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Young shoppers in particular are going gaga for Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa The recipe for Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa has not changed since it was first concocted in the 1600s. Yet the sweet Chinese cough syrup, which has the colour and consistency of mud, is enjoying a renewed surge in popularity. Sales rose by almost a third between 2019 and 2024, reaching 635m yuan ($88m) last year. Those coughing up for the syrup are not just in China, but increasingly in the West, too. Pei Pa Koa, as it is known, can now be found in more than 20 countries. Bottles of the medicine, which includes ingredients such as loquat leaf and pomelo peel, go for around $5 in pharmacies in Hong Kong, where it is mostly manufactured. But they fetch around three times that price when sold through third parties on Amazon, an e-emporium, in America. The enthusiasm has been particularly infectious among young people. Worldwide Google searches for Pei Pa Koa rose by a quarter last year; tutorials on how to administer it have racked up millions of views on TikTok, a short-video app. Western celebrities have espoused Pei Pei Koa’s benefits: Zayn Malik, a singer for One Direction, a now-disbanded pop group, has praised the cough syrup’s ability to soothe scratchy vocal cords, as have Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, two actors in last year’s film adaptation of the musical “Wicked”. Traditional Chinese medicines have been steadily gaining interest in the West, spurred on in part by the social-media craze for “biohacking”, which focuses on improving health through experimental—and often spurious— fads. Chugging herbal cough syrups is but one example (Pei Pei Koa is unlikely to receive the blessing of America’s Food and Drug Administration any time soon). Ancient Chinese healing techniques such as gua sha (rubbing coloured rocks on your face) are also all the rage among young Westerners, with social-media tutorials likewise accruing vast numbers of views. As for Pei Pa Koa, stubborn coughs are not its only enemy. In 2020 America revoked Hong Kong’s special customs status, meaning products imported from the territory are now subject to the same duties as those from the mainland. Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods—including a 30% levy that was extended for another 90 days on August 12th—will translate into higher shelf prices for American fans of Pei Pei Koa. Herbal remedies are particularly vulnerable to tariffs: many of the syrup’s ingredients come from China and cannot be sourced elsewhere. There will be little relief for as long as the trade war lasts.
东方一抹甜，正“圈粉”无数西方人 让一众西方年轻人为之倾倒的，是一款名为“京都念慈菴枇杷膏”的止咳糖浆。 它的配方，自四百年前的明朝诞生以来，几乎未曾改变。其貌不扬，膏体粘稠，色如泥土，却在今天焕发出了新的生命力。从2019年到2024年，其销售额增长了近三分之一，去年达到了6.35亿元人民币（约合8800万美元）。为其买单的，不仅有中国人，更有越来越多远在西方的拥趸。 如今，这款华人亲切地称为“枇杷膏”的草本糖浆，足迹已遍布二十多个国家。它以枇杷叶、柚皮等多种药材熬制而成，在主要产地香港的药店里，一瓶售价约为5美元。然而，漂洋过海，经由亚马逊等电商平台进入美国后，身价便能翻上三倍。 这股风潮在年轻人中尤为盛行。去年，枇杷膏的全球谷歌搜索量激增了四分之一；在短视频平台TikTok上，教人如何服用的视频教程，更是轻松斩获百万播放量。一众西方名人也纷纷为其背书：前单向乐队（One Direction）歌手泽恩·马利克（Zayn Malik）就曾盛赞它对保护嘶哑喉咙的奇效；去年热映的音乐剧改编电影《魔法坏女巫》（Wicked）中的两位主演——辛西娅·艾利沃（Cynthia Erivo）和乔纳森·贝利（Jonathan Bailey）也是它的拥趸。 近年来，传统中医药在西方正稳步升温。社交媒体上兴起的“生物骇客”（biohacking）风潮，在其中扮演了推手的角色。这股风潮热衷于通过各种实验性、甚至有些旁门左道的方式来优化健康，而饮用草本止咳糖浆，便是其中一例（当然，枇杷膏短期内恐怕难以获得美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）的正式认可）。无独有偶，古老的“刮痧”（即用有色石块刮拭面部）等中式理疗，同样在西方年轻人中风靡一时，相关的社媒教程也吸引了海量围观。 然而，枇杷膏要征服的，不只是顽固的咳嗽。2020年，美国取消了香港的特殊关税地位，这意味着从香港进口的商品，将面临与内地同等的关税。特朗普政府时期对华商品征收的关税——其中一项30%的税率刚在8月12日被宣布再度延长90天——将直接推高枇杷膏在美国的零售价。草本药物在这类关税面前尤为脆弱，因为枇杷膏的许多原料都产自中国，几乎别无分店。 只要贸易战的硝烟一日不散，这抹来自东方的甜蜜，尝起来或许就要多一丝苦涩了。
