a2 Milk Company launches new product a2 Pure Health to drive growth in the Chinese market with scientific evidence

The research and development logic of a2® Zhenzhihu™ is based on a deep insight into the pain points of children's growth. Data shows that after children aged 3-10 enter kindergarten, the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections increases significantly due to the separation of the maternal immune barrier. At the same time, the cognitive development speed of children at this stage can reach 80% of the adult level.

In this regard, the product pioneered the "dual-core nutrition" system: in the dimension of self-protection, it uses a "king bomb combination" of 13.5 billion units of BB536 probiotics, high-quality lactoferrin and yeast β-glucan. Scientific research evidence shows that it can reduce the frequency of upper respiratory tract infections by 67% and shorten the cough recovery time by 40%; in the dimension of eye and brain power, through the synergistic effect of phosphatidylserine (PS), DHA, lutein and A2 type β-casein, it has been confirmed by the American "Alternative Medicine Review" that it can improve the efficiency of neuronal information transmission by 15% and reduce the response time of cognitive tests by 23%.

Compared with the ingredient superposition strategy commonly used in the industry, a2 emphasizes that all formulas have been clinically verified for at least 3 years, and its research results on improving children's cognitive performance with A2 type protein have been published in international authoritative journals.

The new product will be fully covered in all channels as soon as it is launched, entering high-end retail systems such as Sam's Club and Kids King offline, and simultaneously landing on mainstream platforms such as JD.com and Tmall online. This layout echoes the supply chain transformation strategy of a2 Company - in November 2024, the Shanghai R&D Center established in cooperation with China Agricultural Reclamation Group was put into operation, realizing the localization of A2 source Milk functional nutrition products for the first time.

Financial report data shows that other nutritional products (including liquid milk) in China increased by 27.3% in the first half of fiscal year 2025, reaching NZ$50.8 million, laying the market foundation for the promotion of new products. It is worth noting that although the new product is positioned as ultra-high-end (the terminal retail price is about 458 yuan/800g), consumer tests show that more than 72% of children accept its natural milky taste, and the zero-added sucrose strategy does not affect palatability.

a2 Company's product innovation has always been promoted in parallel with strategic transformation. In the first half of fiscal year 2025, its infant formula business grew by 7.2% against the backdrop of a 6.1% decline in the overall market. The market share of Chinese-labeled products "a2 to early" hit a new high of 5.3%, and British-labeled products consolidated their cross-border market position with a growth rate of 22.7%.

The launch of infant formula marks the completion of the key puzzle of "family nutrition solutions": from "a2 to early" for infants and young children, to three functional milk powders for middle-aged and elderly groups, to children's exclusive formulas, the product matrix has covered the entire life cycle.

CEO David Bortolussi made it clear at the earnings conference that obtaining more Chinese label registration qualifications and increasing own production capacity will be the focus in the future. At present, Mataura Dairy's raw material sales have increased by 31.9%, providing core guarantee for product innovation.

The launch of the new product coincides with the window of demand release after the adjustment of China's fertility policy. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of newborns in 2024 will rebound by 3.2% year-on-year, and the population base of children over 3 years old will reach 120 million, giving rise to a market capacity of more than 30 billion yuan for children's milk powder.

Senior dairy analyst Song Liang pointed out that a2 Company has achieved a 46% increase in channel penetration in third- and fourth-tier cities through strict price control (terminal price volatility is less than 5%) and in-depth brand education (annual investment growth of 15%). This "high-end but not sinking" strategy provides a unique path for the promotion of new products. And the trend of competing products shows that companies such as Yili and Feihe have recently accelerated the acquisition of overseas milk sources, and industry competition is upgrading in the two dimensions of "scientific research + supply chain".

Faced with the dual challenges of cyclical fluctuations in the raw material business (a decrease of 19.08% in the first half of fiscal year 2025) and uncertainty in consumer recovery, a2 Milk Company chose to deeply bind market demand with scientific research.

As Greater China CEO Li Xiao said: "When the industry is caught in the involution of ingredients, we choose to rebuild the value standard with empirical research." This strategic determination may be the core motivation for its continued 11.8% growth in the Chinese market.

As Zhenzhihu™ enters the sales climbing period, whether a2 can replicate the success of infant formula in the children's nutrition track will become a key indicator to test its "scientific research monetization" ability.