China digital ecosystem creates the opportunity to add value beyond physical products, offering to the most advanced consumers integrated, and more personalised solutions on DouYin (TikTok) and WeChat etc,” Ward said.
A Ganmai digital health tech tool was also launched to help consumers customise and track their own functional nutritional performance.
“We are always on the way of meeting the diversified consumer needs, and will continue to provide nutritional solutions in the form of products and services in the future,” he added.