See our top 10 most read trends stories of 2020, including the bestselling nutraceuticals amid COVID-19, new immune health product launches, and consumption behaviour in China.
Chinese e-commerce giant, JD has reported that sales of vitamin C dietary supplements on its platform was up five-fold, after the announcement of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Sales of health products including vitamin C effervescent tablets, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) brand Banlangen, and Xiao Chaihu (herbal formula) saw big increases.
These supplements are used to help prevent fever, cold, and other respiratory symptoms.
JD said the virus outbreak was the cause of the surge consumption, and its higher online sales was attributed to consumers preferring to order delivery online instead of going to supermarket to purchase products.
The coronavirus Covid-19 had sparked a sudden spike in demand for vitamin C and multivitamins in Singapore, according to a major retailer in the city state.
Singapore reported 91 confirmed cases as of February 25, which included both exported infection and local transmission cases. Of which, over half have been discharged.
With a number of local cases that were not linked to previous cases or travel history to China, the Singapore government had stepped up its risk assessment from DORSCON Yellow to DORSCON Orange on February 7.
As the epidemic continues, public demand for dietary supplements, alongside masks, and hand sanitizers had skyrocketed in February.
The COVID-19 outbreak had pushed MLM businesses, which traditionally rely heavily on face-to-face interaction, to transform its business by adopting new sales channels as social interaction needs to be kept to a minimum.
These channels can include digital tools such as online store, social media such as Facebook, Instagram, web conferences, or even adopting a subscription-based model.
NutraIngredients-Asia approached MLM companies LifeVantage, Herbalife, and Amway to find out more.
The Utah-headquartered LifeVantage said the outbreak had highlighted the importance of adopting a hybrid method, consisting of both in-persons and digital interaction.
Leading brand owners had revealed the key consumer trends to take note of in APAC’s health and nutrition space for the year 2020.
The firms shed light on five key areas: 1) probiotics, 2) functional foods, 3) sports nutrition, 4) foods for special medical purposes (FSMPs), and 5) the use of social commerce to engage the consumers.
1) Probiotics – new functions, new formats
A greater health consciousness amongst the consumers and the rising demand for functional foods and beverages have stimulated exponential growth in APAC’s probiotics market.
The biggest APAC probiotic market, China, had contributed to more than half of the region’s US$19bn probiotics sales.
Dietary supplement companies have been finding new ways to boost the efficacy of their eye health products, with astaxanthin cited as one of the hottest ingredients.
Market observers will know that lutein, zeaxanthin, and berries are commonly used ingredients for improving or maintaining eye health.
In April’s episode of Nutrition Asia video series, we spoke to Lifestream Group and Brand’s Suntory. Both have added astaxanthin in their products, with Brand’s Suntory even describing it as a “game-changer”.
“One of the more novel ingredients to look out for would be astaxanthin, which we believe will be a game-changer in this eye care segment…It has been known to be one of nature’s strongest antioxidants.” said Brand’s Suntory’s VP and head of marketing, Jose Roman Miranda.
A combination of a focus on lower-tier markets and innovative marketing strategies can substantially grow sales of maternal and infant nutrition products, according to Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com.
JD highlighted its thinking during its annual strategy conference, where market research firm Nielsen presented the latest trends in the category.
It said the growth of online channels had outpaced that of offline channels. From 2018 to 2019, the penetration rate of online channels rose 12%, followed by supermarkets and department stores which grew 5% and 4% respectively.
In addition, Nielsen reported that from January to December 2019, sales of baby formula grew 20.7% on online channels.
India had launched the highest number of new food, drinks and supplements bearing immune system-boosting claims between February to June this year. Australia and Indonesia ranked second and third.
In India, the launch of new immune health foods ranged from turmeric latte as seen in the case of Amul’s Haldi Doodh to bakery brand Bonn, which added turmeric, black pepper, and oregano to its bread products.
As of end March, 66% of the Indian consumers said they were “extremely worried”about the risk of being exposed to COVID-19, Michelle Teodoro, associate director of food science at Mintel Food and Drink told NutraIngredients-Asia.
Australia’s complementary medicines sector has been growing, with the sector officially valued at AUD$5.6bn last year (US$3.9bn), up from AUD$5.2bn (US$3.5bn) in 2018, while exports had grown by another 15% to AUD$1.1bn (US$766m).
In the report titled ‘Industry Audit and Trends 2020’, the Complementary Medicines Australia (CMA) said that the biggest category went to the vitamin and dietary supplements, which was worth AUD$3.1bn (US$2.1bn) and recorded a five-year CAGR growth of 55%.
This was followed by sports nutrition at AUD$1.31bn (US$910m), herbal/traditional products at AUD$760m (US$529m), and weight loss at AUD$430m (US$299m).
In June, the industry reported a profit margin of 10.8% and 92 Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved manufacturing sites.
Nearly four in 10 consumers in China consumed supplements and TCM when the country was under the COVID-19 lockdown in March.
This is according to a first-of-its-kind study conducted by researchers from top China universities Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Findings also showed that consumers residing in regions with fewer than 500 COVID-19 cases tended to have a more varied dietary intake.
A total of 1,938 participants from 31 Chinese provinces and cities took part in the online survey in March.
Australia’s Blackmores, Swisse, and GNC from the US were China’s most imported health foods brands across a range of top-selling product categories, said a report published in July.
The report from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCCMPHIE) analysed customs figures on the key dietary supplements imported and exported out of China last year.
The value of health products that China had imported last year was up 12.8% to US$3.4bn, while export value went up 12.7% to US$1.88bn, the commerce association announced earlier this year.
Notably, China’s consumption of health foods has been increasingly dominated by consumers from the younger age group.
