Lucas Papaw Ointment Hits The Big Time In Asia

Just when you thought the Chinese formula craze was starting to quiet down, there’s a new Australian wonder product causing a ruckus in the Asian market: Lucas’ Pawpaw Ointment.

You know this stuff. It’s the cure-all that parents all over the country reach for when they’ve got skin problems. My mum honestly believes there’s nothing better. She slathered it on us throughout our entire childhood to fix everything from chapped lips to splinters, oven burns to sunburns. Most of my life I was under the impression that it was magic.

Well, apparently I’m no longer the only one.

In the last few months there has been a rapid uptake in the product by consumers across Asia, particularly in China, and it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down soon.

What Makes It So In Demand?

There are a few things making Lucas’ Papaw Ointment a big deal in the Asian markets, and some Chinese consumer experts recently spoke to A Current Affair about just what it was driving the papaw boom.

According to CT Johnson, the managing director of Cross Border Management, a expert in the Chinese market place, one of the biggest things making Lucas’ Papaw Ointment take off in Asia was the company’s history. The ointment has been on the market in Australia for more than 100 years, and is seen as authentic and unchanged. This reputation holds sway in countries like China where fakes and imitations flood the market.

“The reason that the Chinese have such a big thing about authenticity is exactly because for the last 30 or 40 years they have been doing a lot of fakes. They’ve had a lot of counterfeiting that has gone on in that market.”

Johnson also mentioned that the simple, but iconic, packaging in the colour red might also make it a popular choice in Chinese markets, where “red is the colour of success and money”.

A Booming Export Market

As a result of this massive boom in the popularity of Lucas’ Papaw Ointment, the export market for the product has massively increased. In fact, during their investigation into the ointment’s popularity, A Current Affair found that pharmacies in some areas have begun to limit the number of tubes that customers can purchase. When A Current Affair visited several pharmacies looking to purchase the product, they were informed that a two tube limit was in place to make sure that Australian customers aren’t missing out on the stock.

However online wholesale chemists, like Ureeka run by pharmacist Peter Yousef, are already capitalising on the trend. Ureeka even has a Chinese smartphone app to allow their customers in China to purchase the Australian ointment straight from our shores.

The Effect For The Company

Lucas’ Papaw Ointment has been a family favourite in Australia for generations now. Just last year it was the number one selling beauty product at Priceline stores nationally, and has been getting mentions on best-selling lists for the last few decades. Thanks to both this long-standing popularity, and the recent popularity boom, Lucas’ has recently moved into a much larger, state-of-the-art Brisbane factory in order to keep their supply up with demand.

Lynette Swinglehurst, manager of Lucas’ Papaw Ointment and great-great-grandaughter of Lucas’ creator Dr Lucas, said that they now produce 40,000 tubes and 15,000 jars on any given day. However, the company recently released a statement saying that, although they could not stop individuals from buying the ointment in Australia to distribute overseas, they did not “encourage this practice” and hops that “such practices cease”.

What’s The Problem?

It seems that the issue behind the boom comes down to one thing: TGA Approval. That mean that in Australia the Therapeutic Goods Administration has regulated the health claims made by Lucas’ Papaw Ointment, ensuring that it is safe and effective. Each tube or jar of the ointment purchased in Australia comes with a guarantee for this, but overseas it’s not as simple.

The thing is that, despite what you might think, Lucas’ Papaw Ointment is not just a lip balm, it’s actually a medicinal product, hence the need for a TGA Approval. However Lucas’ only has that TGA approval for Australia, as well as the relevant approvals for New Zealand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. They are yet to expand further than that, although there’s no saying what might happen in the future.

For now anyone it seems that Lucas’ Papaw Ointment will just have to put up with the enormous Asian boom of their Aussie product, and the success and challenges that brings.