Takehome:
- Australian infant formula manufacturer Bellamy will attempt to cash in on infant formula general trade channels in China by authorizing another manufacturer ViPlus to use its brand name. Bellamy’s has been unable to register an infant formula product in China, and the move is an attempt to exploit the solid reputation of the Bellamy brand while circumventing regulatory requirements which have seen it unable to sell new product in China through general trade channels since 1st January 2018.
On Apr. 24, 2019, Bellamy announced that a new Bellamy’s branded infant formula product line was to be produced at the ViPlus Dairy (ViPlus) facility. The product line has already been granted registration approval by China SAMR and it was awaiting final certification [1]. Stimulated by this inspiring news, Bellamy’s share price jumped to 11.29 Australian dollars per share that day, representing a 17.36% increase. However, after our investigations we have discovered that the product is not a new formula and just involves a slight tweak in the registered information (basically just a change of name) of a previously registered Viplus product.
