JBK Lab rebrands as CellMed to pursue global healthcare ambitions

JBK Lab, a pharmaceutical and biotech company based in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has renamed itself after its flagship brand, CellMed. The move is designed to extend the expertise and trust the company has built through pharmacy networks into its broader corporate identity and to consolidate its premium healthcare and future business ventures under a single brand.

The company said Saturday that shareholders approved the name change — from JBK Lab Co. to CellMed Co. — at its 19th extraordinary general meeting, held Thursday at CellMed's Jeongja office in Bundang-gu, Seongnam.

JBK Lab was founded in 2008 by Chang Bong-geun, a pharmacist by training. The CellMed brand, launched in 2019 as a pharmacy-focused nutritional counseling label, has since grown alongside more than 3,000 full-member pharmacies nationwide and established itself as a leading name in the pharmacy sector. The company said it adopted CellMed as its corporate name to leverage the brand's accumulated expertise and credibility as the foundation for future growth and to bring its various business lines under one unified brand architecture.

Alongside the name change, the company is overhauling its brand structure. Its existing pharmacy-centered business will operate under the name CellMed Pharmacy, while its online consumer healthcare business will be consolidated under CellMed Wellness.

CellMed Wellness will serve as the umbrella for a range of premium consumer healthcare brands: Lipotion, a bio-derma cosmetics brand using Picotosome technology; Suevo, a premium natural omega oil brand; Venody, a functional coffee brand formulated to reduce concerns about carcinogens; Natuga, an organic lifestyle brand offering organic juices, milk, enzymes and natural vitamins; PetMed, a pet healthcare brand; and a beauty device brand centered on skin boosters and hair boosters.

Rather than operating each line as a standalone brand, the company plans to build an integrated brand architecture around CellMed to generate synergies across business units and deliver a consistent brand experience to consumers and customers. On that foundation, it aims to expand into a comprehensive healthcare platform — spanning expert-led premium healthcare and personalized self-care — in response to the rapidly aging population and growing demand for individualized health management. The broader vision is to extend CellMed's pharmacy-rooted expertise into the wellness space and grow into a global healthcare company.

The strategy is underpinned by the company's research and development capabilities. In 2024, it became the first company in the domestic pharmaceutical industry to obtain certification as a direct-to-consumer genetic testing institution, and it continues to conduct research using proprietary patented ingredients including AFNC (Anthocyanin-Fucoidan Nano Complex). The company plans to commercialize its genomic analysis technology and research outcomes under the CellMed brand to further advance its personalized healthcare services.

"CellMed is the company's greatest asset, built together with pharmacists over the past eight years, and a name that symbolizes customer trust," Chang said. "This name change goes beyond a simple rebranding — it is a strategic decision to unify the company's and brand's identity and lay the groundwork for future growth."

Chang added that he would "expand CellMed's pharmacy-born expertise and trust into wellness, genomic analysis and the many services we will develop going forward, and grow it into a global healthcare brand representing South Korea."

Meanwhile, CellMed is also working to strengthen the professional capabilities of its pharmacy network. It runs online and offline seminars as well as a learning management system-based education program for full-member pharmacists to support nutritional counseling skills. The company has also introduced a standardized exterior design concept called "CellMed Facade," completing installations at five locations so far, with plans to roll it out to CellMed pharmacies nationwide. Through these efforts, CellMed aims to create an environment where consumers receive a consistent service experience anywhere, further reinforcing its position as a pharmacy-based healthcare platform.