For decades, the health and wellness industry approached the immune health category in a compartmentalised, seasonal way. Retailers would roll out the ‘back to school’ promotions that included extra vitamin C for children and teachers. The ‘cold and flu’ season endcaps appeared by October, offering OTCs and natural remedies to soothe sore throats and boost the body’s ability to respond to potential threats. And springtime brought homeopathic remedies to address seasonal allergies—the body’s overresponse to otherwise innocuous compounds. And then 2020—and the COVID-19 pandemic—arrived, upending business as usual. Heather Granato reports
Gabriele Fontana, PhD, director of innovation and business intelligence, Indena Spa, observed: “The first consumer reaction to the pandemic was been stocking food, goods and self-medication remedies. The pandemic came almost suddenly, spreading a feeling of uncertainty. Everybody knew it was related to a viral infection for which there was not any cure yet. The only possible action, beside social distancing, was strengthen the body defences against viral attack, and in that situation the immune health formulas went out of stock. Then, when it became clear that the worsening of the infection was associated with some unhealthy conditions of the patients like hyperglycaemia, overweight, hyperlipidaemia, people started to raise attention to their lifestyle, as an healthy lifestyle is always associated with strong and good health. In that panorama the attention for a healthy and strong immune system has been transforming from an emergency tactics to a long-lasting strategic goal.”
It is this shift in perspective from acute ‘boosting’ to working holistically to support every part of the body. Myriad interconnected systems help the body determine ‘self’ and ‘non-self’—the very fundamental principle of immune function, and launching innate and adaptive responses. But as Dr Fontana notes, the impact of baseline wellness on immune response has never been so clearly illustrated. And that has raised serious concerns among consumers.
“In the long-term, consumers are recognising that poor dietary habits and lifestyles are impacting their immunity,” says Mike Hughes, director of insights at FMCG Gurus. “In 2020, a total of 49% of global consumers said that they were satisfied with their immune health, compared to 54% who said this a year earlier. A total of 60% of consumers also said that they have become more conscious
about their immune health as a result of COVID-19. This shows that worries about the impact of the virus are not restricted to those consumers associated with more vulnerable demographic groups such as the elderly.”
Even as the potential target demographic expands to include everyone, the type of immune health products consumers are seeking is also shifting. Matevž Ambrožič, marketing & PR director, PharmaLinea, comments: “I believe the main effect COVID-19 had—and will continue to exert for some time—is the focus on prevention and consequent decline in products addressing symptoms. Euromonitor data shows that the pandemic has had an opposite effect on the immune health supplement segment (preventive) and cough and cold remedies (curative). Immune health supplements climbed to 17% growth in 2020 while cough and cold remedies saw an even steeper decline in growth than in recent years.”
This willingness to invest in long-term wellness is seen across categories. “The market for immune health has been given a strong push by the pandemic as immune health and the fear from getting infected moved much more into the focus of consumers,” says Oliver Wolf, head of B2B marketing (global), GELITA AG. “They are more sensitive and willing to spend money for supplements promising to strengthen their immune system. The category is now receiving the right demand for its potential, as immune health is a core need state for health, even in the absence of a pandemic.”
However, at the same time, there is a challenge in effectively communicating with consumers, and ensuring they are receiving efficacious products with validated claims. David Foreman, the Herbal Pharmacist, says he is seeing “more deceit and misinformation given to consumers about what products and ingredients they should take to support or boost immune function. It seems and feels like they are reaching for anything that states it is for immune health. They don’t know much and are confused.”