Consumer Health

Dietary supplements continues to expand in 2023 as consumers have a large variety of products to choose from and are responding favourably to new product launches. At the end of 2022, for instance, Megalabs, launched InvitaEnergy, a combination of…

Probiotic supplements is a standout product within dietary supplements and is expected to register double-digit volume growth in 2023. Probiotics supplements are available over the counter, but part of their success is due to sales representatives…

Retail sales of digestive remedies saw accelerated growth in constant value terms in 2023, as consumers returned to their busy, pre-pandemic lifestyles. With fears over the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to subside, there was notable increase in the…

The increased availability of low-cost generic proton pump inhibitors containing compounds such as omeprazole are dampening volume sales of antacids. Despite omeprazole being registered as an Rx drug, it is widely available, and can be accessed…

Digestive remedies in Chile is experiencing a deceleration in value growth during 2023 compared to the double-digit increases observed in the previous two years. Despite a general decline in demand, the category continues to show healthy growth rates…

Digestive remedies has been amongst the most dynamic categories within OTC. With people back to their normal routines, which include an increase in the frequency of eating out of the home, they have been more prone to suffer from bloating, reflux, or…

Digestive remedies continued to see an expansion in its consumer base in 2023 with higher penetration levels translating to stronger retail value sales. Products for indigestion and heartburn saw healthy growth thanks to more consumers eating outside…

Digestive remedies is expected to register significant current value and volume growth in 2023, partly driven by high demand for diarrhoeal remedies (see below). The healthy growth is also due to the high levels of recommendation by pharmacists at…

With consumers spending more time in front of screens, whether as a result of home working or e-learning, retail sales of eye care products continued to see healthy growth in constant value terms in 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increased use…

Eye care in Chile is experiencing declining retail volume sales in 2023, primarily due to greater mobility outside of the home and the transition back to in-person work settings. In 2020 and 2021, standard eye care experienced a notable upturn in…

The occurrence of dry eye in Colombia is on the rise, with an estimated 35% to 40% of the population experiencing this condition, although official statistics are unavailable. The emergence of new habits during the pandemic and post-pandemic period,…

Demand for herbal/traditional dietary supplements continued to grow strongly in 2023, as consumers sought out products to help protect them from illness. This increased focus on preventative health and immunity-boosting products caused a surge in…

In recent years, the local government has been active in promoting the development of traditional medicine. In 2023, local health authorities continued with this strategy and signed an agreement with the Japanese government to help promote local…

Consumers in Chile continue to show strong support for herbal/traditional products, especially when purchasing cough/cold remedies. This trend is not only driven by the longstanding preference for natural products among many Chileans but also due to…

Demand for cough/cold/allergy remedies is on the rise. Ingredients such as menthol, eucalyptus, propolis, and hedera helix are particularly popular in syrups used to address dry or productive coughs. These herbal remedies are known for their…

Herbal/traditional remedies recorded steady growth in 2023 as they are well received and trusted by Dominican consumers. Also, consumers are increasingly turning to more natural products that they perceive to be healthier, cleaner and less processed.…

Herbal/traditional sleep aids is expected to register the highest current value growth in 2023. Stress factors such as economic uncertainty and a spiralling crime rate are expected to lead to increased demand for sleep aids. In addition,…

The proportion of the Argentinian population claiming to smoke declined in 2023, continuing the trend of previous years of the review period. This was driven mainly by a decline in smoking amongst women, with prevalence amongst men decreasing at a…

NRT smoking cessation aids saw growth decelerate in 2021 and 2022. On one side, with the high price tag of NRT products and consumers looking to balance their budgets, this category is not considered essential but easily replaceable. On the other…

Retail volume sales of paediatric cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies saw positive growth for the second consecutive year in 2023. With the resumption of pre-pandemic lifestyles, including the return of students to school and infants to…

In 2023, paediatric consumer health is expected to register a decline in current value sales. A contributing factor to the decline is that the birth rate is falling in Bolivia. That being said, birth rates are still high. Some products are expected…

Paediatric consumer health is experiencing similar value growth rates to the previous year in Chile, although this is not aligned with the increasing demand for this category during 2023. A notable challenge has emerged as there have been stock…

Paediatric analgesics faced supply issues during 2022 and part of 2023, particularly with a scarcity of Dolex 7+ (a suspension that can be used for children aged 7 and above that has a different concentration from baby drops and adult acetaminophen).…

Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions in the country and higher prices for just about everything, paediatric consumer health managed to record positive growth over the review period and in 2023, reflecting the importance families place on the…

Paediatric consumer health is expected to register a slight increase in current value sales, but a fall in volume sales. The performance of vitamins in particular is expected to drag down the overall segment. Vitamins are the largest product in…

