A year-on-year increase of 296%! South Korea's nutritional supplement imports hit a new high

In recent years , the Korean economy seems to have stagnated, with GDP growth hitting record lows, but the nutritional supplement market has been on a growth trend.

When it comes to Korean health products, perhaps the most well-known one is red ginseng, which has always occupied a major position in the Korean health product market. But in addition to ginseng-related foods, Korean consumers' demand for other nutritional health products has also surged.

According to data recently released by the Korea Food and Drug Safety Administration ( KFDA) , the import scale of nutritional supplements (also known as functional foods) has increased by an average of 21.4% per year in the past three years , and the import scale (2019) accounted for 33.8% of the industry as a whole.

In terms of item, comprehensive nutrients have ranked first in imports for three consecutive years, with an import volume of 3,509 tons last year, accounting for 17.7% of the total import volume of health products.

Following them are oligosaccharides that are beneficial to intestinal health ( 3,288 tons), health products containing EPA and DHA that are beneficial to blood circulation and memory (1,984 tons), nutrient and functional complex health products (1,648 tons) and protein powder (1,337 tons).

It is worth mentioning that the import volume of nutrients and functional compound health products increased by 296% year-on-year last year, which also reflects the consumption trend of Korean consumers preferring products with comprehensive nutritional ingredients .

In the past 15 years , the market size of functional health food in South Korea has increased 12 times. In 2005 , the market size of functional health food in South Korea was only 410 billion won, and it increased to 2.218 trillion won in 2015. It is estimated that in 2020, the market size of nutritional health products in South Korea may exceed 5 trillion won (equivalent to RMB 29.2258 billion) .

Last year, as the COVID-19 epidemic lasted longer and people became more concerned about their own health, South Korea's functional health food market continued to heat up, with more and more customers beginning to favor health products with functions such as immunity and health enhancement.

Statistics show that in South Korea, the average amount of health supplements purchased by each person is 280,000 won (about 1,630 yuan) per year . Today, the number of new cases in South Korea hovers between 500 and 700 per day , and the risk of a resurgence of the epidemic is increasing . Under this situation, South Korean consumers will continue to maintain a steady growth in demand for nutritional supplements.

South Korea

Nutritional supplements

import