Consumers from South East Asia (SEA) would be familiar with Australian heritage brands such as Swisse and Blackmores. It is also a region where international brands such as Haleon’s Caltrate, Centrum, and Bayer’s Redoxon are household names.
However, in recent years, more brands from Japan and more notably South Korea have hit the shores. These include Korean Ginseng Corporation (KGC) where its Jung Kwan Jang range of red ginseng supplements could be found in brick-and-mortar retail, as well as CKD Healthcare’s probiotics brand LactoFit.
At Vitafoods Asia held in Bangkok last year, there was also a noticeable presence of South Korean companies, including Dong-A Pharmaceutical, Ildong Bioscience, Acebiome, and Seoul Propolis.
Dong-A Pharmaceutical, which celebrated its 92nd anniversary last year, has doubled down its efforts at overseas expansion. South East Asia, alongside Japan, and China have been identified as priority markets for its first step in global expansion.
For a start, they are introducing their kids supplement brand MiniMax and beauty-from-within supplement brand ILO into SEA.
Japanese firm Suntory, known for its BRAND’s Essence of Chicken, also believes that the region, especially Thailand, will continue to grow next year.
“In Thailand, both the beverage and health supplement businesses continue to perform well, with the health supplement business in particular seeing a significant improvement in conditions due to increased marketing activities and will continue to contribute next year (year 2025),” Noriaki Otsuka, managing executive officer, Division COO said during the company’s Q3 financial results Q&A session on November 12, 2024.
Thailand’s Central Retail Corporation, on the other hand, said that it would be introducing its vitamins and health supplements retail counter Tops Vita into 600 more convenience stores and pharmacy stores that it also operates this year.
Singapore-headquartered Incontech, known for its flagship brand PN Kids gummy supplements, said it planned to expand into Thailand and Laos.
This will build on the company’s existing presence in other SEA markets like Malaysia, Myanmar, and Cambodia. However, the company did point out that product registration for gummy supplements may not be as straightforward in countries like Thailand.
Readers of NutraIngredients-Asia have also shown strong interest in our VitamINSIGHTS in-depth features on SEA markets last year. Readership was especially strong for the Indonesian market, with the feature emerging as one of our top 10 most-read stories for year 2024.
Entering year 2025, we look at consumer health needs, purchasing behaviours and trends that companies should be aware of when cracking the region.
SEA consumers’ top three reasons for taking health supplements – IADSA
For SEA consumers, the top three reasons for taking health supplements are to 1) maintain overall health, 2) for immune support, and 3) for energy enhancement.
This is according to a study commissioned by the International Alliance of Dietary / Food Supplement Association (IADSA) and conducted by Ipsos in 2024.
The study, involving consumers from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand took place between July 4 and 30 in 2024. A total of 3,014 interviews were completed across the three countries.
Sharing the findings with NutraIngredients-Asia, the IADSA said that over half of the respondents said they took health supplements to maintain overall health (56 per cent) and for immune support (54 per cent).
Nearly two in five (38 per cent) said they used it for energy enhancement.
The findings also showed that vitamin C, multivitamins, and vitamin B complexes are the most used supplements.
When choosing a supplement, the health benefits of the product is the most common consideration, as chosen by 97 per cent of the respondents.
Ingredient and nutritional information of the product ranked second, with 95 per cent of the respondents picking this as their main consideration.
In fact, over 80 per cent review dosage, ingredients, and certifications such as organic or halal when purchasing new products.
SEA consumers’ attention to the ingredient list is echoed by Thailand’s major retail company Central Retail.
Dr Monrudee Lertuthai, president of Health and Wellness at Central Retail, said that ingredients and pricing may be more important than country-of-origin for Thai consumers.
“Consumers who are affluent and travel abroad quite often, they may find that Australian-based and US products are good supplements, but for others, they may just be looking for ingredients that can help them.
“Maybe they have seen a certain actress who has beautiful and healthy skin and want to be like them, and so, they may be looking for products that probably local brands can also be their choice, because pricing is important for them,” she told NutraIngredients-Asia.
Back to the IADSA survey results, recommendations from a trusted source is the third-most common consideration, as chosen by 94 per cent of the respondents.
Consumers also expect health supplement brands to provide reliable information on supplements.
Over nine in ten respondents (92 per cent) said that they trusted health supplement brands to do so, which the IADSA said was understood to be a “very high index” as compared to other sectors.
Other than the brands itself, medical doctors or other traditional healthcare professionals have been pointed out as reliable sources for health supplement information (35 per cent).
General internet searches and pharmacists ranked next, with 28 per cent and 27 per cent of respondents choosing these two options respectively.
“Tailor to each market’s unique sales channels to ensure affordability, accessibility” – Blackmores CEO
Already a dominant player in South East Asia, Blackmores says it will continue to reach more consumers in this region by making its products available in more channels.
