The pharmacy is no longer just selling medicine! Feihe AiBen wins the Xidinghui "Cross-industry Dark Horse" with small-molecule milk protein.

Ask AI · How can small-molecule milk protein solve the nutritional absorption challenges faced by middle-aged and older adults?

Produced by｜China International Channel

Reviewed by｜Li Xiaoyan

From March 25 to 29, the 11th Health Commodities Trade Fair (2026 Xiding Conference) opened grandly in Huzhou, Zhejiang. This industry event, hailed as the “rapid-link industry gala for out-of-hospital health product trading,” brought together more than 50k industry peers, 1,200+ upstream brands, and 3,000+ medical-pharmacy retail terminals, becoming a key window for insight into the health industry’s transformation trends. A functional nutrition brand under Feihe—Aibeng—made a big debut with its full range of small-molecule milk protein products. Backed by strong cross-industry innovation capabilities, it won the honor of “Most Potential Cross-Channel Enterprise in China’s Pharmaceutical Retail Market for 2025—2026” and was recognized as a “Cross-Industry Dark Horse.” Using milk protein functional nutrition as the leverage point, it drove a value leap for pharmacies—from a “pharmaceutical retail terminal” to a “health management station.”

Say goodbye to “theory of medicines only,” and embrace the “nurturing era”

At present, China’s health industry is undergoing profound change. With the Healthy China strategy shifting from “treating illness as the center” to “people’s health as the center,” combined with the structural rise of 310 million new retirees, the core logic of the out-of-hospital retail market has been quietly reconfigured. The “patient dividend” pharmacies once relied on from prescription drugs is gradually diminishing. In its place, a surge in health needs from “newly retired people” is exploding—moving from “passive healthcare” to “active defense.”

Data from the “2025 National Survey Report on Protein Intake Status” shows that nearly half of adults do not get enough protein, and 90% of elderly people actively reduce their protein intake due to declining digestive absorption capability, which then triggers a chain of health issues such as muscle loss, lowered immunity, and metabolic disorders. In a themed presentation at the Xiding Conference, Huang Weichuan, Feihe’s vice president and general manager of the Functional Nutrition business, stated: “The future of pharmacies is not in a few boxes of prescription drugs, but in that one cup of functional nutrition every early morning.” This judgment precisely hits the industry’s pain point—pharmacies urgently need to move beyond a single track of “theory of medicines only.” Centering on functional nutrition, they must build a composite service system of “medicines + health management.”

Against this backdrop, Aibeng’s cross-industry entry comes at exactly the right time. Leveraging Feihe’s 64 years of end-to-end industry chain accumulation and its stringent standards in infant formula, Aibeng transfers milk protein deep-processing technology to the adult health track. With “small-molecule milk protein” as its core, it provides high-professional, highly adaptable functional nutrition solutions for pharmacies, filling the category gap of “from medicine to nurturing.”

Small-molecule milk protein unlocks a new code for nutritional absorption in middle-aged and older adults

Aibeng’s core competitive strength stems from a deep breakthrough in milk protein technology. Targeting the pain points of gastrointestinal functional decline in middle-aged and older adults and the difficulty absorbing large-molecule proteins, Aibeng’s R&D team spent 7 years and conducted more than 3,000 experiments, innovatively launching “Milk Protein Fresh Titration Extraction Technology” to create a breakthrough ingredient—small-molecule milk protein.

This technology directly extracts proteins from fresh raw milk through physical methods, preserving nutritional bioactivity to the greatest extent; at the same time, it uses a patented enzymatic hydrolysis process to cut protein molecules to below 10,000 daltons, greatly improving absorption efficiency and adapting to the fragile digestive systems of middle-aged and older adults. Compared with traditional protein products, small-molecule milk protein achieves three major core advantages: first, it is lactose-friendly—physical separation of lactose avoids blood-sugar fluctuations and is suitable for people with lactose intolerance; second, it has high nutritional density, containing 18 amino acids (including 9 essential amino acids), with branched-chain amino acids accounting for 20%, which can effectively promote muscle synthesis and inhibit breakdown; third, it offers diversified functions—during the hydrolysis process, more than 1,600 functional peptides are produced, working synergistically in muscle and skeletal care, immune regulation, antioxidant effects, and more.

This technological achievement is not a lab concept. It has been clinically validated through “medical research co-creation” with Capital Medical University, ensuring efficacy and safety with pharmaceutical-grade standards and providing solid support for professional endorsement along the pharmacy channel.

Three core product categories, covering health needs across all age groups

At the Xiding Conference, centered on small-molecule milk protein, Feihe Aibeng built three differentiated product matrices—precisely matching the key pain points of middle-aged and older adults and people with sub-health conditions—becoming a popular choice for pharmacy selection.

Small-molecule milk protein specialized nutrition powder: focusing on the pain point of action capacity in middle-aged and older adults, it uses small-molecule milk protein as the core, and co-formulates milk calcium and vitamin D to deliver “support muscle and skeleton together.” Paired with type II collagen cartilage powder, a complex prebiotic mix, and probiotics, it provides joint and gut health care at the same time, addressing issues such as leg and foot weakness caused by muscle loss and the risk of easy falls.

Fiber-fine probiotic kale protein powder: targeting adult weight management needs, it uses three high-quality proteins as the base, and combines a patented metabolic probiotic with 70 billion active cells, white kidney bean extract, and kale dietary fiber to deliver “lose weight without losing muscle,” providing a healthy “light-body” solution for people with sub-health conditions.

Bovine colostrum nutrition powder: focusing on improving self-care strength, it uses 5 times the addition of bovine colostrum within 24 hours (only 3/10,000 of the annual milk yield of mother cows). Its immunoglobulin IgG content reaches as high as 25,000 mg/100g. It is paired with conjugated linoleic acid and 66 billion active probiotics, gently supporting the gut while strengthening immunity.

Across these three products, a complete nutrition closed loop is built across three dimensions: action capacity, weight management, and self-care strength. They not only meet pharmacies’ needs for category expansion, but also align with consumers’ everyday health management scenarios—bringing pharmacies high-stickness customer groups and high-margin growth space.

Empowerment through professionalism—reconstructing the growth boundaries of pharmacies

Feihe Aibeng was recognized as a “Cross-Industry Dark Horse.” This is not only a recognition of its products and technology, but also represents the industry’s consensus on pharmacy transformation paths. The Xiding Conference organizing committee stated that Aibeng successfully brought professional nutrition standards and service systems from the maternal-and-infant sector into pharmacies. It injected entirely new categories, customer groups, and consumption scenarios into traditional pharmaceutical retail, reshaping consumers’ perception of pharmacies as “providers of solutions for healthy living.”

From dairy giants to functional nutrition experts, Aibeng’s cross-industry logic is clear and firm: based on the concept of “medical research co-creation,” with small-molecule milk protein technology as the core, and pharmacies as the delivery channel, it drives an industrial upgrade from “medicine to nurturing.” In the future, Aibeng will continue to deepen cooperation with medical and pharmaceutical terminals, develop more adaptable products, and help pharmacies build a composite terminal of “medicines + functional nutrition + health services,” so that professional nutrition becomes part of daily life and provides solid support for the health of the entire population.

Amid the wave of upgraded health consumption, Feihe Aibeng provides pharmacies with a replicable paradigm for transformation through technological innovation and cross-industry courage. When “theory of medicines only” becomes a thing of the past, the “nurturing era” centered on functional nutrition has already arrived—and Feihe Aibeng is becoming the leader and enabler of this transformation.