Young shoppers in particular are going gaga for Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa The recipe for Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa has not changed since it was first concocted in the 1600s. Yet the sweet Chinese cough syrup, which has the colour and consistency of mud, is enjoying a renewed surge in popularity. Sales rose by almost a third between 2019 and 2024, reaching 635m yuan ($88m) last year. Those coughing up for the syrup are not just in China, but increasingly in the West, too. Pei Pa Koa, as it is known, can now be found in more than 20 countries. Bottles of the medicine, which includes ingredients such as loquat leaf and pomelo peel, go for around $5 in pharmacies in Hong Kong, where it is mostly manufactured. But they fetch around three times that price when sold through third parties on Amazon, an e-emporium, in America. The enthusiasm has been particularly infectious among young people. Worldwide Google searches for Pei Pa Koa rose by a quarter last year; tutorials on how to administer it have racked up millions of views on TikTok, a short-video app. Western celebrities have espoused Pei Pei Koa’s benefits: Zayn Malik, a singer for One Direction, a now-disbanded pop group, has praised the cough syrup’s ability to soothe scratchy vocal cords, as have Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, two actors in last year’s film adaptation of the musical “Wicked”. Traditional Chinese medicines have been steadily gaining interest in the West, spurred on in part by the social-media craze for “biohacking”, which focuses on improving health through experimental—and often spurious— fads. Chugging herbal cough syrups is but one example (Pei Pei Koa is unlikely to receive the blessing of America’s Food and Drug Administration any time soon). Ancient Chinese healing techniques such as gua sha (rubbing coloured rocks on your face) are also all the rage among young Westerners, with social-media tutorials likewise accruing vast numbers of views. As for Pei Pa Koa, stubborn coughs are not its only enemy. In 2020 America revoked Hong Kong’s special customs status, meaning products imported from the territory are now subject to the same duties as those from the mainland. Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods—including a 30% levy that was extended for another 90 days on August 12th—will translate into higher shelf prices for American fans of Pei Pei Koa. Herbal remedies are particularly vulnerable to tariffs: many of the syrup’s ingredients come from China and cannot be sourced elsewhere. There will be little relief for as long as the trade war lasts.
东方一抹甜，正“圈粉”无数西方人 让一众西方年轻人为之倾倒的，是一款名为“京都念慈菴枇杷膏”的止咳糖浆。 它的配方，自四百年前的明朝诞生以来，几乎未曾改变。其貌不扬，膏体粘稠，色如泥土，却在今天焕发出了新的生命力。从2019年到2024年，其销售额增长了近三分之一，去年达到了6.35亿元人民币（约合8800万美元）。为其买单的，不仅有中国人，更有越来越多远在西方的拥趸。 如今，这款华人亲切地称为“枇杷膏”的草本糖浆，足迹已遍布二十多个国家。它以枇杷叶、柚皮等多种药材熬制而成，在主要产地香港的药店里，一瓶售价约为5美元。然而，漂洋过海，经由亚马逊等电商平台进入美国后，身价便能翻上三倍。 这股风潮在年轻人中尤为盛行。去年，枇杷膏的全球谷歌搜索量激增了四分之一；在短视频平台TikTok上，教人如何服用的视频教程，更是轻松斩获百万播放量。一众西方名人也纷纷为其背书：前单向乐队（One Direction）歌手泽恩·马利克（Zayn Malik）就曾盛赞它对保护嘶哑喉咙的奇效；去年热映的音乐剧改编电影《魔法坏女巫》（Wicked）中的两位主演——辛西娅·艾利沃（Cynthia Erivo）和乔纳森·贝利（Jonathan Bailey）也是它的拥趸。 近年来，传统中医药在西方正稳步升温。社交媒体上兴起的“生物骇客”（biohacking）风潮，在其中扮演了推手的角色。这股风潮热衷于通过各种实验性、甚至有些旁门左道的方式来优化健康，而饮用草本止咳糖浆，便是其中一例（当然，枇杷膏短期内恐怕难以获得美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）的正式认可）。无独有偶，古老的“刮痧”（即用有色石块刮拭面部）等中式理疗，同样在西方年轻人中风靡一时，相关的社媒教程也吸引了海量围观。 然而，枇杷膏要征服的，不只是顽固的咳嗽。2020年，美国取消了香港的特殊关税地位，这意味着从香港进口的商品，将面临与内地同等的关税。特朗普政府时期对华商品征收的关税——其中一项30%的税率刚在8月12日被宣布再度延长90天——将直接推高枇杷膏在美国的零售价。草本药物在这类关税面前尤为脆弱，因为枇杷膏的许多原料都产自中国，几乎别无分店。 只要贸易战的硝烟一日不散，这抹来自东方的甜蜜，尝起来或许就要多一丝苦涩了。