Kerry Warn, general manager of Natural Health Products NZ, revealed consumption trends and highlighted some of the country’s native ingredients at the 6th nutraceutical industry development conference held in conjunction with HI/FI China tradeshow.
The following lists the four key trends that Warn had highlighted:
Vitamins and minerals
Basic supplements such as vitamins continue to drive growth in the market.
Vitamin K and A are delivering growth from a small base, while vitamin C is booming primarily due to exports.
Minerals supplements saw strong growth led by the popularity of magnesium. On the other hand, calcium is also a popular choice when combined with at least one additional ingredient to assist with absorption.
Ayurveda medicine renaissance
A representative of Ayurveda ingredient, turmeric has been the “blockbuster botanical” growing at a rapid rate in the country in the past three years, Warn said.
Adaptogenic herbs are showing growth despite being a niche area.
On the other hand, hemp seeds products are likely to be disruptive, due to the ingredient’s regulatory approval last November. Warn said there were now many products featuring hemp sold in the market.
Importance of digestion to overall health
Probiotics and fibre related products are the popular items to alleviate digestion problems driven by lactose, gluten, and dairy intolerance conditions.
As compared to capsules or tablets, dosage format in the form of general food, such as kombucha are the preferred choice.
Mind, body and soul
There is a move towards fit instead of skinny, and sports nutrition is delivering a better performance in pharmacy, while sales of weight loss products in the same channel is declining.
In terms of mind and wellness, supplements that aids sleep are the fastest growing category, while products that promote relaxation are also growing.
Brain health, despite being a small segment at present, is expected to grow, as the market rides on ongoing trend in the US.
Other market developments
On the other hand, there is a migration towards naturality and beauty from within products.
For instance, there is a shift from OTCs medicines to natural remedies in terms of alleviating cough, cold, digestive problems, and allergies.
As with countries from the other parts of the world, collagen products are delivering growth for nutricosmetics sector.
New Zealand and China
New Zealand’s export of supplements to China is growing steadily from 2017 till now, following a sudden drop between 2016 and 2017.
In the first four months of this year, the country had already exported NZD$208m worth of products to China.
Native ingredients
Warn also highlighted some of the interesting local New Zealand ingredients, including horopito, boysenberry, local red grapes, and blackcurrants.
For example, the dried leaf and leaf extract from New Zealand native plant horopito were widely used by indigenous Maori people as a painkiller and to alleviate skin problems and diarrhoea.
She also pointed out that grapes and blackcurrants that were locally grown contains higher levels of antioxidant phenolics than that of French read grapes and European blackcurrants.