The structural changes taking place around people, products and marketplaces will continue to drive the shift in the health supplements industry from a traditional model of long product development cycles to one of shorter cycles driven by consumer demand. When it comes to marketing, brands need to consciously balance demonstrations of efficacy and content marketing. Brands need to actively incubate more specialised segments in order to create new opportunities for growth.
Flora Zhang, Director, Food & Drink Health & Wellness
Market Definitions
The market size data in this Report encompasses both online and offline channels and includes health supplements with either a National Medical Licence or Health Supplement Food certification, as well as standard dietary nutritional supplements such as liquid multivitamins and protein powders. Among the products with a National Medical Licence, only those registered as over the counter (OTC) medicines are included; prescription medicines are excluded.
Market segments include:
- vitamins – includes single vitamins (such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E) and vitamin B complex
- minerals – such as calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium
- dietary supplements – including animal-based nutritional supplements (such as fish oil) and plant-based nutritional supplements (such as garlic oil and spirulina tablets)
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Executive summary
- Key issues in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know: size of China’s health supplements market and forecast
- Factors affecting the health supplements market
- Key changes in the health supplements industry over the past decade
- Future opportunities in the health supplements industry
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The market
- Market size and forecast
- Rise of online channels compensating for decline of offline, retail demand expected to maintain stable growth
- Optimistic outlook for growth of minerals market in 2025, thanks to micro-innovations in calcium supplements
- Graph 1: retail value sales of the vitamins market (RMB bn), 2021-25
- Graph 2: retail value sales of the minerals market (RMB bn), 2021-25
- Dietary supplements market to grow steadily in 2025, but varied performance in different segments
- Graph 3: retail value sales of the dietary supplements market (RMB bn), 2021-25
- Impressive sales of bone, sports, sleep and specialised cardiovascular health products; weight management, edible beauty and eye health performed poorly
- Graph 4: top segments by value sales in health supplements/dietary supplements on Taobao/Tmall, January-June 2025
- Health supplements market to maintain steady growth over next five years and surpass RMB300bn
- Graph 5: best- and worst-case forecast of retail value sales for overall health supplements market, 2020-30
- Expand dietary supplements market by incubating specialised functions; innovate in vitamins and minerals to overcome homogenisation
- Market factors
- People: expansion of consumer base injecting new growth momentum into the health supplements market
- Graph 6: usage of health supplements – none of the above, 2020-25
- People: expansion of consumer base injecting new growth momentum into the health supplements market
- Graph 7: usage of health supplements – have taken it myself, by generation, 2025 vs 2023
- Graph 8: usage of health supplements – have taken it myself, by city tier, 2025 vs 2023
- Products: government policies encouraging innovation in specialised functions and dosage forms
- Marketplaces: online growth shifting towards emerging channels, brands need to focus on emerging ecommerce as well as traditional ecommerce
- Traditional ecommerce acts as a secure base for brands, while Douyin serves as an incubator for new players; Swisse, Move Free, WonderLab and Nuoteland have established presence across all three major platforms
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Product Innovation Trends
- Rapid rise in liquid dosage forms; liquid nutrition expected to be important area of innovation
- Graph 9: share of dosage forms in new launches of vitamin and dietary supplements, 2022-25
- Liquid dosage forms to improve compliance by addressing difficulty of swallowing in traditional dosage forms
- Innovation in liquid forms also needs to address the technical issue of ingredient degradation
- Innovation on specialised functions shows divergence, with beauty, weight and eye health declining, and growth in both traditional and new segments
- Graph 10: share of functional claims in new launches of vitamin and dietary supplements, 2022-25
- Innovation in probiotic supplements shifting from gut health to targeted health improvements
- Graph 11: top functional benefits in probiotic health supplements/dietary nutritional supplements by value sales on Taobao/Tmall, 2024-25
- Innovative products with specialised functions bring together benefits, scenarios and demographics
- Innovations in vitamin and mineral supplements in overseas markets target a broader range of demographic groups…
- Graph 12: proportion of demographic claims for new health supplements containing vitamins or minerals, 2024-25
- Graph 13: proportion of demographic claims for new health supplements containing vitamins or minerals, 2024-25
- …and are more evenly distributed across functions
- Graph 14: proportion of functional claims for new health supplements containing vitamins or minerals, 2024-25
