Consumer Health

Herbal/traditional products accounted for around one sixth of overall consumer health value in Sweden in 2023,. During 2022 and 2023, the high rate of inflation resulted in increased manufacturing and distribution, which placed pressure on margins.…

The strong wave of influenza in Q1 2023 and the stronger than anticipated return of common respiratory infections are stimulating the demand for many herbal/traditional products in Slovakia at the end of the review period. Herbal/traditional products…

An improved quality of life, higher living standards, and the health and wellness trend (and its associated link with more natural products) is driving volume sales of herbal/traditional products in 2023. Also, consumers are increasingly prepared to…

Herbal/traditional medicine is generally very popular in the Lithuanian market, covering local and international players. The landscape is a sizeable product area in Lithuania, and in 2023, despite soaring inflation caused by an energy crisis,…

Herbal/traditional products remain very popular in Latvia, where they are usually used for tackling minor illnesses. Indeed, consumers in Latvia are already quite familiar with using herbal/traditional remedies for the treatment and prevention of…

Retail volume sales of eye care products continued to expand in 2023, albeit to a lesser extent than the previous two years. The return of pre-pandemic lifestyles, including the revival of international travel, gave rise to a growing incidence of…

As the incidence of allergies is rising in Slovakia, consumers continue to purchase allergy eye care products. Over 2023, allergy eye care is expected to follow strong double-digit retail volume growth in 2022 with a good, if much slower, increment.…

Retail sales of digestive remedies suffered a decline in constant value terms in 2023, albeit at a slower rate than the previous year. Growth continued to be impacted by inflationary pressures, exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, which…

The return of international travel to pre-Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels and the resumption of hectic lifestyles boost the demand for digestive remedies. More and more consumers are keen to resume their pre-pandemic travel norms, regardless…

Amidst significant unit price increases and inflation, digestive remedies is experiencing double-digit retail value growth in 2023, making a strong rebound following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and people resuming travel. Paediatric…

The digestive category is not very active within Lithuania. Despite this, in 2023, sales are returning to a pre-pandemic state. Proton pump inhibitors are gaining a share, which was lost by H2 blockers, with brands such as Nolpaza doing well in this…

At the beginning of 2023, Latvians were still in the process of returning to normal professional and social activities, following the final removal of all pandemic-related restrictions. As a result, the digestive remedies category is still seeing a…

The health and wellness trend continued have a positive impact on sales on dietary supplements in 2023 as consumers focused on preventative health measures, rather than treating symptoms as they occurred. This trend was exacerbated by the COVID-19…

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic brought spikes in retail volume and current value growth across most categories of dietary supplements in 2020 and 2021. Dietary supplements with immune system positioning saw particularly strong interest from…

Dietary supplements are seeing a strong double-digit increase in retail value sales in 2023 as a result of rising unit prices amidst rampant inflation in the country. Volume growth, meanwhile, is driven by the health and wellness trend and people…

In a similar vein to vitamins, dietary supplements saw positive performances in Lithuania in 2023. New consumption habits with regard to preventative health measures have added momentum to sales. However, sales have been somewhat dampened by the…

Dietary supplements registered another strong performance in 2023, with double-digit growth in current value terms. Consumers have adopted healthier habits since the pandemic, and are keen to invest more in their health and immunity. Dietary…

Dermatologicals experienced a modest decline in overall constant value terms in 2023, although performance varied considerably according to subcategory. One notable development was the buoyant demand for antiparasitics/lice treatments, continuing the…

Hair loss treatments is expected to continue to see strong retail volume and current value growth over 2023. Indeed, hair loss treatments is projected to record the fastest retail volume growth at the end of the review period. Mild-to-severe hair…

In line with the overall performance of skin care products in beauty and personal care in North Macedonia, dermatologicals is one of the fastest growing consumer health category thanks to strong and continued consumer demand. The product and brand…

The dermatologicals landscape is experiencing a downward momentum in some categories, which have found themselves losing share and importance following the outbreak of COVID-19. Topical Germicidals/Antiseptics is one of the categories which is set to…

Although dermatologicals continues to enjoy steady growth in 2023, current value sales have slowed down compared to the double-digit rates seen at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst spending more time at home, Latvian consumers became…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies remained the largest product area within consumer health in Sweden in 2023. Following a two-year period of buoyant volume growth for most subcategories, demand weakened significantly in 2023, This was due…

In Slovakia, cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies was characterised by very strong increases in retail volume sales of OTC remedies for sore throats, coughs and colds. The high demand was the result of extremely high morbidity throughout the…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is seeing slower growth in 2023 due to a shorter cold season caused by milder winter 2022/2023. The exception is antihistamines, which continues to grow at a solid rate due to high consumer demand amidst…