Blackmores CEO Alastair Symington told NutraIngredients-Asia that there remained huge potential to grow in Asia, especially in South East Asia.
“We see significant growth potential in several emerging markets across Asia and beyond. Our goal is to reach even more consumers in Asia, especially in South East Asia.”
To make products more accessible, Blackmores is looking to offer smaller pack sizes that come at more affordable prices for different sales channels.
These channels could range from mini-marts, convenience stores, to pharmacies.
“Our expansion strategy is driven by a deep understanding of local consumer needs, regulatory environments, and retail landscapes, allowing us to tailor our approach to each unique market.
“For example, in Southeast Asia, we might focus on smaller, more portable packaging that fits the convenience store model, while in Australia, we might offer more complex formulations in sizes that can be offered through pharmacies but require consultation with a healthcare provider.”
Indonesia and Thailand are some examples where consumers would prefer smaller pack sizes.
In Indonesia, for example, over 30 per cent of vitamin and dietary supplements (VDS) sold are in smaller packs, Symington pointed out.
“By tailoring our approach to each market’s unique sales channels, we can ensure that our products are not only affordable and accessible but also meet the specific needs and preferences of local consumers.
“This strategy will continue to be key to our successful expansion and growth across diverse regions,” he added.
Indonesia-based beauty-from-within and kids supplement firm Youvit also raised the same point during its keynote presentation at Growth Asia Summit 2024 last year.
CEO and co-founder Wouter van der Kolk, said that consumers from emerging markets like Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines tended to prioritise smaller pack sizes, taste, and flavour.
Youvit, for example, sells seven-day packs at IDR 19,540 (US$1.20).
On the other hand, SEA consumers also tend to prefer e-commerce more than Australian consumers, which is a trend similarly seen in China.
In Australia, pharmacies and offline retailers remain the usual channels for accessing nutraceuticals.
“In Australia, our primary sales channels include pharmacies and allied health. In China, we navigate a unique retail ecosystem that heavily relies on a blend of e-commerce platforms like Tmall, JD.com, and social commerce.
“In Southeast Asia, the retail landscape is even more diverse. A significant proportion of sales come from mini-marts and convenience stores, which are essential for reaching consumers who are used to shopping in local community stores for all their household needs.
“E-commerce represents around 20 per cent of consumer purchases and mini-marts and convenience stores are an important channel that requires smaller pack formats at more affordable prices,” said Symington.
“Keep an eye on TikTok” – Central Retail’s President of Health and Wellness
Social commerce is fast sweeping across South East Asia and TikTok has been highlighted as one that health and wellness brands should keep an eye on.
While there are a range of social commerce platforms such as Instagram, Line Mart, and Grab Mart in Thailand, TikTok in particular, has stood out, said Dr Monrudee Lertuthai, president of Health and Wellness at Thailand’s major retail company Central Retail.
Central Retail is perhaps best-known for its supermarket chain Tops, as well as convenience store Tops Daily. It also runs the pharmacy Tops Care and vitamins and health supplements retail arm Tops Vita.
Thailand has a population of about 72 million and over half – 44 million – are TikTok users, signifying its vast potential as a social commerce channel, Dr Monrudee pointed out.
Although Instagram has about 60 million users in Thailand, the figure remains stable, and there seems to be further room for growth in the number of TikTok users, she said.
A reason for its popularity could be because it is a multiple-purpose platform where users can enjoy entertainment and shop at the same time.
“TikTok is coming on because it is not only for selling the products but also about entertainment. Products are communicated as lifestyle products on the video in an entertaining way, that’s why is it growing,” she explained.
“TikTok is something which we need to keep an eye on, it is not the most-used social commerce app in Thailand yet, but it has been growing rapidly.”
A similar scenario could be said of Indonesia.
Youvit told us previously that its sales on TikTok had surpassed that of Indonesia’s major e-commerce platform Tokopedia before it was forced to close in October 2023.
Over a year later, TikTok Shop Indonesia having forged a new alliance with PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GoTo), restarted as a pilot programme under government supervision on December 11, 2024.
South East Asia’s social commerce development trajectory may ultimately mirror that of China.
In recent years, e-commerce and social commerce have fast replaced pharmacies as the go-to for health supplement purchase in China.
Haleon and Health and Happiness Group (H&H Group) were examples of two companies that have pinpointed the trend during their FY24 Q3 results.
“Channel dynamics are ever evolving in China as traditional ecommerce platforms are losing ground to social commerce platforms such as Douyin (Tiktok).
“Tiktok now makes up more than a quarter of all online VDS sales, with consumers drawn to its easy-to-digest short video format, and attractive deals brought by entertaining, live streaming KOLs,” said Symington.
He added that Blackmores was present in less than half of the China VDS market via cross-border e-commerce and would be exploring new opportunities across segments and channels to expand.
