Asia Pacific

Sports nutrition has performed positively in 2023, with growth in total current value sales expected to be up slightly on 2022 and all categories set to show improved results in volume terms. Expansion continues to be underpinned by increasing…

While growth remains modest, sleep aids is set to record an improved result in volume sales terms in 2023. The easing of the pandemic has helped to lift demand, in that many people have started to experience insomnia and other types of sleep problems…

Paediatric consumer health remains underdeveloped in Taiwan, with just two categories – paediatric vitamins and dietary supplements and paediatric cough/cold remedies – registering measurable sales during the review period. This is mainly because…

In keeping with the negative trajectory observed throughout the review period, NRT smoking cessation aids is set to contract in volume and current value terms in 2023. Demand continues to be undermined by the fact that the rate of smoking prevalence…

Herbal/traditional products has continued to post robust growth in total current value sales in 2023, while all categories look set to record improved results in volume terms as compared to 2022. Buoyant demand is mainly explained by rising…

Eye care is poised to register a modestly improved performance in volume growth terms in 2023. It continues to benefit from the fact that the incidence of digital eye strain is on the rise in Taiwan due to the increasing amount of time people spend…

Consumption of digestive remedies in Taiwan has picked up in 2023, with most categories set to register stronger volume growth or lower rates of decline than in 2022. This is mainly explained by the easing of the pandemic, in that people have become…

Overall volume sales of dietary supplements in Taiwan have picked up in 2023, with most categories set to show improved results in this regard as compared to 2022. As with vitamins, demand has been buoyed by the growing adoption of more holistic and…

As is the case across consumer health in Taiwan, herbal/traditional varieties have continued to gain popularity in dermatologicals in 2023 amidst rising awareness of the potentially harmful side effects and contraindications of active pharmaceutical…

In line with rising health-consciousness, people in Taiwan are becoming more worried about the potentially hazardous side effects and contraindications of active pharmaceutical ingredients in standard OTC medications. This has continued to buoy…

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…

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 topical analgesics/anaesthetic category is poised to record the fastest growth in volume and current value terms within analgesics in 2023, and looks set to show improved results in both respects as compared to 2022. These types of products…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Older adults are a key consumer group, as companies explore opportunities in the context of an ageing population across Asia Pacific markets. This report investigates the evolving consumption habits not only of senior consumers, but also of those…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

The key trend behind rising demand for standard eye care in the Philippines is the increased amount of screen time in the daily lives of many local people. Indeed, dramatic increases have been seen in the amount of time that Philippine consumers…

With the pandemic declared to be over in 2023, sales of both standard eye care and allergy eye care have benefited from increased opportunities to get out and about, a recovery in the number of inbound travellers, but also high pollen counts.…

One factor that spurred growth in sales of OTC digestive remedies during 2023 was the return to pre-pandemic lifestyles, with the accelerating pace of life in Philippine cities encouraging consumers to eat fast food and convenience food more often,…

Sales of digestive remedies continue to see a strong recovery in 2023 in current value terms. Sales are rebounding from the negative impact of the pandemic with the lifting of restrictions increasing the opportunities for consumers to go out to eat…

Probiotic supplements generated further positive sales growth in 2023 as the category continued to recover from the significant sales declines registered in 2021. Many consumers began taking probiotic products as a way of strengthening their immune…