Vitamins and dietary supplements sales are expected to slow during the coming years, however, the consumer base will increase due to a widespread healthier lifestyle.
Manufacturers and scientists continuously promote vitamins and dietary supplements as effective precautionary measures against disease and illness, and Taiwanese consumers will gradually choose to buy more to prevent conditions such as heart attacks.
On the back of increasing National Health Insurance fees, it is expected that health-conscious Taiwanese consumers will continue to buy vitamins and dietary supplements, although growth will be slightly lower as the sector matures further.
Manufacturers’ efforts to target gender- and age-specific groups will also be important in expanding consumer spending.
Non-drugs/traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are regulated by the Department of Health, however, registration and licensing are not compulsory. Most vitamins and dietary supplements are regulated as ‘health food’ under the Health Department's Bureau of Food Sanitation.
Vitamins and food supplements are registered with the Department of Health's Bureau of Food Sanitation as food products. If, however, vitamins and food supplements claim to have any therapeutic benefits, they are required to be registered as a pharmaceutical product and therefore come under regulations governing medicines.
The Taiwanese Government has not approved homeopathy and is very unlikely to do so in the foreseeable future. Homeopathy is still classed as an alternative treatment and is promoted only by word-of-mouth recommendations. Homeopathic products are sold by direct marketing methods and by practitioners.
Due to the strong performance of vitamins and dietary supplements in 2004, direct sales was the most important distribution channel in over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare in Taiwan. Accounting for 51 per cent of total vitamins and dietary supplements value sales, this translated into close to 40 per cent of total OTC healthcare sales, a sharp increase from the channel’s 34 per cent share in 1999.
According to industry sources, in 2004, direct sales captured nearly 80 per cent of value sales of dietary supplements, as advertising restrictions limit the amount of information manufacturers can disseminate about the benefits of their products. Therefore, word-of-mouth and personal testimonies are very important in educating consumers about the benefits of dietary supplements.
Other than the presence of established direct sellers such as Amway and Nu Skin in direct sales, the proliferation of online drugstores such as www.ezdrug4u.com and www.kof.com.tw also provide consumers with alternative ways to learn about and buy dietary supplements. At the same time, direct sales also include catalogue mailing, in addition to Internet sales.
Cosmetic players such as DHC and Fancl House have dietary supplements and sell these products mainly through catalogue mailing.
Internet sales are growing in importance within direct sales, as consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and tend to seek information online. Such a trend prompted direct sellers such as Amway to set up websites to cater to this growing group of Internet-savvy consumers. Furthermore, the growing popularity of Internet shopping via online supermarkets has also spurred sales of vitamins and dietary supplements, leading to an encouraging outlook for the direct sales channel, eg. Wellcome.
The proliferation of online drugstores also provides consumers with alternative ways to learn about and buy dietary supplements.
The importance of chemists/pharmacies is largely due to the fact that a large portion of OTC sales in Taiwan require the presence of licensed pharmacists. Previously, consumers relied on pharmacists' recommendations when making OTC purchases but the trend towards self-selection is making advertising imperative to expanding, if not, maintaining share.
Department of Health –www.doh.gov.tw/EN/Webpage/index.aspx