During 2023, sleep aids continued to benefit from the post- pandemic landscape of ongoing global economic instability, compounded by rampant inflation, which placed pressure on both middle- and low-income groups. As a result, consumers were forced to…

Demand for sleep aids is growing in 2023 to remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels. Although value growth can also be considered healthy, it falls short when compared to the remarkable figures observed in 2021, when the category experienced…

Sleep disorders have increased in Colombia since the pandemic due to the increased incidence of mental health issues and anxiety, whether diagnosed or not. The country still faces barriers to timely attention and diagnosis of psychological and…

Retail sales of sports nutrition products continued to grow strongly in constant value terms in 2023, despite restrictive measures on imports, as the government sought to protect its reserves. While the global creatine shortage led to some supply…

In 2023, sports nutrition is expected to register a slight increase in current value sales, though constant value sales are expected to fall, as rising costs hit profitability. While Bolivia has managed to protect itself to a large extent from…

Value sales of sports nutrition in Chile are experiencing a remarkable resurgence in 2023 with double-digit growth after a challenging 2022. A marginal drop in sales the previous year was primarily attributed to the significant reduction in Chileans’…

Sports nutrition continues to register positive growth in spite of rising prices. Health consciousness in Colombia has been a strong motivating factor for many individuals, pushing them not only to incorporate sports into their daily routines, but…

Despite persistent inflationary pressures affecting the country and the sports nutrition industry in particular, consumers continue to purchase these items to help them maintain their regimes of fitness regimes. The fitness boom in the country is…

Sports nutrition products typically have very high prices, which limits the growth potential to an extent. As such, consumption is limited to consumers in medium and high income groups. In addition, some sports nutrition products sold in Ecuador can…

Having experienced a boom in demand during the pandemic years, retail volume sales of vitamins saw a more muted performance in 2023. With concerns around the COVID-19 outbreak beginning to subside, consumers were less concerned about boosting their…

Vitamins are expected to be the worst performing consumer health product in 2023, with a significant decline in volume sales. The boon from the pandemic is long over and in particular vitamins that claim immune boosting benefits are seeing a…

The retail volume declines recorded by vitamins in 2022, for both multivitamins and single vitamins, are noticeably slowing in 2023. In 2021, the category’s dynamics shifted as the pandemic continued to drive demand for vitamins due to heightened…

After the COVID-19 crisis, the demand for vitamins shrunk. With a significant reduction in COVID-19 cases and less severe disease, consumers withdrew their attention from vitamins, especially those that they did not have the habit of regularly…

Given the persistent inflationary pressures experienced in the country, it is not surprising that the vitamins category has also seen significant price increases. According to official sources, vitamins experienced a rise of 6.9% in 2022, which is…

Vitamins are expected to register a decline in volume sales in 2023. The boon from the pandemic is long over and vitamins that claim immune boosting benefits are seeing a significant decline. As such, value sales are now on par with pre pandemic…

Weight management and wellbeing saw a mixed performance in 2023, in view of the ongoing economic crisis. Such products are mostly expensive, as well as being viewed as non-essential, and are therefore financially out of reach for lower-income…

Weight management and wellbeing is expected to register an increase in current value sales, though growth in volume sales is expected to be minimal. Rising inflation as a result of a sharp decline in foreign currency reserve is pushing up prices,…

After experiencing a significant double-digit decline in retail value terms in 2022, weight management and wellbeing is only showing signs of a modest rebound in 2023 with flat growth. However, the overall outlook remains subdued as consumers…

Amongst the major concerns of Colombians are health issues associated with being overweight or obese. Awareness of such issues has been raised by government efforts, which have included issuing an obesity law in 2009 that promotes healthier eating…

Meal replacement continues to account for most value sales in weight management and wellbeing in 2023 and recorded further growth in the year. They enjoy strong sales promotion from the direct selling players and consumers are highly familiar with…

Weight management and wellbeing is expected to register both a decline in value and volume sales in 2023. Post pandemic, consumers are out and about again and are also able to visit the gym and be more active in order to lose weight. Therefore, there…

Retail sales of wound care products saw a fairly static performance in volume terms in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. This was in spite of the resumption of pre-pandemic lifestyles, including a return to work, school and outdoor…

Wound care is expected to register a further healthy increase in current value sales, as consumers continue to lead more active lives post pandemic. However, constant value growth is expected to be more muted, as wound care is dominated by imported…

As pandemic-related restrictions in Chile started to ease in 2021, local consumers began to spend greater time outside of the home, including participating in outdoor activities. This led to a rise in incidents requiring wound care, thereby boosting…

The current offerings in wound care products remain predominantly basic, simply providing various shapes and sizes to cover injuries on different body parts. However, consumer awareness of innovative features in these products is generally low, as…