Food is an immense source of nutrients that nourish our body. Interestingly, food is not the only one! It is a well-known fact that nutritional needs change with aging, pregnancy and lactation, acute and chronic diseases, and other medical conditions. In such cases, the diet is essentially supplemented with products that meet specific nutritional needs. These products are called food/dietary supplements.
The 20th century saw unprecedented progress in elucidating the biochemical structures and physiological functions of vitamins and other nutrients. Today, many nutrients can be produced abundantly and cheaply. Current dynamics and lifestyle patterns require adding value at a nutritional level. Therefore, dietary supplements are an important part of the preventive approach, of the health and wellness trend that has been in vogue.
Dietary supplements are defined as foods intended to complement the normal diet, and which are concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances, with nutritional or physiological effects, alone or in combination, marketed in solid form (capsules, pills, tablets, lozenges and forms). similar), liquids (ampoules, dropper bottles, and similar forms), and powder packets, designed to be taken in measured amounts, where the nutrients may be vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts, and other ingredients.
Dietary supplements are products that are taken orally and contain one or more of the following ingredients: vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, fatty acids, and/or other associated metabolites.
A food or dietary supplement differs from a drug, drug, or food additive in that it is a drug that is used to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease, whereas a dietary supplement is intended to supplement the diet by increasing dietary intake. total. of a nutrient. A food additive can be both direct and indirect. A direct additive is the intentional addition of a substance to a food to improve its shelf life, texture, nutrition, or other quality aspects. An indirect additive is one that unintentionally contaminates food, including packaging materials or machine waste. Dietary supplement ingredients are exempt from food additive regulations applicable to conventional foods.
What are the market sentiments towards this category of nutritional boosters?
A report by a market research company estimated that the global dietary supplements market was valued at USD 115 billion in 2016 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period of 2017-2022.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), health care spending as a percentage of GDP has increased dramatically, with low- and middle-income economies experiencing huge out-of-pocket health care costs. These expenses can be attributed to the increasing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases in these regions. On the other hand, developed countries have also increased their health care expenses, due to mandatory health targets, increasing the occurrence of lifestyle-related diseases and expanding the geriatric population.
Around the world, the burden of noncommunicable diseases is increasing at an alarming rate, with chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes accounting for around 85% of total health spending. This increase in spending has motivated the adoption of preventive measures by consumers. This trend is a key driver of the global dietary supplements market.
The global demographic profile highlights another important driver of this market: the 25-54 age group represents nearly 42% of the global population, and this end-user segment is the largest consumer of dietary supplements. The popularity of dietary supplements among adults is in line with the general health and wellness trend. This segment mainly consumes vitamin, mineral and protein supplements. The growing popularity of probiotics, for improving immune health requirements in general and gut health in particular, is also a major contributor to the growing demand for dietary supplements.
Based on geography, due to lifestyle changes and lack of balanced diets, Asia-Pacific and North America represent two major dietary supplement segments. Furthermore, Asia-Pacific is poised to post the highest growth rate, due to rapidly aging demographic profiles in countries such as Japan, Australia and China. The region is also expected to attract significant investment in dietary supplements, especially herbal products and products based on Ayurveda extracts, due to the wide availability of raw materials in India and other Southeast Asian countries.
The main obstacles to the market –
Strict regulatory environment, particularly in developed economies such as the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires manufacturers to strictly adhere to testing, quality control, distribution practices, label claims , etc. It is a limitation for market growth. In the European Union, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has defined a particular set of health claims that can only be made regarding food supplements. Companies are also required to prove their claims, otherwise product recall is their only option. Such regulatory burdens are restricting prerequisites for manufacturing, product safety, and labeling claims, reducing demand for dietary supplements.
The low efficacy of dietary supplements, compared to medicinal products, is also one of the obstacles for the global market for dietary supplements, since these supplements take longer to give results than drugs.
The way to follow –
Dietary supplements are poised to post healthy growth during the forecast period, as over-the-counter (OTC) medications are currently the only substitute available on the market. However, with growing concern over antibiotic resistance, the indiscriminate use of over-the-counter medications will decline dramatically during the forecast period, and dietary supplements will adequately fill the gap.