Yunnan Baiyao

Yunnan Baiyao is a Chinese traditional-medicine and consumer-health brand associated with a proprietary herbal formulation historically used for bleeding, bruising, wounds and other forms of trauma care. The name means roughly “Yunnan white medicine,” linking the brand directly to Yunnan province and to the medicine’s regional origin. Its modern corporate owner, Yunnan Baiyao Group Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Kunming and has developed the brand from a specialist remedy into a broad healthcare portfolio. The formulation is traditionally attributed to Qu Huanzhang, a practitioner from Yunnan, and is generally dated to the early twentieth century. The company states that the product has more than a century of history and that its prescription remains a closely protected state-level commercial secret. The formula’s secrecy has been central to the brand’s identity: it supports an aura of scarcity and authenticity while allowing the company to market the product through a mixture of traditional knowledge, clinical manufacturing and modern quality-control narratives. Yunnan Baiyao became particularly associated with emergency and trauma use. Core offerings have included powder, capsules, aerosol sprays, plasters, bandages and other external or oral preparations. The brand’s historical reputation was reinforced by accounts of its use in military and emergency settings, although individual product indications and claims depend on the regulatory status of each formulation. Rather than remaining a single-remedy business, the company pursued a “new Baiyao” strategy that adapted the familiar formulation and brand promise to more convenient formats and wider consumer occasions. A major extension was Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste, which moved the brand from medicine cabinets into daily personal care. The toothpaste business used the brand’s traditional-medicine associations and claims relating to gum health and bleeding to appeal to households, while advertising connected the product with intergenerational trust and national heritage. Other extensions have included oral-care products, personal-care goods, health products, Chinese herbal medicines and products based on local botanical resources. This diversification helped the parent company reduce dependence on a single pharmaceutical format and made Yunnan Baiyao one of China’s most recognizable traditional-health brands. The brand’s distribution has historically combined pharmacies, hospitals, medical and health retailers, supermarkets and direct sales. In the 2010s, the company began developing a more deliberate digital and direct-to-consumer presence, including Tmall and WeChat stores and later broader use of major Chinese e-commerce and social platforms. Digital marketing has been used to reach younger consumers, explain product applications and translate traditional medicine into everyday health routines. Yunnan Baiyao operates within a listed corporate group rather than as an independent public company. The group produces and markets medicines, consumer health products, raw materials and related healthcare offerings. Its ownership structure has also evolved: a mixed-ownership reform involving state-linked and private strategic shareholders was followed by the absorption merger of Yunnan Baiyao Holdings into the listed company in 2019. These corporate changes were intended to improve capital allocation, operating integration and the group’s ability to expand across healthcare categories. The brand remains active and especially strong in China. Its principal competitive assets are heritage, consumer familiarity, a protected formulation, distribution scale and the ability to place traditional-medicine credibility beside modern packaging and retail. At the same time, the brand has faced scrutiny over the substantiation and labeling of some consumer-product claims, particularly toothpaste advertising and ingredient disclosure. These controversies illustrate the tension between the com…

Yunnan Baiyao’s history combines a regional traditional remedy with the corporate development of a modern Chinese pharmaceutical group. The medicine is traditionally associated with Qu Huanzhang, a Yunnan practitioner who developed and circulated the remedy around the beginning of the twentieth century. The parent company describes the brand as having more than one hundred years of history and presents the formulation as a protected secret. Because the precise recipe is not publicly disclosed, the brand’s historical narrative relies on continuity of use, regional identity and the perceived efficacy of the medicine rather than on a fully open ingredient list. The remedy gained a reputation for use in bleeding and trauma care. During the twentieth century, its association with first aid, military medicine and emergency treatment helped create a distinctive brand position. The name became broader than a single dosage form: powder, capsules, aerosols and external preparations allowed the company to address different wound-care situations and consumer preferences. These formats also made the product easier to distribute through pharmacies and general retail. The industrial foundation for the modern business was the Yunnan Baiyao Factory, established in 1971. The enterprise later expanded beyond production of the original remedy into research, manufacturing, marketing and distribution. In the 1990s, the group entered China’s public capital markets. Its A-shares began trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in December 1993 under code 000538, giving the company additional resources for production capacity, product development and geographic expansion. From the late 1990s through the 2000s, the company pursued product-format diversification. Capsules and aerosol sprays made the core medicine more convenient, while medicated plasters, adhesive bandages and related wound-care products translated the brand’s trauma heritage into more accessible consumer products. The company also expanded into toothpaste and other personal-care categories. This was a pivotal change in brand architecture: Yunnan Baiyao could now appear in everyday household routines rather than only in emergency or medicinal contexts. The toothpaste business became one of the clearest examples of the company’s modernization strategy. Marketing used the brand’s historical associations, traditional-medicine credibility and claims relating to gum bleeding and oral health. Advertising often framed the brand as a link between older generations who trusted Baiyao for injuries and younger families adopting it for daily care. Strong promotion and wider retail availability helped toothpaste become a prominent consumer-facing extension. During the 2010s, Yunnan Baiyao invested more heavily in digital distribution and consumer engagement. The company worked with Arkr Digital in 2014 on digital branding and a consumer-to-business product-development model, and opened or expanded activity through Tmall and WeChat stores. The broader strategy used e-commerce, social media and experiential promotions to make traditional Chinese medicine more legible to younger consumers. It also encouraged the development of products using local Yunnan resources and broader health and wellness positioning. Ownership and governance changed materially during the same period. Yunnan Baiyao Holdings underwent mixed-ownership reform, bringing state-linked and private strategic capital into the ownership structure. The listed group subsequently absorbed the holding company in 2019 through a large share-issuance transaction. The restructuring was presented as a way to integrate resources, improve competitiveness and support expansion into areas including orthopedics, gynecology and wound care. In the 2020s, the group continued to broaden its healthcare platform through traditional Chinese medicine resources, digital health and partnerships. Reported developments include an internet-hospital license in 2022, the establishment of an industrial-hemp research center and a related research-planting license in 2023, and a planned 2025 acquisition of Anguo Juyaotang Pharmaceutical by a wholly owned subsidiary. These activities belong to the wider corporate group, but they indicate the strategic direction surrounding the Yunnan Baiyao brand: linking the original remedy with pharmaceutical resources, healthcare services, botanical research and a larger Chinese medicine supply chain. The brand’s principal unresolved challenge is balancing secrecy and modern transparency. The protected formula is a valuable source of differentiation, but consumer products must also meet contemporary requirements concerning ingredients, safety and substantiation. The 2018 toothpaste lawsuit brought this tension into public view. Yunnan Baiyao therefore remains both a heritage symbol and a modern regulated healthcare brand, with its future dependent on continued trust, product innovation and credible communication across domestic and international markets.

