This report looks at the following areas:
- Explanation of macro market factors and policies that affect gut/digestive health and probiotics
- Competitive landscape and new product innovation trends in probiotic products
- Exploration of the health benefits of new probiotic ingredient strains under upstream development and production
- Analysis of usage, expectations and concerns regarding various downstream probiotic consumer products
- Exploration of the marketing and retail strategies used by downstream brands to promote sales
As the industry seeks to expand the functional scope of probiotics to wider areas of healthcare, there are clear leading indicators of consumer recognition of the health benefits of probiotics beyond the gut.
Catherine Liu, Principal Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
The downstream probiotic consumer product formats covered in this Report include:
- Yogurt
- Lactobacillus drinks (eg Yakult)
- Probiotic supplements
- Probiotic functional foods (eg chocolate, gummies with added probiotics)
In addition to probiotic products, this Report also explores other products that contribute to gut health, including prebiotic/dietary fibre supplements, fruit and vegetable enzymes, fruit vinegar, gut supplements with natural ingredients (eg prune extract) and bowel relaxing/cleansing tea.
Mintel’s GNPD defines probiotic products as foods, drinks, vitamins and dietary supplements containing probiotic ingredients.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- Market overview
- Probiotic product trends
- Insights into consumer perception and demands
- Keys to success
- What we think
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Market overview
- Market factors
- Healthcare products that improve gastrointestinal digestive health are a ‘must-have’ elastic good
- Graph 1: categories where spending is higher compared to the last month, food vs healthcare, 2022-25
- Graph 2: health management behaviours – doing more, by preference (TGI*) of consumers with the top three sub-health issues with the highest incidence rates, 2024
- ‘Prevention is better than cure’ ethos encourages incremental growth in probiotic functional food
- Graph 3: usage and future interest in gut health products, by consumers with a demand for improved digestion and gut health, 2025
- Graph 4: % of consumers with digestive issues (a) and % of consumers with a demand for improved digestion and gut health, 2025
- Compared to the global market, Chinese consumers’ understanding of probiotic products is more mature
- Graph 5: top ten markets, by the % of consumers who have taken probiotics to improve digestive/gut health, 2023
- Probiotic industry enters a crucial policy period of ‘regulated innovation’ during 2024-25
- Competitive landscape
- Probiotic supplements leading probiotic category in ecommerce
- Graph 6: value sales and share of probiotic product categories on ecommerce platforms (Tmall, Taobao, JD.com, Douyin), 2024
- eCommerce market for probiotic supplements dominated by leading brands, with intense competition among long-tail brands
- Gut health and figure management remain mainstream selling points, while differentiated probiotic strains may provide a competitive edge
- Growth of the gastrointestinal health segment slows, while beauty and cardiovascular see marked acceleration
- Graph 7: value sales and year-on-year growth rate of probiotic supplements in the ecommerce channel (Tmall, Taobao, JD.com, Douyin), by target demographic segment, 2024
- Graph 8: value sales and year-on-year growth rate of probiotic supplements in the ecommerce channel (Tmall, Taobao, JD.com, Douyin), by functional segments, 2024
- Probiotic supplements for cardiovascular health rank near the top in value sales on ecommerce platforms
- Impressive sales of probiotic food and drink products with a health halo
- Graph 9: top-ranked probiotic food and drink segments in the ecommerce channel (Tmall, Taobao, JD.com, Douyin), by total sales, 2024
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New product trends
- China sees steady growth of new probiotic product launches compared to the global market
- Graph 10: proportion of new launches of food, drink, vitamin and dietary supplements containing probiotic ingredients, 2022-25
- New product launches proliferate, with innovation focused on active lifestyles and personal appearance on the rise
- Graph 11: new products/varieties/range extensions of foods, drinks, vitamins and dietary supplements containing probiotic ingredients, by noteworthy functional claims, 2022-25
- Graph 12: food, drinks, vitamins and dietary supplements containing probiotic ingredients, by type of listing, 2022-2025
- Examples of probiotic product innovation that focus on active living and personal appearance claims
- Kerry Group launches supplement taste charts, serves as a reference for probiotic supplements
- Examples of probiotic product innovation that use emerging flavours
- Application of probiotics in food expands beyond traditional health benefits to include enhancing freshness, flavour and reduced salt
- Postbiotics innovation
- Despite lower postbiotic product innovation, Chinese consumers show early understanding of the health benefits
- Graph 13: share of global new launches of food, drink, vitamins and dietary supplement products containing postbiotic* ingredients, 2024-25
- Examples of product innovation with added postbiotics to enhance initial perceived effects
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The consumer
- Exploring new frontiers in probiotic health benefits
- Broader health applications are a key theme of future development in the gut health and probiotics industry