2023 marks the year when the cough and cold landscape is set to lose its uplift due to COVID-19, returning to a level closer to that seen pre-pandemic. Sales have continued to benefit from harsh seasonal colds and the flu season of 2022-2023.…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies in Latvia is registering moderate growth in 2023 as the category begins to stabilise post-pandemic. Retail value sales rebounded strongly 2022 after two years of decline, with lifestyles shifting back to…

The Swedish market consumer health saw healthy growth in retail current value terms in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. However, this was driven mainly by inflationary pressures, rather than any real upturn in demand. While the rate…

Consumer health in Slovakia is affected by changes in purchasing behaviour as a result of the fading Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the effects of the war in Ukraine and a cost of living crisis amid high inflation. However, the issue of high…

Consumer health registered strong sales growth in Qatar in 2023 thanks to strong purchasing power and rising interest in leading healthy lifestyles. The country’s high obesity rate has combined with the sharpened focus on health and wellbeing that…

Consumer health declined in volume sales while retail value sales grew below inflation in 2023. This was mainly due to significant falls in the vitamins and dietary supplements and weight management and wellbeing categories while sports nutrition and…

Consumer health sales grew moderately in 2023 as consumers prioritised their spending on essential goods over preventive health. As a result, vitamins and dietary supplements and weight management and wellbeing were the most affected. However, sports…

Despite higher standards of living in North Macedonia, economic challenges resulting in low disposable incomes remain, with the situation further exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine. This has led to double-digit inflation, which is increasing…

Consumers are increasingly adopting a preventative approach to maintaining good health, which continues to drive interest in vitamins and dietary supplements in 2023. Established brands continue to dominate sales as brand loyalty is relatively high…

2023 marks the final year that the outbreak of COVID-19 impacts results. Product areas that gained sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic are returning to purchasing levels and behaviours seen before 2020. Similarly, those negatively impacted by the…

Consumer health in Latvia continues to recover from the pandemic in 2023, with major categories seeing demand patterns rebalance as lifestyles shift back normality. Economic uncertainty is prevailing with inflation remaining high in 2023, a trend…

In 2023, health sensitivities among consumers in Laos, due to local diet and weather, have led to increased demand for consumer health products. Likewise, the prevalence of self-medication persists due to limited hospital access, leading consumers to…

Analgesics remained a key product area within consumer health in Sweden in 2023, having accounted for close to a quarter of overall OTC value sales. The most popular analgesics were those based on active ingredients acetaminophen or ibuprofen, with…

Diclofenac and naproxen are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics used to relieve mild pain. Both categories saw retail current value sales surge in 2022. Retail current value sales are set to continue to grow over 2023 in both categories,…

Analgesics continues to achieve strong value growth in North Macedonia in 2023 as a result of strong consumer demand for systemic analgesics, especially adult ibuprofen, adult acetaminophen and adult aspirin. Topical analgesics are outperforming…

Analgesics is failing to record a strong performance in Lithuania in 2023; following the pandemic years, sales are stagnating, reflecting the saturated market and consumer base. In addition, a growing scepticism and concern about the overreliance on…

Analgesics continues to witness strong current value growth in 2023 as consumers return to normal lifestyles and are exposed to regular seasonal common colds and viruses. A high proportion of analgesics are used to tackle everyday colds and flu…

After a brief rebound in 2022, overall retail volume sales of wound care are projected to resume their downward trajectory over 2023. Demand is generally supported by relatively inexpensive pricing for these products, and the rebound was mainly due…

The wound care category is set to see volume sales continue to fall in 2023, though at a slower pace than in the previous year. The COVID-19 crisis saw people ;largely confined to their homes and less likely to experience the kinds of minor injuries…

Wound care is expected to positive current value and volume growth in 2023. The full opening of society, post pandemic, supports volume sales, as people are more active, and as a consequence there are more small injuries. Continuing population growth…

Kazakhstani consumers became more prone to gaining weight over 2020-2021 as a result of dietary changes and reduced levels of physical activity during lockdowns, social distancing and remote working. Since then, many people sought to quickly lose the…

Weight management and wellbeing sales are set to rise in 2023, led in part by rising unit prices. Strong retail sales growth has been observed in meal replacement, slimming teas, and weight loss supplements, while supplement nutrition drinks has seen…

Weight management and wellbeing is expected to register healthy constant value and moderate volume growth in 2023. Meal replacement is expected to register the highest current value growth, as awareness of the product increases. That being said,…

Overall, vitamins is expected to see a further decline in retail volume sales, as well as a drop in retail current value sales, due to the struggles of multivitamins, over 2023. As the huge positive impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,…

The pandemic period that ushered in a boom for vitamin sales is coming to a close. Many consumers have placed the COVID-19 period in the rear-view mirror and are looking ahead to a world where the SARS-CoV-2 virus is not a constant worry. The…