Lin Zuanhuang: LMZ Leading TCM Daily Chemical Industry and Making National Brand Famous Overseas Written by Chen Libing

Mo Tingting Chen Zhiying

When it comes to Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Company Limited （LMZ）， many people are full of cordiality to the brand that grows with them. But what you may not know is that this well-known brand in China is also famous in Southeast Asia and other overseas markets.

From the successful production of the first TCM Toothpaste in China in 1978， to the development of a well-known brand， and then to becoming the first independent listed company in the industry， LMZ has become one of the worlds largest TCM Toothpaste production enterprises for more than 40 years， with the continuous innovation and change and improvement of quality and efficiency along with Chinas reform and opening up.

Being quality-orientated， leading the development of TCM Toothpaste

“Using LMZ， getting healthy teeth.” During the 40 years of development， it is no accident that this slogan has made LMZ famous all over the country and widely accepted by the public. This benefits from its brand concept of “inheritance， health and fashion”， and also from its development concept of “people-， quality- and technology-orientated”.

“‘Quality enables enterprises to thrive is a truth summed up by LMZ in the past 40 years， and it is the experience and consensus of several generations of LMZ. LMZ has always regarded quality as the life of an enterprise and the cornerstone of its survival and development，” said Lin Zuanhuang， Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Liuzhou LMZ Co.， Ltd.， in an interview with our reporter.

The predecessor of Liuzhou LMZ Co.， Ltd. （hereinafter referred to as LMZ） is Liuzhou toothpaste factory. After taking the lead in developing the first TCM Toothpaste in 1978， LMZ has been constantly innovating and changing， strengthening the concept of “quality-orientated” in the daily work of the enterprise to ensure product quality.

“That is why the company took the lead in obtaining ISO9001 international quality system certification in the industry， thus establishing a product quality management system in line with international standards. At the same time， the national 2G pharmaceutical standard is adopted to produce toothpaste， i.e. the planting standard of traditional Chinese medicine and the management standard of pharmaceutical production quality; the 300，000 level clean GMP standardized toothpaste production is realized， and the systematic and standardized process control is used to standardize the operation of various links， so as to ensure that the product delivery qualification rate reaches 100%，” said Lin.

Series of high standards have established the leading position of LMZ in the TCM daily chemical industry， making its brand and products recognized by consumers. Today， the number of TCM Toothpaste produced by LMZ has reached 10 billion standard tubes. At the same time， LMZ products have been recognized as “national standard demonstration products” and “national user satisfaction products” for many times， and LMZ has been rated as “Chinas top ten most popular national brands” and “one of Guangxis 60 most influential brands since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China”.

Inheriting the quintessence of China and building a healthy ecosystem

After 40 years of development， LMZ has always focused on the core technology of TCM daily chemicals， which not only benefits the majority of consumers， but also completes the great leap of independent innovation of the company. With the increasingly fierce consumption upgrading and market competition， LMZ also gives full play to its advantages in TCM technology for transformation and upgrading， building a leading enterprise in technology innovation integrating daily chemicals and pharmaceutical industries， with TCM as the core concept.

“Through the continuous excavation and innovation of the core concept of ‘TCM， we will further strengthen the R&D advantages of LMZ， comprehensively realize the scientific R&D and production of products， and expand the differential advantage positioning of related products of TCM，” said Lin.

Therefore， LMZ will carry out transformation and upgrading in the future by adhering to the development policy of “one body and two wings”. The former refers to taking LMZ company as the main business body， and the latter refers to the responsibility of continuously promoting the healthy and rapid development of the two major sectors of daily chemicals and pharmaceutical industry， integrating the industrys advantageous resources， giving full play to the leading role of TCM Toothpaste products， gradually expanding the sales market of daily chemical products， and actively developing new drug products， to realize the balanced， rapid， healthy and sustainable development of the two major sectors and finally form the “health ecosystem of LMZ”.

Building an international brand via the CAEXPO

After passing the strict inspection made by the FDA （Food and Drug Administration） in July 2018， and April 2019， LMZ TCM Toothpaste also smoothly passed the International Halal Certificate， which not only shows LMZs strength again， but also signifies that LMZ TCM Toothpaste will enjoy a broader market that will cover customers in Indonesia and other countries with large Muslim population.

But even before that， LMZ had already begun its course of internationalization. As early as the 1990s， LMZs products entered the ASEAN market. But at that time， compared with its outstanding performance at home， LMZ did not receive much attention in the global stage. In 2013， LMZ took the opportunity of participating in CAEXPO to rapidly expand markets in ASEAN and other countries.

“Since 2013， LMZ has been participating in the CAEXPO for seven consecutive years. By virtue of the CAEXPO， LMZ has enjoyed thriving development， with its products being stationed in seven ASEAN countries， as well as Japan， South Korea， the United Arab Emirates and other countries. We have also established cooperative links with customers from Singapore， Malaysia， Japan， South Korea， Thailand， Cambodia， Vietnam， Myanmar and the Philippines. The CAEXPO has narrowed the relationship between LMZ and ASEAN countries， and enabled the two sides to gain more market opportunities，” said Lin.

Meanwhile， driven by the Belt and Road Initiative， LMZ， in the future， will attract partners from ASEAN countries to conduct in-depth cooperation via the CAEXPO， to realize the vision of entering the ASEAN market with self-owned brand. “On the one hand， we should delivery TCM products and TCM culture， on the other hand， we should attract good foreign partners to join us and make win-win cooperation，” said Lin.

Diversification strategy for epidemic prevention and control

As a high-tech enterprise， in recent years， LMZ has developed a diversification strategy， by extending its range of products from traditional oral products such as toothpaste to big health brands such as pharmaceutical， washing and nursing products， etc.

It is worth mentioning that since the outbreak of COVID-19， the market demand for antisepsis hand cleaner and other products for epidemic prevention has surged. Therefore， under the premise of actively doing the epidemic prevention and control work， LMZ has stuck to the market demand， timely launched sanitizing and cleaning products. In this case， LMZ has been taking concrete actions to protect the health of consumers while promoting the further upgrade and development of the daily chemical industry of TCM.

“In January 2020， LMZ was granted the Hygiene License for the Production of Disinfection Products. Since the resumption of production， LMZ has instantly arranged the production sanitizing and cleaning products with the title of “Xiao” （disinfectant）. In March 2020， LMZ launched the customized group purchase package to protect the health of people return to work and study，” said Lin.

By adhering to inheritance， development and innovation over the past 40 years， LMZ has developed from a factory producing toothpaste products to one of the worlds largest manufacturers of TCM Toothpaste， with a wide range of products including daily chemical and pharmaceutical products. Also， it has expanded its market from Liuzhou， Guangxi， China to ASEAN， Japan， South Korea and other countries. Speaking of its future blueprint， Lin expressed that in the future， LMZ will work resolutely to make LMZ an excellent national brand， as well as a century-old brand widely trusted by customers.