Haleon, the multinational consumer health company behind sensitive-teeth toothpaste Sensodyne, is building a new oral care plant in Shanghai, China. The investment totals £65 million (about ₩122 billion), signaling its intent to shift the axis of growth toward China and India even as earnings wobble.
According to Bloomberg, Haleon CEO Brian McNamara disclosed the investment plan in an interview in Shanghai this past March, adding that the company will keep pursuing bolt-on acquisitions, buying smaller companies to add onto its existing businesses.
Who Is Haleon?
Haleon was spun off in 2022 when the consumer health divisions of pharmaceutical companies GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) and Pfizer merged. Beyond sensitive-teeth toothpaste Sensodyne, it sells the multivitamin Centrum, pain reliever Panadol, and muscle-pain reliever Voltaren, among others, across 170 countries. Pfizer steadily reduced its stake and sold its remaining share last year, fully parting ways with Haleon. In Korea, the former GSK Consumer Healthcare Korea changed its name to Haleon Korea in 2024 and continues to distribute the same brands.
Earnings Wobbled, but Oral Care Held Up
In late February, Haleon said its quarterly sales missed market expectations as the cold and flu off-season ran longer than anticipated, sending its share price sharply lower. Even so, CEO McNamara explained that oral care products like Sensodyne and pain relievers held up relatively well despite inflationary pressure. That reads as a signal to put more investment into categories that sell steadily year-round, rather than seasonal categories like cold medicine.
In China, It Sells Through E-Commerce
Haleon generates roughly 40% of its China sales through online retailers. CEO McNamara named that share as central to the company's next phase of growth. Last year, the company also bought out the remaining stake in a joint venture with Tianjin TSKF Pharmaceutical, a drugmaker in Tianjin, China, giving it a structure to sell over-the-counter medicines directly in the local market without going through intermediate distributors. The new Shanghai plant, in effect, expands the production base feeding that enlarged sales network. India was also named as a future growth pillar, but the interview did not include specific investment plans for it.
Haleon Korea already sells Sensodyne through retailers like Olive Young and Market Kurly, but the new Shanghai plant is a facility aimed at China's domestic market. There is no evidence yet that this investment will change the volume or pricing of products distributed in Korea. Still, it signals where Haleon is putting its weight in Asia, making it worth watching how the brand lineup on sensitive-teeth toothpaste shelves shifts going forward.