China’s health products are once again embroiled in a false origin incident. A well-known brand of lutein, “Australia’s Yousiyi,” which previously relied on endorsements from multiple celebrities and ranked first in sales on e-commerce platforms, turned out to be a counterfeit foreign product. The products were labeled as originating from Australia but were actually produced domestically in China. The practice of packaging domestic products as imported goods by e-commerce platforms has been exposed.
“TikTok” and “Tmall”‘s top-selling lutein brand “Australia’s Yousiyi” originally claimed to be from Australia but is operated domestically in China by Guangzhou Yalayuan Health Industry Co., Ltd.
Previously, netizens revealed that after purchasing Yousiyi iron supplements, they discovered upon delivery that it was domestically produced. They shared screenshots of import product traceability information, with the company name translated into “Xianle Health Technology (Anhui) Co., Ltd.” The platform confirmed that it is an Australian brand but produced domestically.
The blueberry lutein capsules of “Australia’s Yousiyi” are labeled entirely in English, with the English company name translated as “Australia Yalayuan Health Industry Co., Ltd.” with an address at Unit 28, 1-5 Dinggeli Lake Road, Melbourne.
According to a report by China Central Television (CCTV), after conducting on-site visits in Melbourne, Australia, it was astonishingly found that the brand’s registered address there was actually an automotive repair shop.
On the evening of April 1, Yousiyi mentioned in a statement that their office address in Australia is undergoing changes, and the original Melbourne address has been discontinued due to business adjustments. The brand has leased the property to an auto repair shop, and procedures to update the registration of the new office address are being carried out orderly.
When interviewed, staff from Guangzhou Yalayuan Health Industry Co., Ltd. were unwilling to provide information about the factory.
It has been reported that the marketing strategy of endorsement, seeding, and flow creation within the industry is the secret to the success of this brand of so-called imported health products. Several marketing planning companies turn ordinary products into bestsellers through storytelling and targeted traffic placement, turning them into popular commodities.
The marketing planning for Yousiyi is handled by Hangzhou Suoxiang Marketing Planning Co., Ltd., whose head revealed that Yousiyi is a company based in Guangzhou, and the products are also manufactured there. They simply package it as Australian. Initially positioned as precision nutrition from Australia, it later became the top seller on TikTok and Tmall, selling 2.6 million bottles in a year.
Creating “hot-selling” products on online shopping platforms, the costs of endorsement, seeding, and flow generation account for more than half of the product’s sales revenue.
The so-called “endorsement” involves using so-called “international awards” or recommendations from well-known experts and authoritative institutions. “Seeding” is achieved through bloggers and influencers sharing their experiences and the effects of the products. “Flow” involves spending money to buy traffic from online shopping platforms and video platforms.
The head of Hangzhou Shetao E-commerce Co., Ltd. revealed that the “imported” health products they operate are also domestically produced, with prices differing by more than 10 times, some even up to 20 times. The majority of this price difference is used for traffic generation.
The head of another “imported” health product operation company in Hangzhou, Hangzhou Aidesida Media Technology Co., Ltd., stated that spending money on traffic generation is essential, as without it, surviving on TikTok is difficult. A genuine product that costs 100 yuan to produce, I turn it into 20 yuan in cost, but a genuine product cannot survive in the market.
Regarding the chaos in the Mainland China health product and e-commerce industry, current affairs commentator Li Lin told Dajiyuan that CCTV has selectively reported on some industry chaos over the years, but this falls under controlled reporting permitted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which only blames the problems on companies, offering little substantial help. The various departments of the CCP have consistently strengthened internet political censorship, but have been inadequate in supervising certain social and economic disorders due to some companies being willing to pay or having connections, while others do not.
Li Lin further noted that on the other hand, Chinese people have now applied their intelligence to engage in improper business practices. The CCP has destroyed the morals of the Chinese people through various movements, leading to a lack of business ethics and the prevalence of counterfeit goods. Therefore, the root cause of these disorders lies with the CCP government.