In its most recent report on the topic, Mordor Intelligence puts the global compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the digestive health supplements market at 6.9%. Among the key regional markets, North America is the largest—valued at US$2.97 billion in 2020, says the report, while Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing. Mintel’s Vitamins & Supplements report for the UK, published in September 2021, overall paints a picture of peak-pandemic growth followed by inevitable decline. From rapid growth through the emergence of the coronavirus up to the first quarter of 2021, largely driven by immune health concerns, VMS sales have been falling away gradually ever since.
Exploring the digestive health market whitespace, consumer needs - video
This drop-off in comparison with peak demand in 2020/21 is expected to continue, according to Mintel, but with demand likely to remain above pre-pandemic levels. Of the 1,279 adult consumers polled in the summer of 2021 who said they took VMS products in the previous 12 months, over 50%—unsurprisingly—put immune health as one of their target benefits. ‘Bone and joint health’ and ‘energy levels’ were the second and third most popular type of benefit, with digestive health in fourth place, nominated by 25% of consumers. Gut health is one of those areas where consumer attitudes and awareness appear to be evolving rapidly in different markets. Mordor Intelligence quotes the American Dietetic Association on US consumer awareness regarding prebiotics and probiotics. According to the association’s figures, while 81% of US consumers were aware of the link between probiotics/prebiotics and a healthy digestive system in 2011, this figure had risen to 88% just six years later. On the other hand, globally, sales of supplements targeting gastrointestinal health are commonly put at just over 6% of total sales. Proportions of consumers at least claiming some sort of digestive complaint appear higher. The Ingredient Transparency Center (ITC) Insights, 2021, collated data from 1,000 consumers across the United States, and 1,000 split equally between the UK and Germany. Digestive complaints appeared around one third of the way down the table of self-declared problems, with some 12% of US consumers and 17% in both the UK and Germany highlighting the category.
When women’s responses are analysed separately, figures are slightly higher in all three markets. Meanwhile, the ITC is not alone in underlining the significant variations between country and country, not only in terms of consumer behaviours, but also awareness. For example, specifically on the prebiotic side, while 37% of Germans polled gave gut/digestive health as the chief reason for taking prebiotics, the figure for the United States was 28%. On the other hand, 30% of US consumers gave immune health as the prime reason for using prebiotic supplements, as opposed to 24% of Germans.
When it comes to language and terminology, UK consumers are significantly more aware of the association between prebiotics and the microbiome and microbiota than those in the United States or Germany, says ITC, which carried out its research on behalf of the Global Prebiotics Association (GPA). Of course, this focus on North America and parts of Europe ignores some of the most dynamic markets for digestive health supplementation. “Overall, consumer awareness of the human gut microbiome has increased significantly over the past 10 years or so,” says Florian Isermeyer, head of Novozymes’ Digestive Health Venture, part of its OneHealth division. “And as a market, China is growing relatively faster than other parts of the world.”
Overall, consumer awareness of the human gut microbiome has increased significantly over the past 10 years or so ...
... and as a market, China is growing relatively faster than other parts of the world.