Consumer Health

During the review period, many consumers have been facing financial difficulties as the cost of living in South Africa has been increasing on a monthly basis. For many consumers, their health is an afterthought with most instead prioritising…

The self-medication trend is growing in South Korea, supporting further sales growth for analgesics, and cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies, especially since the prevalence of the “tripledemic” in the country, consisting of COVID-19,…

Retail volume sales of some consumer health products in 2023 are declining following a surge in demand the previous year when pandemic-related restrictions in April 2022 resulted in Spaniards returning to some extent to their pre-pandemic lives. This…

During the pandemic Sri Lanka received international support to purchase the necessary medication to help them fight COVID-19. However, due to the current economic crisis the Government of Sri Lanka has had to impose import restrictions due 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 witnessed a solid performance in 2023, with current value growth gaining momentum for the fourth consecutive year. Overall there has been little change in the price of OTC products, despite the slightly higher inflation rate in 2023,…

Consumer health in Taiwan has performed positively on the whole in 2023, with growth in total current value sales remaining robust and most categories either expanding in volume terms or contracting at a slower pace than in 2022. The easing of the…

In 2023, Tanzania faces high inflation and living costs, causing consumers to favour lower-priced generic medications over pricey international brands. Essential categories, such as analgesics, cough, cold, allergy remedies, and digestive remedies,…

The market for consumer health products in Thailand continued to enjoy healthy growth in current value terms in 2023. This was driven, to a large extent, by the revival of normal pre-pandemic patterns of behaviour, including the return of consumers…

In 2022, consumer health in the Czech Republic was challenged by medicine shortages, which, to some degree, continued in Q1 2023. The lack of some medicines in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe was caused by the disruption of global supply…

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a major impact on almost every category within consumer health in the Netherlands. While the COVID-19 situation eased by 2022, 2023 is the first full year after the pandemic in which players, retailers and…

Positive sales growth was registered across most categories of consumer health in the Philippines in 2023 as the strong focus on health and wellbeing that has spread among the population since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spur…

2023 is set to be a strong year for consumer health in the United Arab Emirates. Many categories are expected to see robust current value growth, underpinned by an increase in online distribution channels, as well as an increasingly savvy,…

Consumer health continues to experience high retail current value growth in 2023, albeit at a slower rate than 2022. Higher costs of materials, ingredients and services are naturally leading to strong price increases in 2023, thereby driving up value…

While 2022 was characterised by high inflation, persisting supply chain constraints, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, which brought price increases and volume declines across much of consumer health, it benefited from waning COVID-19 cases and the…

Consumer health in Tunisia is facing a complex landscape characterised by several factors in 2023. Firstly, the global economic crisis has had a significant impact on the demand for consumer health products. With the cost of living rising sharply due…

Economic instability, characterised by very high inflation, continues to restrain retail volume sales at the end of the review period. The Turkish economy is taking longer than many other countries to recover from the economic effects of Coronavirus…

Uganda’s economy saw real GDP growth of 5% in 2023 and this provided a boost to sales of some consumer health products. Self-medication is driving growth in consumer health in Uganda as consumers are finding it easier and cheaper to purchase…

The picture is fairly positive in 2023, with constant value sales expected to rise slightly and inflationary pressure easing. However, rising prices are still an issue and the overall economy is expected to register a slowdown in growth.

Consumer health in 2023 is exhibiting solid current value growth as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic diminishes. With the resurgence of seasonal ailments, categories such as cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies and analgesics are…

Current value sales of consumer health in Vietnam continue to record strong growth in line with the rising trend of health and wellness in the country. Post-pandemic, the majority of Vietnamese consumers are taking greater care of their health, and…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies are expected to perform better in 2023 than in the previous year, with positive value and volume growth. As life in Algeria returns to normal, and social contact increases, there is increased coughs, colds…

Retail sales of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies saw another year of healthy growth in constant value terms in 2023. With the resumption of pre-pandemic lifestyles, including a return to work, school and social activities, consumers…

Australia has been impacted by an extended season of colds and flu in 2023, with many Australians becoming ill. As the lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, people no longer followed social distancing, and fewer Australians have been…

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…

As COVID-19 restrictions lift and society returns to face-to-face interaction, the regular seasonal sicknesses —colds and flus—are making their own return to Azerbaijan. More social mingling means not just handshakes and hugs on the rise; sniffling…

