Consumer Health

In 2023, with COVID-19 moving to a class 5 disease and restrictions on social behaviour being lifted, consumers started to go out without wearing masks, leading to an increase in influenza, infectious diseases with cough symptoms, and heat stroke. In…

Since the pandemic, consumers have slowly begun to prioritise their health and wellness. This in turn has led to growing sales of herbal/traditional products. For example, Clicks stocks a brand called Sela. Sela is a tea bag brand that is available…

Alternative medicine is increasingly commonplace in the Philippines and this continues to support rising demand for herbal/traditional products. Local people are increasingly favouring consumer products based natural ingredients such as camphor,…

Regulations against smoking are becoming stricter worldwide, and the situation is no different in Japan. These stricter rules have encouraged large numbers of smokers to quit, especially since the law banning smoking indoors in principle (Health…

NRT smoking cessation aids is a small category in South Africa and only relevant to a small consumer group. Since, 2022 NRT gum has been the only product type that has been available locally over the counter. Other products such as NRT patches are…

2023 saw further positive growth in retail volume sales of NRT smoking cessation aids in the Philippines, although growth rates were considerably lower than the phenomenal performances recorded in the category earlier in the review period. The main…

Overall, sales of paediatric consumer health are in decline in current value terms in Japan in 2023. Nonetheless, the performances vary by product category with some benefiting from a post-pandemic recovery while others are facing headwinds. For…

Despite the tough economic landscape in South Africa and the cost of living crisis in the country consumers continue to purchase paediatric consumer health products. During the review period, consumers cut down on discretionary spending and were even…

The high sales growth being seen in paediatric consumer health in the Philippines is largely due to the country’s relatively high birth rate and the culture of not skimping when it comes to spending money on children. However, it should be noted that…

The potential market for sleep aids is expanding in Japan off the back of an increasing number of consumers facing poor sleep quality and fewer hours of sleep. This drop in quality sleep is due in part to a rise in telecommuting and prolonged use of…

In South Africa, many consumers take their mental health very seriously. Mental awareness and assistance for those experiencing mental health problems is easily available in South Africa through various channels. For example, people have access to…

One of the more interesting aspects of the Philippine consumer health market is that the country is often the first territory that multinational companies launch new products in, especially those that represent a significant departure from the…

Sports nutrition was one of the most dynamic areas of consumer health in Japan over the review period, including during and after the pandemic. The category has been rapidly expanding thanks to an increasingly health conscious population, but also…

For many sports enthusiasts, sports nutrition is a vital part of their daily nutritional routine. Many consumers who use sports nutrition are generally active gym users or even play a sport. Sports nutrition products provide those who are exercising…

Recent years have seen the population of the Philippines become more interested in sports and fitness and this can be seen in part as a response to the harsh realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is well-known that people who are physically fit and…

Sales of multivitamins and single vitamins in Japan have continued to grow in current value terms in 2023, reflecting the ongoing consumer interest in healthy living. Multivitamins are seen as an easy and convenient way for consumers to address their…

During the review period, more consumers have prioritised their skin care. Despite the economic difficulties, consumers are still purchasing skin care products as there are various skin care ranges both locally and internationally that have a wide…

Demand for vitamins continued to increase in the Philippines during 2023 as the use of these products to supplement the diets of local consumers became increasingly commonplace. While malnutrition is uncommon in the Philippines, many local people are…

Demand for weight management and wellbeing products has continued to grow in the wake of the pandemic as consumers have looked to shed the weight gained during lockdown and home seclusion, but also due increased health consciousness. Although having…

Despite the tough economic conditions in South Africa in 2023, consumers remain dedicated to their health and wellbeing. As such, they are still prioritising activities such as going to the gym, outdoor sports and taking a walk after work, with even…

OTC obesity continued to gain ground in 2023 as increasing numbers of consumers turn to these products as a way of losing weight rapidly. In the Philippines, OTC obesity is a highly mature category and this marks the country out from neighbours in…

Wound care tends to show high demand during the summer when more skin is exposed and opportunities for outdoor leisure and sports activities increase, with this increasing the risk of picking up injuries. Sales of wound care therefore benefited in…

For many consumers wound care items are considered non-essential and appear rarely in monthly grocery shopping baskets. Wound care products are rarely bought in high volumes or even on a regular basis. Consumers who purchase wound care products only…

Wound care posted another moderate positive sales performance in the Philippines in 2023 as the category continued to benefit from the increasing numbers of consumers keeping a first aid kit in their home. In the past, wound care was rarely regarded…

Due to the high rates of vaccination amongst Singaporeans, systemic analgesics were purchased in high quantities in 2022 to fulfil the demand to self-medicate amidst post-vaccination symptoms and common cold symptoms from later variants of the…

