Over one-fourth of Taiwan’s citizens regard vitamins and health products as everyday necessities, with sales of such items reaching NT$75.9 billion (US$2.36 billion) in 2009, according to a survey released July 22.
The survey by the Nielsen Company showed that health supplement revenues last year rose by 14 percent over the NT$66.4 billion recorded in 2008. Twenty-seven percent of the Taiwanese people consume such products daily, while those who take them once a month stand at only 1 percent.
The percentage of people taking health supplements containing vitamins is as high as 56 percent, putting Taiwan in a tie with the U.S. as the world’s third most health product-loving country. The Philippines and Thailand are tied for first, followed by Lithuania.
Key factors underlying the craze for these products include an increase in dining out due to lifestyle changes, work pressures, lack of sleep, diet changes, modern maladies such as obesity and more widespread medical knowledge.
Statistics from drugstores indicate that vitamins, especially vitamin B complex, have been the best-selling health supplement since the beginning of 2010, followed by bone care products, health tonics, and liver care and beauty maintenance products.
Drugstore operators forecast sales revenues will reach NT$84 billion this year, while the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research expects figures to surpass NT$90 billion next year. Market growth for health supplements will exceed 10 percent over the next three years, TIER predicted. (KML-THN)