- Demand for health improvements is increasingly diverse, while gut health enhancement remains a fundamental need
- Graph 14: demand for health improvements, 2025
- Consumers with health improvement needs have a strong desire to learn about probiotics with multiple health benefits
- Graph 15: interest in probiotics-related knowledge among consumers with health improvement needs, 2025
- High awareness of gut health in probiotics, while skin, cardiovascular and immunity benefits are gradually being recognised
- Graph 16: understanding of probiotic functions, 2025
- Weight management emerges as most popular demand in response to ‘probiotics +’ strategy
- Graph 17: consumers who believe probiotics can effectively improve an aspect of health while also believing there are more effective solutions than probiotics (a), by health aspect, 2025
- Diversifying formats of probiotic end products worth a try
- Yogurt and lactobacillus drinks lead the way, while health supplements and functional foods face both anticipation and concerns
- Graph 18: usage of gut health products, 2021 vs 2025
- Itch points: instead of listing impressive figures, articulate what issues the probiotic content can solve
- Graph 19: important factors when purchasing probiotic products, 2025
- Graph 20: important factors when purchasing probiotic products, by probiotic products consumers have not eaten but are interested in trying, 2025
- Pain points: yogurt lacks results, functional foods are unhealthy and supplements’ health benefits are unclear
- Graph 21: barriers to consumption, 2025
- Embrace lifestyle content marketing and retail occasions
- Health-conscious consumers are eager to learn about ways of enhancing the role of probiotics
- Graph 22: interest in probiotics-related knowledge among consumers with health improvement needs, 2025
- Dietary guidance can help enhance the gut health benefits of probiotic supplements
- Graph 23: interest in selected information about probiotics, by select barrier to consumption of probiotic supplements, 2025
- Lifestyle occasion-based promotion of probiotics differs significantly when targeting different age groups
- Graph 24: interest in probiotics-related knowledge, by preference (TGI*) of consumers in different age groups, 2025
- Examples of brands that align with consumer preferences across different age groups
- Everyday and lifestyle-oriented channels key to delivering probiotics knowledge
- Everyday channels key to conveying probiotics knowledge, while professional products can establish user engagement through owned media traffic
- Graph 25: probiotics information channels, 2025
- Learn from mini drama marketing to get consumers to listen to the good news about probiotics
- Graph 26: probiotics information channels, by preference (TGI*) for probiotics-related information, 2025
- Probiotic supplement purchase channels: focus on traditional ecommerce and emerging short video ecommerce
- Graph 27: purchase channels for probiotic supplements, 2025
- High earners show a higher preference for professional channels, membership retailers and discount ecommerce platforms
- Graph 28: purchase channels for probiotic supplements, by preference (TGI*) of consumers with different monthly household income levels, 2025
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Issues and insights
- Three major innovation opportunities
- Yogurt: focus on ‘results’ and position yogurt as a solution for digestive issues as well as general gut health
- Yogurt pain point: lack of noticeable improvement in gut health
- Product innovation: reinforce yogurt’s positioning as a solution for digestive issues, going beyond the general gut health claim to enhance perceived effects
- Additional guidance: provide health tips for consumers eager for results to nurture their gut environment
- Probiotic-enhanced functional foods: emphasise healthfulness to weaken negative associations and highlight real strains to enhance trust in quality
- Pain point one: unhealthy
- Graph 29: top claims related to ‘natural’ and ‘minus’ in food (excluding dairy products) and drinks containing probiotic ingredients, 2022-25
- Formulation strategy: use natural food ingredients that support probiotics to improve flavour and shake off the ‘unhealthy’ label
- Pain point two: consumers are unsure whether products truly contain probiotics
- Package innovation: using visualisation technology for ‘instant verification’ to help consumers easily identify probiotics
- Ingredient innovation: select probiotics such as Bacillus coagulans that can maintain activity and efficacy after long-term storage
- Probiotic supplements: focus on optimisation and emphasise that probiotics are a safe systemic health management tool
- Pain point one: uncertainty about the health benefits of probiotic supplements
- Graph 30: barriers to consumption of probiotic supplements – not sure what the health benefits are, by belief that probiotics can effectively improve this aspect of health, 2025
- ‘Start from the gut’ to facilitate consumer understanding of probiotic supplements’ health benefits
- Graph 31: interest in probiotics-related knowledge, by belief that probiotics can effectively improve health in this area, 2025
- Examples of products that use the ‘start from the gut’ approach to highlight the benefits of probiotic supplements to consumers
- Pain point two: concerns about side effects
- Product innovation and promotion strategy: address consumer concerns about side effects with technological innovations or instructions for dealing with potential side effects
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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