With the threat of the pandemic leaving people’s minds in 2023, growth in consumer health in Singapore is set to stabilise, due to the gradual normalisation of consumers’ lives. With the majority of the population vaccinated, and COVID-19 likened to…

The pandemic brought about a huge increase in sales of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies, especially from the end of 2021, with later COVID-19 variants being revealed to have unique symptoms resembling those of the common cold. In February…

The social restrictions in Singapore at the start of the pandemic led to less time spent outside the home, and therefore less concern about looks. This contributed to volume and current value declines for hair loss treatments and medicated shampoos…

Aligned with increased health consciousness and the desire to ensure preventive health, dietary supplements is set to record significant growth in 2023. Combination dietary supplements is expected to continue to be the largest category within dietary…

With the removal of restrictions on dining-in at foodservice establishments, and more people returning to the office for work, consumers are experiencing more frequent incidences of gastrointestinal problems caused by eating out. While many people…

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers increasingly struggled with dry eye disease, which led to increased referrals to the Singapore National Eye Centre. Due to changing consumer habits, dry eye disease became more prevalent as more people worked…

Many consumer health categories were affected by lockdowns in Singapore during the pandemic in 2020, when most people were mandated to stay at home. Nonetheless, herbal/traditional products remained resilient, with overall current value sales seeing…

Due to the lifting of restrictions on group sizes and outdoor activities in April 2022, more people in Singapore started going back to the office for work. According to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Nicotine survey, smoking has…

Targeted marketing techniques such as segmentation and positioning have proven to be effective in boosting sales of paediatric consumer health products. Local brands seem to understand the concerns of parents when it comes to the wellbeing of their…

The pandemic brought about a lot of interest in the topic of immunity in the consumer health industry. Many pharmaceutical companies, including the renowned French company Sanofi, have started establishing vaccine facilities to combat future…

Sports nutrition consists of both protein and non-protein products in Singapore. The former dominates local sales, covering protein/energy bars, sports protein powder (the largest value category) and sports protein RTD. One factor explaining the lack…

Vitamins is set to continue to see stable growth in Singapore in 2023, with multivitamins expected to perform slightly better than single vitamins due to Singaporeans’ preference for convenience and multifunctional products. At the same time, there…

Weight management and wellbeing continued to perform well in Singapore in 2023, aligned with increased health consciousness amongst Singaporeans. Of all categories, supplement nutrition drinks emerged as the fastest growing, with more consumers…

In Singapore, fluctuating community COVID-19 cases in 2020 and 2021 caused residents to become more reluctant to spend time outdoors. While there was a consistent interest in fitness for health improvement, many individuals formed the habit of…

While sales of analgesics are seeing mid-single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, sales have seen a steep decline in retail volume terms. The main reason for this disparity between value and volume growth in analgesics is the sharp rise in…

The World Health Organisation declared the end of the COVID-19 health crisis in 2023 with this having an overall negative impact on sales of consumer health in retail volume terms. For example, demand for products with a strong focus on immune health…

In 2023, Ghana is witnessing inflation, leading consumers to choose more affordable options like herbal/traditional products due to their more affordable prices. Similar to other sub-Saharan African markets, the use of herbal/traditional products is…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies received a strong sales boost in 2022 due to consumers returning to working in the office more frequently again and kids returning to in-school classes. This led to consumers spending more time among other…

Dermatologicals is seeing mid-single digit growth in current value terms in 2023, although like many areas of consumer health this is largely the result of price increases. Prices have been rising across all categories of dermatologicals as a result…

Dietary supplements has seen mixed results in 2023 with some categories recording healthy growth while others have seen a steep drop off in demand. Overall, consumers are frequently using dietary supplements in 2023 as they look to lead healthier and…

Digestive remedies continues to see strong mid-single digit growth in current value terms in 2023, albeit this is mainly being driven by price increases rather than an increase in demand. High inflation and the rising cost of manufacturing and…

Elevated inflation and spiralling manufacturing costs has led to further price increases within eye care in Austria which has helped to support current value growth in 2023 but has led to a significant decline in retail volume terms. Despite seeing…

Herbal/traditional products has continued to grow in current value terms in 2023 albeit volume growth has been curbed by financial uncertainty, high inflation and a sharp rise in the cost of living. With incomes stretched consumers have been focusing…

24% of Austria’s adult population still smokes in 2023, although this figure has been steadily declining for several years, falling from 27% in 2018. The pandemic provided further incentive to quit smoking with medical bodies highlighting the added…

Paediatric consumer health has recorded a small sales decline in current value terms in 2023. Children are becoming more prone to getting sick now that the pandemic is over, with them not staying home as much anymore, going to school/daycare,…