2/23/22, 9:26 AM GSK’s Consumer Healthcare Business Rebrands As Haleon Ahead Of Spin-Off

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EDITORS' PICK | Feb 22, 2022, 09:38am EST | 7,149 views

GSK’s Consumer Healthcare

Business Rebrands As Haleon
Ahead Of Spin-Off
Marty Swant Forbes Staff
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I'm a staff writer and editor covering marketing, advertising and technology.

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GSK is rebranding its consumer healthcare business as Haleon, shown here in a mock-up of ... [+]
GSK

When GlaxoSmithKline spins off its consumer health unit later this year,
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the British pharmaceutical giant’s standalone business will become

Haleon—derived from the Old English word “Hale,” which means “in
good health,” and the Greek word “Leon,” which means “strength.”

On Tuesday, GSK revealed its new identity for the first time since the
demerger was announced in June 2021 as part of a plan to separate the
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2/23/22, 9:26 AM GSK’s Consumer Healthcare Business Rebrands As Haleon Ahead Of Spin-Off

vaccine business, with Haleon generating around £10 billion ($13.6

billion) in annual sales. Brands that’ll fall under the Haleon umbrella
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include the toothpaste Sensodyne; the arthritis cream Voltaren; pain
relievers including Panadol, Excederin and Advil; the multivitamin
Centrum and other well known brands like Nexium, Tums, ChapStick and
Nicorette.

“The big change now will be the company on the back of the pack,”
Tamara Rogers, global chief marketing officer of GSK’s consumer
healthcare division, told Forbes. “And I’m sure as we stand up and stand
alone and we become this incredible standalone health company that is
focused single-mindedly on everyday health, not distressed by other
categories, that we will continue to build that brand.”

Efforts to de-merge GSK’s consumer healthcare company were first

announced in June 2021, when CEO Emma Walmsley described the plans
to split as a part of a “step-change.” According to GSK’s financial records,
the consumer health care business grew organically by 4% between 2019
and 2021, but the company says it is “well positioned” to grow as a part of
the £150 billion consumer healthcare sector.

GSK is just one of several pharmaceutical giants that have rebranded in

the past year. As Pfizer began distributing its Covid-19 vaccine in January
2021, it introduced a new logo celebrating its role in drug discovery.
Earlier this month, the French pharma giant Sanofi ditched its bird logo
and instead opted for black letters with two purple dots: One symbolizing
the starting point of curiosity and a second representing the “eureka
moment.”

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2/23/22, 9:26 AM GSK’s Consumer Healthcare Business Rebrands As Haleon Ahead Of Spin-Off

In choosing Haleon as the new name, Rogers says the company “wanted a
word that would be connected to everyday health.” Working with the BETA

agency Interbrand, GSK came up with more than 2,000 options before
narrowing it down to 20 finalists. The company also worked with
“communities” of colleagues, consumers and healthcare professionals to
understand which names resonated and which didn’t.

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There’s also a new logo. Haleon will move away from GSK’s bright orange
color and instead embrace black and green. According to Rogers, green is
a “really positive color,” and also the color associated with the United
Nations sustainability goal focused on health. She adds that the health
challenges brought with the Covid-19 pandemic have brought people
wanting “hope and a sense of vitality.”

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2/23/22, 9:26 AM GSK’s Consumer Healthcare Business Rebrands As Haleon Ahead Of Spin-Off

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“It has this incredible sense of vitality, it promises growth, but it also has
got real balance to it,” Rogers says. “It helps you feel safe and secure and
protected, but it has all of that energy and also has wonderful associations
with health.”

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