Starry Dialogue | Lebuntu: On the Path of 'Pioneering Innovation', Painting a Future of Universal Health

The continuous explosion of health management demand is opening up a vast blue ocean—special medical food (full name "special medical purpose formula food"). This industry was born in response to the rigid demand of the aging and chronic disease era, and is collaborating with the traditional medical system to build a more complete health ecosystem. Companies on the track are also ushering in their "golden age."

At this year's Fifth China Pharmaceutical Circulation Trade Conference and Fifth Pharmaceutical Retail Industry Conference (also known as "Star Conference"), many excellent companies focusing on the health and nutrition field made an appearance, and we also interviewedShanghai LeBento Health Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "LeBento") Medical Business Department Director Qian Shengli. So, let's see how LeBento, as a creator of diverse health nutrition, "ventures to innovate."

LeBento is a witness in the industry leap

Unlike the rise logic of ordinary consumer goods, special medical food is closely linked to the medical system, mainly targeting people who need precise nutritional support due to eating restrictions, digestive absorption disorders, and metabolic abnormalities caused by diseases. Its development is backed by the accelerated aging process, the surge in chronic disease management demand, and continuous policy optimization.

In recent years, the above trends have become increasingly visible. In terms of policy, from the 2016 "Special Medical Purpose Formula Food Registration Management Measures" clarifying the registration threshold, product standards, and clinical verification requirements for special medical food, to the April 2025 "Special Action Plan for Promoting Health Consumption" jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, National Health Commission, and 12 other departments, which clearly includes special medical purpose formula food as a key development area. It can be said that the special medical food industry is gradually on track and continuously evolving.

In this evolution, LeBento is both a participant and a witness.

According to Qian Shengli, LeBento is a major health brand under the international professional food manufacturer Jage Group, with products covering special medical purpose formula food, health food, dietary supplements, etc., extending business from daily balanced nutrition supply to precise nutrition, covering the nutritional needs of all population consumers throughout the health cycle.

When talking about the development of medical food, Qian Shengli was quite emotional: "We previously mainly engaged in prescription drugs in the medical industry, and started to contact medical food around 18, 19 years. At that time, there were only dozens of registered special medical foods in China, and currently, the number of approved registered special medical foods should exceed 250. In recent years, the development of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS, a new type of surgical recovery model, refers to the use of perioperative management measures supported by evidence-based medicine to reduce the physiological and psychological stress response and complications of surgical patients, and accelerate postoperative recovery), the country's emphasis on national health, and the active exploration of industry practitioners have greatly promoted the development of hospital nutrition departments and medical nutrition food."

Of course, there are also obstacles on the way forward. For example, the development time of special medical food in China is relatively short, and as a new thing, special medical food still faces a "cognitive gap" at the social level. Qian Shengli frankly said: "Some hospitals face certain challenges in accepting the new concept of special medical food, which requires time for cognition and understanding."

However, under the dual drive of demand and policy, the prospects for medical food are broad and already a definite fact. According to the report by ZS Consulting, from 2019 to 2024, the scale of China's special medical market has increased from 7.3 billion yuan to 23.2 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 26.1%, and it is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 18% in the next five years, reaching 53.1 billion yuan by 2029.

Industry players like Jage Group and LeBento also shoulder the responsibility of popularizing concepts and expanding the market.

Seize core channels and accelerate blue ocean cultivation

"The parent company Jage Group has been engaged in medical food in Taiwan for over 25 years. According to revenue and consumer survey recognition rankings, Jage Group is the number one health functional food company in Taiwan, covering a series of medical food sales for diabetes, tumors, and pre-and post-dialysis nutrition supplementation, second only to Abbott in Taiwan. Based on such sales background and experience, we have gradually started to transform Taiwan's special medical food to the mainland since last year." Qian Shengli said.

It is not difficult to see that LeBento's market expansion pace is continuously accelerating, and channel expansion is also a key part of it.

It is understood that special medical food has both medical and consumer attributes, and its downstream sales channels are mainly divided into hospital channels and out-of-hospital retail channels. Among them, hospital channels for special medical food are recommended for use by clinical departments and nutrition departments of hospitals at all levels, and purchases are provided by in-hospital pharmacies or nutrition departments. In recent years, under policy guidance, local medical systems have become increasingly open and complete, further accelerating the expansion of the medical food industry.

For example, the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone relies on the "medical special zone" policy advantages to accelerate the construction of an international medical health consumption innovation highland. Since its establishment was approved by the State Council in 2013, the Lecheng Pilot Zone has formed policy advantages such as clinical urgently needed imported drugs and devices, real-world data applications, temporary import of special medical food, and "zero tariff" drugs and devices, benefiting over 130,000 patients cumulatively.

The "Hainan Free Trade Port Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Biomedical New Technology Promotion Regulations" implemented in February 2025 is the country's first local legislation providing regulatory support for the transformation and reasonable pricing of biomedical new technology, and currently, 8 new technology projects have been landed, reducing patient treatment costs through innovative pricing mechanisms.

This also benefits the landing of LeBento's advantageous products. Qian Shengli mentioned: "The group has the first legally qualified diabetes special medical product in China, and the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration attaches great importance to it, and is working to promote the product into the prescription system of hospitals such as Ruijin Hainan Hospital and Huaxi Lecheng Hospital, and it is expected that the first domestic diabetes stable sugar special medical food prescription will be available to relevant patients in July this year, which can be regarded as an epoch-making progress. In addition, we have a research and production base in Taicang, Jiangsu, specifically targeting special medical food to build a production line to meet the needs of different departments."

The retail channels for special medical food include mother and baby stores, chain pharmacies, e-commerce platforms, etc., and these channels have greater expansion space. A random sampling questionnaire survey targeting the elderly shows that when purchasing medical food, pharmacies are the most favored purchase channel by the elderly (72.3%), followed by hospital pharmacies (37.1%) and shopping malls (12.7%). With the improvement of health awareness among the younger generation, the market share of medical food in e-commerce channels has also increased significantly.

In addition, many places are piloting special medical food "into communities, into elderly care institutions, into schools, into pharmacies" special actions, and the public's scientific cognition of special medical food continues to increase, and the sales channels for special medical food are also becoming wider.

In this context, LeBento is also continuously promoting the retailization of its medical food. For example, on June 24, 2025, the LeBento Milk Mineral Salt Glucosamine Chondroitin Powder new product launch event (Zhoushan Station) was held at the headquarters of Zhoushan Liken Pharmaceutical Chain. Through this event, LeBento's star health product officially entered the Zhoushan market, and the company also started deep strategic cooperation with Zhoushan Liken Pharmacy and Kaizhi Jia, two local leading enterprises.

Conclusion

Through the dialogue with LeBento, it is not difficult to find that the mainstreamization of China's special medical food is not simply a market expansion, but a profound transformation of the health landscape. It marks the transition of the medical paradigm from passive treatment to active nutritional intervention, and is a strategic pivot for the country to cope with the aging wave and solve the chronic disease dilemma. As industry players like LeBento continue to promote the transition of nutritional science from the "marginal auxiliary" of the medical system to "core empowerment," we are expected to see a more structured and resilient national health future.

Source: Pharmaceutical Research Society