1. 2025Planned acquisition of Juyaotang Pharmaceutical

   A wholly owned traditional-medicine resources subsidiary announced plans to acquire Anguo Juyaotang Pharmaceutical, a producer and seller of Chinese medicine tablets and related products.

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2. 2023Industrial hemp research initiative

   The group unveiled an industrial-hemp research center and obtained a scientific research planting license, according to reference reporting.

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3. 2022Internet hospital license

   The group obtained an internet-hospital license as part of a broader health-management and digital-health platform.

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4. 2019Absorption merger with Yunnan Baiyao Holdings

   The listed company completed the absorption merger of its parent holding company through a share-issuance transaction.

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5. 2017Mixed-ownership reform progressed

   Yunnan Baiyao Holdings completed a major ownership transaction involving new strategic capital, changing the structure around the listed group.

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6. 2014Digital and C2B marketing initiative

   The company appointed Arkr Digital to support digital marketing, product development and sales through Tmall and WeChat.

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7. 2007Toothpaste expansion accelerated

   The toothpaste business achieved a marked sales and visibility increase as the company invested in advertising and a more modern consumer image.

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8. 1993Shenzhen Stock Exchange listing

   Yunnan Baiyao Group’s A-shares began trading in Shenzhen under stock code 000538.

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9. 1971Yunnan Baiyao Factory established

   The industrial predecessor of the modern corporate group was established as the Yunnan Baiyao Factory.

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10. 1902Early twentieth-century creation of the remedy

    Yunnan Baiyao’s traditional origin is generally dated to the early twentieth century and associated with practitioner Qu Huanzhang in Yunnan.

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A heritage Chinese traditional-medicine brand combining a protected proprietary formula with modern pharmaceutical manufacturing, wound care, oral care and everyday consumer-health products.

• Yunnan Baiyao PowderTraditional Chinese medicine

  The signature powder is the product most closely associated with the brand. It is traditionally positioned for bleeding and trauma-related use and is sold as part of the company’s core proprietary-medicine portfolio. Its protected formula and long history are central to Yunnan Baiyao’s identity.

• Yunnan Baiyao CapsulesTraditional Chinese medicine

  Capsules extend the original remedy into a standardized oral dosage form. They are part of the company’s effort to provide more convenient formats than loose powder and to serve consumers through mainstream pharmaceutical and retail channels.

• Yunnan Baiyao AerosolWound care and trauma medicine

  The aerosol is an external-use format associated with bruising, swelling and trauma-care applications. Spray delivery makes the product practical for first-aid situations and helped broaden the brand beyond its original powder presentation.

• Yunnan Baiyao Plasters and BandagesWound care

  Medicated plasters, adhesive bandages and related external products translate the brand’s trauma-care heritage into convenient household first-aid goods. They have also been used in advertising to communicate the idea that Baiyao can support faster recovery from minor injuries.

• Yunnan Baiyao ToothpasteOral care

  Yunnan Baiyao Toothpaste is the brand’s best-known consumer-health extension. It applies the company’s traditional-medicine image to daily oral care and has been marketed around gum health and bleeding-related concerns. The line expanded the brand’s reach into supermarkets, pharmacies and e-commerce, while its ingredient and advertising claims became the subject of legal scrutiny in 2018.

