Orion Sells Dr. You Protein Bars and Energy Bars in China

Published 28 Jul.2020 09:15(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Orion announced on the 28th that it is launching the Dr.You brand in China and starting local production and sales of the ‘Dr.You Protein Bar’ and ‘Dr.You Energy Bar’ through its Chinese subsidiary.

In China, where there is a high interest in health, consumer demand for nutritious and healthy products has increased further this year due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In this market environment, Orion is confident in the local success potential and has launched products with enhanced nutritional content.

The Dr.You Protein Bar and Energy Bar are among the most anticipated products for the second half of the year at Orion’s Chinese subsidiary. Moving beyond existing categories such as pies, snacks, biscuits, and candies (gum, jelly), they are pioneering the nutrition bar sector. Combining accumulated technology, quality, and taste with the local marketing and sales expertise of the Chinese subsidiary, Orion plans to actively target the Chinese nutrition bar market.

The Dr.You Protein Bar allows easy intake of 12g of protein, equivalent to two eggs, amid the spread of the dumbbell economy (a term expressing spending on health or fitness). From the initial launch, it has gained great popularity through word of mouth among health and home training enthusiasts.

Based on the concept of ‘nutritional design,’ it pioneers the nutrition bar category in the domestic market, which has been dominated by chocolate bars, by adding carefully selected ingredients such as nuts, fruits, cereals, and L-carnitine, which burns fat to produce energy. It has continued to grow significantly as a representative product that can conveniently replenish vitality and nutrition anytime and anywhere, alongside increasing interest in well-being and health and the growing leisure population engaged in activities such as hiking, cycling, and golf.

In June, Orion introduced the ‘Dr.You Drink’ domestically, which uses high-quality ‘milk protein’ to provide 12g of protein equivalent to two eggs and 18 types of amino acids conveniently. In Korea, the Dr.You brand is expanding into beverages to broaden the market, and in China, Orion plans to continuously introduce a health lineup using the Dr.You brand beyond protein bars and energy bars.

An Orion official said, “We will aggressively utilize the Dr.You brand with the health design concept in global markets such as Korea and China, where health trends continue to spread,” adding, “We expect the Dr.You Protein Bar and Energy Bar to become new growth drivers for our Chinese subsidiary.”