Introducing Medela, a Swiss brand renowned for its innovative breastfeeding solutions. With a deep understanding of maternal needs, Medela has developed products such as the “Heart Rhythm” pump and hands-free breastfeeding technology to alleviate common breastfeeding challenges in China.

Not long ago, Medela did consumer research and the results pointed in two directions.

Firstly, for breastfeeding, there are three core points for mothers. There is breast distention after starting breastfeeding; insufficient milk supply; and sore and cracked nipples. Secondly, the concept of breastfeeding is being refined. Mothers are paying more attention to their own feelings while choosing to breastfeed.

She Jiewen, Senior Marketing Director of Medela Greater China, told us that Chinese consumers have too many product choices and preferences. So how to lead this market in a sustainable way is a challenge for Medela. The essence of the challenge is to understand consumers and provide them with the most suitable products.

Capturing consumer core points

Trusted Expertise in Breastfeeding for Over 60 Years

As a Swiss brand with more than 60 years of breastfeeding research experience, Medela has always been an advocate and practitioner of breastfeeding. Many of its innovations—like the Medela breast pump line—are backed by deep scientific research.

In Medela’s many years of experience, there is one case that always impresses She Jiewen. A premature baby born at less than 28 weeks of gestation, weighing only 500g, grew to 8 pounds at 40 weeks. That is the weight of a normal 40-week-old baby.

The power of medical intervention should not be underestimated. But the connection between this case and Medela is that the preterm baby was using Medela’s medical-grade electric breast pump “Heart Rhythm” in the hospital.

Technology That Mimics Natural Breastfeeding

In Medela’s observation, newborns show a particular sucking pattern during breastfeeding. The sucking action starts fast and gentle to stimulate the lactation response, and then shifts to a slower, longer sucking rhythm. The Dual Rhythm technology used in Medela breast pumps highly mimics this sucking process in newborns.

In addition, in the normal pro-feeding action, the baby’s sucking action will stimulate the mother’s brain to produce prolactin, thus promoting more and more milk secretion. But in the mother-baby separation, or the baby lying in the incubator in the state, the Heart Rhythm pump uses a built-in patented program chip. It’s highly bionic, so that the mother’s milk output can be the same as the effect of feeding.

In order to make this Medela breast pump full of black technology accessible to more mothers, Medela launched the “Thirty Days Worry-Free Breast Milk Treasure” program. The mother can rent the Heart Rhythm pump free for 30 days with a special international lactation consultant to provide full tracking service.

“The previous lactation consultant could solve the basic problem of lack of milk. Now, they also master maternal psychology, nutrition, nursing and other skills to better support baby mamas.”

Of course, today Medela’s exploration has not only been limited to breast pumps but has become a provider of a full set of breastfeeding solutions.

According to reports, the market share of Medela’s lanolin cream has reached over 40%. The original purpose of this product is to solve the core point of baby moms’ cracked nipples during pro-feeding.

“The ingredients of the lanolin cream are very pure. 100% natural pure sheep fat from Australia, very mellow, we also call it ‘golden cream’.”

She tells us that Medela’s lanolin cream has been tested both chronically and acutely orally. It’s very safe to prevent dry and cracked nipples during breastfeeding, and to relieve pain caused by dryness and cracking. It can also be used as a lip balm and is great for baby’s red butt and drool rash.

Making moms feel better about themselves

Recently, there are two key phrases on Xiaohongshu: “baby daddies” and “Gap day”. The latter refers to the desire of moms to have a whole day to themselves.

These two terms show that before becoming mothers, women are also independent individuals. They want to care more about their own feelings.

Medela allows moms to be better at being themselves, enjoying the identity of a mother. This is also a key philosophy behind the brand’s product development, particularly around hands-free breastfeeding.

Based on this concept, the hands-free Medela breast pump has become a current product highlight.

According to the introduction, Medela’s hands-free breastfeeding pump is equipped with a unique cup. The cup can be placed directly inside the mother’s bra, truly freeing her hands. This innovation responds to the needs of active modern moms.

In addition, this machine is compatible with all Medela breast pump hosts.

“Even if the mother already owns a Medela, she can buy a separate accompanying cup. It can connect to the original machine and turn it into a hands-free breastfeeding device instantly.”

She Jiewen said that many hands-free products exist in the market, but Medela’s unique cup has its advantages. It’s very lightweight—only 70 grams—and its teardrop shape is more ergonomic. It applies no pressure above and offers support below, making it very comfortable.

“Many moms use our hands-free support without realizing time passes. Their mood improves, and their milk supply increases.”

Entering Pinduoduo to meet the needs of differentiated groups

Pinduoduo is a pioneering social shopping platform from China that blends e-commerce with group buying to offer consumers an engaging and cost-effective shopping experience. Today, the consumer psychology of the whole consumer is evolving towards two poles:

One part of the rational consumer group attaches more and more importance to cost-effectiveness and quality-price ratio. The other part of the high net worth group still has strong purchasing power and continuous demand for high-end consumer goods.

This actually constitutes another important observation of Medela’s consumer population. Opening Medela’s official flagship store in Pinduoduo has also become a logical thing to do under this observation.

As a relatively high-end brand, Medela is also customizing its products for the Pinduoduo channel, including bras as well as breast pumps. This move is to cater to relatively rational consumers who are more focused on quality-price ratio.

“We hope we can give these ‘sophisticated and savvy’ consumers some better product choices at a price they can accept.”

As a mother of two, She Jiewen deeply understands how difficult it is for breastfeeding mothers. That’s why she also hopes that Medela can be a friend and family member to moms during their most difficult time of breastfeeding.

As a matter of fact, Medela has entered the Chinese market since 2007, and has been continued to lead the market for 17 years. Its achievements mainly lie in continuous innovation, which is rooted in consumer insight and the brand’s main theme of “Science Achieves Care”. They are constantly iterating the demand for refinement and evolution.