• 2014Digital C2B branding program

  China

  Yunnan Baiyao worked with Arkr Digital on a reverse consumer-to-business model covering digital creative work, product development and new online retail channels.

  Outcome. The initiative supported the company’s first reported use of Tmall and WeChat in-app stores and provided a framework for developing products around local Yunnan ingredients.

  Source
• 2007Modernization of Baiyao toothpaste marketing

  China

  The company used substantial advertising and a more contemporary product image to bring Yunnan Baiyao into younger households and daily personal-care routines.

  Outcome. The toothpaste line gained visibility and became an important consumer-facing extension of the brand.

  Source
• Small medicine box and Double Eleven experiential promotions

  China

  Marketing research describes the use of practical medicine-box concepts, social-media activity and Double Eleven promotions to make the brand more accessible and stimulate online engagement.

  Source

• 2025Planned acquisition of Anguo Juyaotang PharmaceuticalM&A

  The group aimed to expand its Chinese herbal-medicine resource and processing chain.

  What changed. A wholly owned subsidiary announced a plan to acquire all shares of Anguo Juyaotang Pharmaceutical for RMB 660 million.

  Proposed acquisition consideration. RMB 660 million (2025 announcement)

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• 2019Absorption merger of Yunnan Baiyao HoldingsM&A

  The group pursued integration after the holding company’s mixed-ownership reform.

  What changed. Yunnan Baiyao Group absorbed Yunnan Baiyao Holdings through a share-issuance merger.

  Aftermath. The transaction unified the listed entity and holding structure and was intended to improve capital and operational synergies.

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• 2014Shift toward digital and direct-to-consumer channelsStrategy

  Traditional pharmacy distribution was being supplemented by e-commerce and social commerce.

  What changed. The company engaged Arkr Digital and developed Tmall and WeChat storefront activity.

  Aftermath. Yunnan Baiyao strengthened its ability to communicate with younger consumers and test products through digital channels.

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• 1993Public-market listingStrategy

  The company sought capital and a broader platform for pharmaceutical expansion.

  What changed. Yunnan Baiyao Group listed its A-shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under 000538.

  Aftermath. The listing supported the development of a larger pharmaceutical and consumer-health group.

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• 2018Toothpaste false-advertising lawsuitControversy

  A lawyer alleged that Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste advertising and ingredient presentation could mislead consumers by highlighting traditional Chinese medicine while not clearly identifying tranexamic acid. The dispute raised questions about evidence, labeling and the commercial use of a secret formula.

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• 2024Yunnan Baiyao proposed a large traditional-medicine health innovation fund investment

  The company announced a proposed RMB 5 billion commitment to establish or invest in a Yunnan traditional-medicine and big-health innovation fund, reflecting a shift toward primary-market and industry investment.

  Other
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• 2023Yunnan Baiyao marked three decades as a listed company

  Coverage highlighted the company’s long-term development as Yunnan’s first listed company and its expansion from traditional medicine into broader health-care categories.

  Other
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• 2019Yunnan Baiyao completed the absorption merger of Yunnan Baiyao Holdings

  The listed company absorbed its parent through a share-issuance transaction, integrating the operating company and holding structure after the group’s mixed-ownership reform.

  M&A
  Source
• 2019Yunnan Baiyao pursued a convertible-bond investment in Wuyi International

  The company proposed investing HK$730 million in convertible bonds issued by Wuyi International, an investment discussed in connection with personal care, plant extraction and industrial-hemp-related activities.

  M&A
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• 2017Yunnan Baiyao shares resumed trading after the parent-company transaction

  The listed group announced that its shares would resume trading after Yunnan Baiyao Holdings completed a major ownership transaction.

  M&AOther
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• 2014Yunnan Baiyao selected Arkr Digital for a digital marketing and C2B initiative

  The company appointed Arkr Digital to strengthen digital branding, product development and consumer-to-business marketing, with new activity on Tmall and WeChat stores.

  Campaign
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1. Yunnan Baiyao official website
2. How One Company Brought Traditional Chinese Medicine To The Modern World
3. Yunnan Baiyao: The picture of health
4. False advertising lawsuit against Chinese toothpaste sparks debate
5. Yunnan Baiyao Group company reference profile
6. Toothpaste expansion accelerated
7. Digital and C2B marketing initiative
8. Mixed-ownership reform progressed
9. Absorption merger with Yunnan Baiyao Holdings
10. Planned acquisition of Juyaotang Pharmaceutical
11. Small medicine box and Double Eleven experiential promotions
12. Yunnan Baiyao proposed a large traditional-medicine health innovation fund investment
13. Yunnan Baiyao marked three decades as a listed company
14. Yunnan Baiyao pursued a convertible-bond investment in Wuyi International