Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 624: Chapter 624: A Bird Startled by a Bow

At Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, some of the traditional Chinese medicine workshops had temporarily shut down due to policy adjustments. The roar of the machinery had ceased.

But this was only a temporary silence.

With the arrival of Li Xu’s new formula, these workshops were rapidly converted. The original pharmaceutical production lines were cleaned, sanitized, and recalibrated, transforming into bottling lines for shampoo.

"Let’s just call it ’Ding’s Natural Herbal Shampoo’."

At the product naming meeting, Ding Kaifang made the final decision.

It was simple and direct, exuding the confidence of a domestic brand.

To segment the market, the product was divided into two lines:

The standard edition, targeting the mass market, was priced at 166 yuan per 500ml bottle.

The premium edition, the same kind Li Xu had originally given Song Sisi, contained a higher concentration of sea buckthorn oil and Chinese medicinal extracts. It was packaged in a frosted glass bottle with a dark wooden cap, exuding luxury, and priced at 666 yuan per bottle.

Though the prices were steep, after factoring in R&D, raw materials, packaging, and distribution, the cost of even the premium edition was only about 30 yuan. It was a gold mine, but in the cosmetics industry, this already represented remarkably "conscientious" value for the price.

...

Shampoo isn’t classified as a drug, but as a cosmetic.

According to the "Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulations," non-special use cosmetics only require filing for record before they can be sold.

Of course, if it claimed special effects like preventing hair loss or promoting hair growth, it would need to apply for a "special use cosmetic" approval number, a relatively complex process.

To save time, Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory first went through the standard cosmetic filing process, marketing the product with claims of "nourishing, anti-dandruff, and repairing." As for the anti-hair loss effect, that would be a "surprise" for users to discover on their own, which wouldn’t count as false advertising.

Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory already possessed a full cosmetic production license.

A competent registration specialist, carrying a thick stack of documents, walked into the service hall of the drug administration.

The filing process went smoothly.

However, the moment the filing information was entered into the system, an invisible intelligence network was triggered.

In this era of big data, commercial information travels faster than a virus.

The Pharmaceutical Association, the Beauty and Hairdressing Association, and various major commercial intelligence agencies were all constantly monitoring the market for new product trends.

Especially Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory.

This dark horse, which had risen meteorically in just two short years, had long become the industry’s focal point.

Every one of their new product launches caused an earthquake.

...

Capital City, a high-end office building.

Tongren Hall, Yunnan Baiyao, Huasheng Pharmaceutical, Hengrui Medicine... The heads of marketing for these domestic pharmaceutical giants received the briefing at almost the exact same time.

"Ding’s Pharmaceutical is making another move?"

"What product? An anti-cancer drug? Or a cardiovascular medication?"

When they saw the word "shampoo," they all breathed a sigh of relief in unison, their tense nerves relaxing.

"Hah, that scared me to death. I thought they were about to release another revolutionary Divine Medicine."

"So they’ve gone into daily chemicals. I guess you could call that poaching on another industry’s territory?"

"Whatever. As long as they’re not trying to steal our lunch in the pharmaceutical market, it’s fine. Let them go fight it out with P&G and Unilever. We’ll just watch the show."

The pharmaceutical giants chose to watch from the sidelines.

But on the other side, the atmosphere at the Beauty and Hairdressing Association was not so relaxed.

Although this association was nominally a self-regulatory body for the industry, it was actually controlled by several major daily chemical giants.

Ever since Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory had launched a miraculous Aloe Vera Frost, it had not only cured countless people’s acne and skin problems but had also directly impacted the market for expensive imported skincare products.

The effect was, simply put, a complete domination!

This struck deep fear into the hearts of the bigwigs at the Beauty and Hairdressing Association.

They were afraid.

Afraid that this unconventional pharmaceutical company would pull another trick out of its hat.

Therefore, both the Pharmaceutical Association and the Beauty and Hairdressing Association had, with a tacit understanding, not invited Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory to join.

It was a silent boycott,

and a form of huddling together for warmth out of fear.

...

Beauty and Hairdressing Association headquarters, the president’s office.

A staff member knocked on the door with a panicked expression. "President Gao, this is bad! Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory has filed a registration for a shampoo."

President Gao Tang was a man in his sixties. His hair was dyed a glossy jet-black, and he was sipping tea from a purple clay teapot.

Upon hearing this, his hand trembled, spilling tea all over the table.

"What? Shampoo?"

Gao Tang’s expression turned ugly.

’His worst fears had come true.’

The "disruptor" had finally extended its demonic claws into the most lucrative and vast market of all: shampoo.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, he immediately gave an order: "Call an emergency meeting right now. Notify the representatives from P&G, Unilever, Bawang, Rejoice... all member companies of the board. Attendance is mandatory."

「An hour later.」

The round conference room was thick with smoke.

The representatives of the major daily chemical giants sat around a table, none of them looking pleased.

Gao Tang tapped the table, his tone grave. "Everyone, the wolf is at the door. Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory’s new shampoo has been registered and could hit the market at any moment. Let’s hear it. What should we do?"

The P&G representative was a blond, blue-eyed foreigner, but he spoke fluent Chinese.

He shrugged, somewhat dismissively. "President Gao, aren’t you being a little too nervous? Shampoo is a technical business, and it’s a brand business. They’re a Chinese medicine company. What do they know about shampoo? Consumers these days are very picky; you can’t just fool them with some generic herbal scent."

"Besides, we at P&G have been deeply rooted in this field for decades. Whether it’s our technical expertise or our market channels, we are the undisputed hegemon. A new brand wants to shake our position? They’re dreaming."

Gao Tang sighed and shook his head. "You don’t understand Ding’s Pharmaceutical. Their track record... it’s terrifying. Every field they’ve entered, whether it’s eye drops or skincare, they’ve ended up number one in the industry. Their product strength is absolutely not to be underestimated."

The Unilever representative also looked grim. "I agree with President Gao. You can look down on the enemy strategically, but you must take them seriously tactically. What if... and I’m just saying what if... their shampoo is actually very effective? For example, what if it can really prevent hair loss? That would be a devastating blow to everyone here."

The representative from Bawang felt this even more keenly. "When it comes to herbal shampoos, we have the most right to speak. We’ve been making them for years, but the results... well, everyone knows how it is. If Ding’s has really come up with some kind of black-tech formula, our market share will definitely be the first to be eaten up."

The conference room fell silent.

If the Ding’s shampoo was merely average, then there was naturally nothing to fear. They could even take the opportunity to suppress it and mock them for not sticking to their own business.

But if it was very effective...

That would be a huge problem.

"The key is, we know nothing about their product right now," Gao Tang said. "We don’t know the formula, we don’t know the effects, we haven’t even seen a sample. This puts us in a very passive position."

"If we could get our hands on some samples, even a semi-finished product, we could take them back to our labs for analysis. Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

Gao Tang looked around at the group. "Does anyone have a way?"

A glint flashed in the P&G representative’s eyes. "Of course there’s a way. Business competition... it’s always the same old tricks."

"I’ll arrange for someone to approach their employees. As long as we can get a sample, or even... if we can get the formula, then all our problems will be solved."

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