4 Health Trends from China’s Supplement Market Applicable to Other Categories

For more than two millennia, Chinese people have gone to great lengths to keep themselves in good health with supplements. One example is the unique fungus called Cordyceps, sourced from caterpillar larvae found at dizzying altitudes above 3,000m on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The past 1,500 years has seen the treasured parasite consumed with the promise of improved respiratory health, enhanced stamina and overall vitality.

Almost a thousand years ago during the Song Dynasty in 1,076 AD, China set up its Imperial Pharmacy which soon became a public-health-oriented institution focusing on selling readymade prescriptions. And then in 1,596 AD, the Bencao gangmu, otherwise known as the Great Pharmacopoeia, was published listing more than 1,800 herbs and their medicinal properties.

It's fair to say that Chinese have long taken their health supplements seriously. These days, people may not automatically think of the prized fungus growing from young Himalayan caterpillars’ heads to assist with their stamina. They’re unlikely to line up for hours at the Imperial Pharmacy dealing with experts who could recite most of the Great Pharmacopoeia, but their motivations for health and wellbeing have not tempered.

Between 2016 and 2021, China’s health supplement market grew from ¥144.6 billion ($21 billion) to ¥271 billion ($39 billion). It is on track to reach ¥328 billion ($48 billion) this year according to JD Health.

China Skinny pays a lot of attention to the health category. Not just for our health and supplement clients, but also for the work we do in the food & beverage, beauty, fitness, mum & baby, elderly, pets, tourism and other categories where health is a key driver in decision making.

For this reason, we have been closely monitoring the health supplement category for some years, and since 2021, we have made many of these insights available for brands through our Health Supplements Tracker. From today, we are pleased to announce that we’ve taken your feedback on board (thank you!) and upgraded the Tracker with new features and more insights, incorporating data covering 300 million products sold and a ton of social chatter to give you a macro and granular view of what is happening in the supplements category.

Much like in the skincare category, foreign brands continue to account for the majority of health supplements sold online in China, outselling domestic competitors more than 2-to-1. In categories such as Infant & Child Nutrition and Oral Beauty, they account for over 95% of sales. The claim ‘original import’ is among the top claims for imported brands, and products using it command the highest premium of any claim.

One of the fastest growing supplement claims, ‘Staying Up Late,’ which is a similarly popular topic on RED, Douyin and Weibo socials. Similarly, the ‘Staying Up Late Face’ was one of the most engaged topics identified by our Skincare Tracker. Clearly Chinese consumers are staying up increasingly late and looking for products to support the habit across many categories.

Chinese supplement buyers are also looking to supplements to improve the way they look. Weight loss and building muscle remain popular selling points, while the ‘whiten’ function is fostering more interest. Although relatively under-tapped by supplement brands, it has been one of the fastest growing function claims since 2021.

When it comes to segments targeted by supplement brands, as expected, supplements for Children, Females, Males and Middle-Aged consumers are the most popular. But for those brands wanting to get less generic in their targeting, health supplements for ‘Lazy People’ achieve the highest premium of any group, although it is quite contested and has been contracting since 2021.

They are but a tiny snapshot of the insights available on our new and improved Health Supplements Tracker. If you are selling in the category, or another category where health is important, you may find a lot of value subscribing to the insights dashboard which is simple-to-use for English speakers. For more information click/tap here, or contact us with any questions or for a demo.