Vitafoods Asia 2022: Supplement opportunities from “womb to adulthood” across APAC market

19 Sep 2022 --- As industry adjusts to a myriad of developments ranging from consumer demands to a vastly changing regulatory landscape, companies are eyeing opportunities across the APAC region. As Vitafoods Asia approaches, experts delve into the details of differing consumer demands and industry potential.

NutritionInsight speaks to Kappa Bioscience, DSM, FrieslandCampina Ingredients, Pharmalinea and Kyowa Hakko Bio on the evolving market trends ahead of Vitafoods Asia, taking place between October 5 – 7 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand and online between Sep 26 – Oct 10.

“Generally speaking, across Asia, there is a big consumer focus on supporting the health and well-being of future generations. From womb to adulthood, people are seeking out supplementation that supports healthy growth and helps children reach their full potential,” says Oliver Riemann, director business development APAC, Kappa Bioscience.

“This proactive approach to supporting health from a young age means we are seeing a growing trend for supplements targeting children in Asia.” 

DSM’s Kenneth Keh, APAC business unit head, Human Nutrition & Care highlights an up-and-coming market segment in Asia – adult and medical nutrition. “With aging populations on the rise, particularly in Asia, the silver tsunami of consumers have unique nutrition needs, while brands have a big opportunity to educate, build awareness and tap on latent demand in this growing segment.”Consumers across APAC are taking a more proactive approach to their health, as COVID-19 restrictions are stricter than other regions, FrieslandCampina explains.

Growing market opportunities
Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing market globally, Keh adds. A key feature that sets the APAC market apart is the fact that the nutrition and supplements industry is relatively young, and many customers are still exploring their potential for growth, he explains. 

“Regulatory frameworks in APAC tend to exist at the national level without harmonization across the region, leading to a concentration of national-level brands. For APAC consumers in the nutrition and supplements industry, there is also an especially significant premium attached to reputable brands associated with scientific innovation and high quality.” 

As consumers are increasingly health conscious with an eye on prevention, one of the byproducts of this trend is a focus on gut health, explains Job van Rozendaal, managing director, Asia-Pacific, at FrieslandCampina Ingredients.

“More and more, APAC consumers recognize that a healthy gut can help them address well-being areas outside of digestive health. In fact, research shows that gut health is high on the agenda in some of APAC’s biggest markets, including Australia, Japan, Korea, India, and Indonesia, for this very reason.” 

Vast differences
Nyx Chong, business development and marketing lead at Kyowa Hakko Bio, explains it is difficult to characterize Asia as “one market” because of extremely different demographics and cultural sensitivities between the many countries. 

Examples of some stark differences include highly networked communities with high technology integration in Korea and Singapore, whereas Cambodia and Myanmar may be characterized by developing infrastructure and more local connections, Chone adds. 

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, the Philippines is predominantly Christian, India is predominantly Hindu, and Thailand is primarily Buddhist – differences in dominant religions affect the need for halal certification or preference for vegan/vegetarian products.  

“Due to these large differences between Asian countries, consumer data would have to be studied in detail with respect to each country’s societal norms, cultural desires, and local spending power.”

Vitamin K2 combined with D3 can help the body yield the best possible benefits of calcium, which in turn can help children to reach their full growth potential. 

Ironing through potential
According to Jernej Klopčič, director of business development at PharmaLinea, there is big potential in iron supplementation across Southeast Asia, as iron deficiency is a pressing issue in the region. 

“Countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are high in anemia prevalence among women of reproductive age and children. Notably, the numbers are higher than in several countries with very established and sizeable iron supplement markets (Italy, Serbia, Romania, Brazil) or fast-developing markets such as Germany.” 

“A lot of women and children are in need of quality iron products, but there are few of those available in the market. Many products cause severe side effects and come with an unpleasant taste or in delivery formats that are not particularly user-friendly. This is especially problematic since non-pill formats are better developed in APAC than in other regions, and consumers have come to expect a better experience generally.”

Riemann adds the average household income in Asia is increasing, which means more people can start thinking about purchasing supplements to proactively support health and wellness from a younger age as a preventative measure. 

“Dietary supplements, and the vitamin K2 segment, in particular, is a very promising market globally - but especially in the Asia-Pacific region. However, there is still so much untapped potential to increase consumer awareness about the need and the advantages of taking vitamin K2 MK-7 regularly. This lack of consumer knowledge is the biggest challenge, but also presents supplement brands with an exciting opportunity to fill the gap in the market.”

By Andria Kades