Global consumer health product sales are expected to reach $322 billion in 2023, growing at an annual rate of 6% (on a non-inflation, constant currency basis). In many markets, growth is driven more by price increases due to inflation, but even without accounting for inflation, the industry is still expected to grow 2% in 2023.
While overall consumer health sales growth in 2023 is expected to be broadly consistent with 2022, the drivers of growth are significantly different. The incidence of respiratory illnesses was extremely high in 2022, with cough and cold medicines hitting record sales in many markets. However, in 2023, while sales of cough and cold medicines surged in the first half of the year, driving healthy sales growth for the full year, overall sales will be well below 2022 levels.
From a regional perspective, in the Asia-Pacific region, the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic and other respiratory diseases, coupled with consumers’ behavior of grabbing and hoarding medicines, have promoted the sales of vitamins, dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs, driving the Asia-Pacific growth rate Easily reaching 5.1% (excluding inflation), ranking first in the world and almost twice as fast as Latin America, which has the second fastest growth rate in the region.
Growth in other regions was much lower as overall consumer demand fell and the scope of innovation narrowed, particularly in vitamins and dietary supplements. This is most evident in North America and Western and Eastern Europe, where sales of vitamins and dietary supplements experienced negative growth in 2022 and are expected to continue to decline in 2023 (on a non-inflation basis).
Looking at the forecast for the next five years, consumption will gradually return after inflationary pressures ease, and all regions will rebound, although some categories will only see weak growth. The industry needs new innovation vehicles to recover faster.
After the relaxation of epidemic control, Chinese consumer demand has increased significantly, taking the sports nutrition category, which has been experiencing explosive growth for many years, to a higher level in 2023. Sales of non-protein products (such as creatine) are also surging, and the marketing of these products is based on a general health perspective and is expanding beyond fitness enthusiasts.
The outlook for vitamins and dietary supplements is unclear in 2023, and the overall data is not pessimistic because sales growth in Asia Pacific masks significant weakness in other regions. While the pandemic had boosted the category with demand for immunity boosting, it has continued to decline and the industry is looking forward to the next wave of product development to drive new growth in the industry in the mid-2020s.
Johnson & Johnson spun off its consumer health business unit into Kenvue Inc in May 2023, which is also a continuation of the recent trend of asset divestitures in the industry. Overall, industry mergers and acquisitions are still not at the levels of the 2010s, and this conservative trend will continue into 2024.
1. Women’s health leads growth
Women’s health is an area where the industry can refocus, with opportunities in over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and dietary supplements, sports nutrition and weight management. Women’s health-related nutritional supplements will grow by 14% in North America, 10% in Asia-Pacific, and 9% in Western Europe in 2023. Companies in these areas have launched women’s health products targeting various needs and age groups and menstrual cycles, and many have achieved great success in further converting and expanding from prescription to over-the-counter medicines.
Acquisitions by major companies also reflect the attractiveness of the women’s health field. When French consumer health company Pierre Fabre announced the acquisition of HRA Pharma in 2022, it highlighted the company’s innovative women’s health OTC products as a key reason for the acquisition. In September 2023, it announced its investment in MiYé, a French women’s health care product startup. Unilever also acquired health supplement brand Nutrafol in 2022.
2. Highly effective and multi-functional dietary supplement
In 2023, there will be an increase in the number of multifunctional dietary supplements that address a variety of health needs. This is mainly due to consumers’ desire to reduce spending during the economic downturn and gradually consider their health issues from a more comprehensive perspective. As a result, consumers expect to see effective and highly effective products that can effectively meet their multiple needs in just one or two pills.
3. Diet drugs are about to disrupt the weight management industry
The arrival of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy is one of the biggest stories in the global consumer health world in 2023, and its impact on weight management and wellness product sales is already being felt. Looking forward, although there are still opportunities for companies, such as guiding consumers to take such drugs intermittently, overall, such drugs will seriously weaken the future growth of related categories.
Comprehensive analysis of China’s consumer health market
Q: Since the orderly relaxation of epidemic control, what is the development trend of China’s consumer health industry?
Kemo (Chief Industry Consultant of Euromonitor International): China’s consumer health industry has been directly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic in recent years, showing large market fluctuations. The overall industry has achieved rapid growth for two consecutive years, but the category performance is obviously differentiated. After the orderly relaxation of epidemic control at the end of 2022, the number of infections increased rapidly. In the short term, sales of OTC categories related to COVID-19 symptoms such as colds, antipyretics and analgesia surged. As the epidemic overall shows a downward trend in 2023, sales of related categories will gradually return to normal in 2023.
Entering the post-epidemic era, benefiting from the significant increase in consumer health awareness, the domestic vitamin and dietary supplement market is booming, achieving double-digit growth in 2023, and health products are the concept of the fourth meal It has been greatly popularized, and more and more consumers are integrating health products into their daily diet. From the supply side, with the operation of the dual-track system for registration and filing of health food, the cost for brands to enter the field of health food will be greatly reduced, and the product launch process will also be effectively simplified, which will be conducive to product innovation and the influx of brands into the market.
Q: Are there any categories worthy of attention in recent years?
Kemo: Since the epidemic was relaxed, in addition to the direct stimulation of sales of cold and fever relief drugs, categories related to the symptoms of “long COVID-19″ have also achieved significant growth. Among them, probiotics are popular among consumers because of their immunity-boosting effects, and have become one of the most popular categories in the market in recent years. Coenzyme Q10 is well-known to consumers for its protective effect on the heart, attracting consumers who are “yangkang” to rush to buy it, and the market size has doubled in recent years.
In addition, the changes in lifestyle brought about by the new crown epidemic have also driven the popularity of some health benefits. The popularity of home working and online classes has increased consumer demand for eye health products. Health products such as lutein and bilberry have achieved a significant increase in penetration during this period. At the same time, with irregular schedules and fast-paced lives, liver nourishing and protecting the liver are becoming a new health trend among young people, driving the rapid expansion of online channels for liver-protecting products extracted from thistles, kudzu and other plants.
Q: What opportunities and challenges does demographic change bring to the consumer health industry?
Kemo: As my country’s population development enters a period of profound transformation, the changes in demographic structure caused by the declining birthrate and aging population will also have a profound impact on the consumer health industry. Against the background of declining birth rates and shrinking infant and child population, the infant and child consumer health market will be driven by the expansion of categories and the growth of parents’ investment in infant and child health. Continuous market education continues to promote the diversification of product functions and positioning in the children’s dietary supplement market. In addition to traditional children’s categories such as probiotics and calcium, leading manufacturers are also actively deploying products such as DHA, multivitamin, and lutein that are in line with the refined parenting concepts of new generation parents.
At the same time, in the context of an aging society, elderly consumers are becoming a new target group for vitamins and dietary supplements. Different from traditional Chinese supplements, the penetration rate of modern supplements among Chinese elderly consumers is relatively low. Forward-looking manufacturers have successively launched products for the elderly group, such as multivitamins for the elderly. With the concept of the fourth meal gaining popularity among the elderly, With the popularity of mobile phones, this market segment is expected to usher in growth potential.
Post time: Dec-18-2023