Register Of Chinese Herbal Medicine

Name

Register Of Chinese Herbal Medicine

Legal name

The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine

Website

https://rchm.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: RCHM generates revenue through annual membership fees from practitioners. The organization offers multiple membership tiers including full membership, overseas membership at reduced rates, retired membership category, and Friends of the RCHM (public supporters). Members receive benefits including directory listing, use of MRCHM post-nominal, access to CPD, journals, events, professional insurance discounts through Balens', and use of RCHM and EHTPA Herbmark logos.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM) is a UK professional membership organization founded in 1987 that promotes safe and ethical practice of Chinese herbal medicine. It accredits degree-level trained practitioners, maintains a public practitioner directory, operates an Approved Suppliers Scheme for audited herbal quality, publishes a biannual journal, and runs CPD events and research conferences for its 300+ members.

Product overview

The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM) is a professional membership organization rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings include a Practitioner Directory for public search of qualified members, the RCHM Journal (biannual publication), Events and Conferences (including annual research conference and CPD seminars), Research Resources (evidence base and academic profiles), the Approved Suppliers Scheme (quality assurance for herbal sources), and the Bristol Chinese Herb Garden (educational resource). Additional member services include the New Practitioner Scheme (mentorship), Safety & Legal Support resources, and a Free Video Library. The RCHM does not offer a software platform or SaaS product but provides professional services to practitioners of Chinese Herbal Medicine in the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Practitioner Directory Public-facing searchable online directory of RCHM member practitioners trained to high standards, bound by the RCHM Code of Ethics and Practice, and using RCHM Approved Suppliers for herbal medicines. Includes 257 practitioners across the UK and internationally, searchable by name, county, city, London borough, or country.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• British Acupuncture Council (BAcC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2024First-ever joint conference held in 2024 at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School - UK Conference of Chinese Medicine 2024. The two leading UK professional bodies for acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine collaborated on research sharing and educational programming. RCHM and BAcC work together on NHS integration projects such as acupuncture provision within primary care networks in Gloucester.
• University of Bristol Botanic GardencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Partnership created in 2000 to establish the RCHM Chinese Herb Garden at the Botanic Garden of the University of Bristol. The garden serves as educational resource for teaching Dispensary and Pharmacognosy to undergraduate students, CPD for qualified herbalists, and public education about Chinese medicine philosophy and practice. Garden houses over 180 species of medicinal plants used in Chinese medicine.
• European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (EHTPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEHTPA is the umbrella organization for different herbal traditions and serves as the primary affiliate through which RCHM engages with UK government and European equivalents. EHTPA sets accreditation standards for Chinese herbal medicine courses that RCHM uses as membership requirements. RCHM works with EHTPA on regulatory matters, safety monitoring, and quality standards. The organizations share Herbmark logo for member use.
• Animals AsiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRCHM has partnered with Animals Asia, an organization that campaigns against cruelty in the treatment of animals, most notably the black bear. Partnership supports RCHM's commitment to no animal cruelty in herbal medicine practice and the message of 'Healing Without Harm'.
• Balens'minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBalens' provides reduced-rate professional insurance cover for RCHM members, which can also cover acupuncture practice. This partnership offers RCHM members access to discounted professional liability coverage as a membership benefit.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• British Homeopathic Association: UK professional body advocating for and registering homeopathic practitioners. Comparable structurally as a UK CAM register with standards, training pathways, and advocacy, though operating in a different therapeutic tradition under similar regulatory uncertainty.
• Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC): UK voluntary regulator for complementary therapies, holding a register of practitioners across multiple disciplines. Comparable as a UK register and standards body but broader in scope than RCHM, lacking the Chinese herbal medicine specialisation and Approved Suppliers Scheme.
• European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (EHTPA): The umbrella organisation for European herbal traditions and RCHM's primary affiliate for UK government dialogue and course accreditation. Comparable as a higher-tier standards and advocacy body covering multiple herbal traditions, but operating at a continental rather than national scale.

Direct peers

• British Acupuncture Council (BAcC): The leading UK professional body for acupuncture practitioners and RCHM's established joint-conference and NHS-integration partner. Highly comparable as a voluntary UK register with degree-level entry standards, MRCHM-equivalent post-nominal, directory listing, insurance partnerships, and government dialogue — covering an adjacent TCM discipline.
• Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ATCM): Another UK-based professional body for TCM practitioners, including Chinese herbal medicine. Most directly comparable peer on Chinese herbal medicine specifically, competing for the same graduate pipeline and practitioner members within the UK.
• National Institute of Medical Herbalists: The UK's oldest professional body for herbal medicine practitioners, offering membership, directory listing, CPD, and a code of ethics. Directly comparable to RCHM as a voluntary UK herbal register with similar standards-setting, insurance partnerships, and advocacy role, though covering Western rather than Chinese herbal medicine.

Emerging players

• College of Naturopathic Medicine: UK training provider offering diploma and degree pathways that feed the herbal medicine practitioner pipeline. Comparable as part of the same CAM training-and-credentialing ecosystem, but focused on education delivery rather than practitioner registration and advocacy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RCHMnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/RegisterofChineseHerbalMedicine
• Instagraminstagram.com/rchmuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/register-of-chinese-herbal-medicine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Register Of Chinese Herbal Medicine