Sales of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies are seeing strong growth in current value terms in 2023. This is partly due to inflation-driven price increases (also the consequence of supply shortages in some cases) and an increase in cough,…

Seasonal flus have returned, as people mix together once again , post pandemic, and cough, cold and allergy (hay fever remedies) are expected to register moderate current value growth, though constant value growth will be minimal, as rising costs hit…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) continues to rebound following the declines during the COVID-19 pandemic and the slow recovery in its aftermath. Unit prices have been driven up by inflation resulting in double-digit current value growth in 2023,…

In 2023, cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is set to maintain dynamic current value growth in Brazil. In this year, the conclusion of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for COVID-19, as declared by the World…

Price sensitivity among Bulgarian consumers is a key factor influencing their purchasing decisions when it comes to cough, cold, and allergy (hay fever) remedies. As the minimum wage in Bulgaria is just under EUR400 in 2023, a significant portion of…

Locally preferred alternatives, like consuming honey, ginger, and lemon infusions, enjoy widespread popularity among the locals. In households with lower incomes, natural remedies often take precedence as the initial choice before resorting to…

Cough and cold remedies/products are expected to enjoy demand in 2023. However, the shortages of cough and cold medicines, which provided a consistent disruption in 2022, lingered in 2023. Against this background, manufacturers have struggled to keep…

Cough, cold, and allergy (hay fever) remedies in Chile is experiencing remarkable growth for the second consecutive year in 2023, both in terms of volume and value. This upward trend can be attributed primarily to the return to normalcy following the…

Even though cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies recorded over 40% current value growth in 2022, it is anticipated that the category will continue to achieve high single-digit growth in 2023. Starting from late 2022, the end of the zero-COVID…

In 2022, demand for cold, cough and allergy (have fever) remedies soared, as a result of the atypical increase in flu cases, as social distancing, handwashing protocols, and the use of face masks were totally lifted in 2022, facilitating the spread…

At the end of 2022, there was an increase in the need to treat cold and flu symptoms. This was driven by the return of socialising following periods of social distancing, increased hand washing and the wearing of face masks throughout most of 2020…

During the last couple of years, the flu season was virtually non-existent as a result of Croatians staying at home and, when venturing out in public, wearing face masks, maintaining social distance and frequently washing their hands. This…

Cough remedies and decongestants, which had seen strong growth during the pandemic period, saw more moderate growth in 2022 and 2023 as the contagion receded and public concern waned. Current value sales growth partly reflects inflationary pressures,…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies are among the most popular consumer health items in the Dominican Republic and are experiencing further growth in 2023 despite higher unit prices resulting largely from persistent inflationary pressures…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies are expected to register a decline in value sales. Value sales are now at more normal levels, as concerns about the COVID-19 virus have abated. In addition, Ecuador is grappling with rising crime rates and…

Combination drugs are often used to treat multiple symptoms or conditions with a single medication. They can be very helpful in simplifying medication regimens and improving patient adherence. Combination drugs are also beneficial in a number of…

Whilst the category continues to record growth in 2023, the particularly high growth level seen in the previous year could not be maintained. 2022 was a strong year for the category as consumers returned to their pre-pandemic lifestyles following the…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) sales are expected to be slightly down in 2023. This is partly a result of the very strong performance seen in the previous year, as the lifting of COVID-19 related restrictions led to greater social contact and…

Within OTC consumer health in France, value sales of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies are continuing to record the fastest growth in 2023, following a dynamic performance the previous year. Within the category, demand for various formats…

Analgesics is expected to register moderate constant value growth in 2023. Though there was widespread severe flu in early 2023, cough and cold remedies are not expected to benefit to a huge degree, as most of these patients were hospitalised or put…

Cough and cold remedies were recording see high single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, with sales benefiting from the large number of cases of cold and flu in the 2023/2024 season. Furthermore, value sales were also being boosted by unit…

In May 2022, Greece lifted all COVID-19 related regulations. This included the compulsory use of face masks and social distancing rules, and although use of face masks remains fairly high in Greece compared to other European countries, it appears…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies are widely consumed consumer health items in the Guatemalan market. These products have established broad distribution throughout the country, with products available throughout the modern and traditional…

The removal of mask-wearing and social distancing measures in March 2023 led to rising demand for cough, cold and allergy remedies as respiratory infections increased. Since February 2020, local seasonal influenza in Hong Kong has remained at a low…