- Graph 15: proportion of functional claims for new health supplements containing vitamins or minerals, 2024-25
- Innovation ideas in overseas markets: extend vitamin supplements to cater to specific functional needs to gain differentiation advantage
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Consumer trends overview
- Enthusiasm for mineral supplements and probiotics remains strong
- Graph 16: usage of health supplements, 2025
- Graph 17: ranking of overall penetration of health supplements, 2024 vs 2025
- Basic nutritional supplements need to continue to acquire new customers through micro-innovations
- U-shaped pattern to demographics of health supplement consumers; Post-1995s and Post-2000s are the new consumption engine
- Graph 18: usage of health supplements – number of types I have taken myself, by generation, 2023-25
- Graph 19: usage of health supplements – have taken it myself, by generation, 2023 vs 2025
- Consumption of health supplements is seeing new trends, caring for partners is worth further exploration
- Graph 20: usage of health supplements – my partner/spouse has taken it, 2023-25
- Gut health aside, consumers have some doubt over the necessity of health supplements
- Graph 21: attitudes towards health improvement, 2025
- In an era of health anxiety, health supplements need to incubate more specialised functions to align with consumers’ concerns
- Graph 22: interest in health improvement vs interest in trying health supplements with this function, 2024-25
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Consumer insights and opportunities
- Key changes in the health supplements industry over the past decade
- Opportunities for health supplements
- Marketing approaches to watch: focusing on health anxieties while demonstrating efficacy
- Consumers find it difficult to extricate themselves from most of the lifestyles that trigger health anxiety
- Graph 23: lifestyles causing health anxiety vs lifestyles expected to become more common, 2025
- Dietary and nutritional deficiencies resulting from modern social habits driving development of health supplements as a mitigator of health impacts
- Consumers are aware of the health/nutritional impacts of dietary habits and view health supplements as a means of mitigation
- Graph 24: own use of health supplements, by lifesyles that are expected to both trigger health anxiety and become more prevalent (TGI analysis), 2025
- Products for afternoon tea lovers, meal replacement consumers and business travellers
- High-income consumers more prone to health anxieties but favour TCM products that might not offer immediate benefits
- Graph 25: lifestyles that trigger health anxiety – none of the above, by monthly personal income, 2025
- Graph 26: usage of health supplements – I have taken TCM supplements myself (a), by monthly personal income, 2025
- TCM products expected to focus more on efficacy to attract high-income individuals with health anxieties
- Graph 27: interest in trying health supplement dosage forms, all consumers vs consumers with a monthly personal income of RMB12,000 and above, 2025
- Consumers recognise the efficacy of health supplements to varying degrees; brands can convey empathy with scenario-based content
- Graph 28: belief that taking health supplements can improve the following health areas, by lifestyles that are anticipated to simultaneously induce health anxiety and become more prevalent, TGI analysis, 2025
- Example: consumers anxious about staying up late are more accepting of supplements for gut health
- Graph 29: attitudes towards health improvement, 2025
- Graph 30: belief that taking health supplements can improve digestion and gut health, by lifestyles that are anticipated to simultaneously induce health anxiety and become more prevalent, TGI analysis, 2025
- Gut health supplements can incorporate late-night health anxiety scenarios in their content marketing
- How should health supplements balance demonstrations of efficacy and content marketing?
- Product segments to watch: heart and cardiovascular health are expected to undergo greater segmentation
- Cardiovascular health/high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol/heart protection is the second largest functional segment
- Graph 31: top segments by value sales in health supplements/dietary supplements on Taobao/Tmall, January-September 2025
- Certification, natural and safe formulas and clinical data are crucial for a product’s credibility and promotion
- Graph 32: perceptions of the efficacy of supplements for cardiovascular health, 2025
- Consumers with spending power care more about products being tailored for usage scenarios
- Graph 33: perception of the effectiveness of supplements for cardiovascular health – select options, by monthly personal income (TGI analysis), 2025
- Graph 34: perception of the effectiveness of supplements for cardiovascular health – select options, by age (TGI analysis), 2025
- Emotional fluctuations and lack of sleep to become key usage scenarios for cardiovascular health supplements
- Graph 35: situations that cause concerns about cardiovascular health, 2025
- Product example: Doppelherz coenzyme Q10 supplement range from Germany
- Consumer demand for ingredients in cardiovascular health supplements becoming more refined, with greater focus on advanced ingredients
- Graph 36: top ingredients/components in cardiovascular health supplements/dietary nutritional supplements by value sales on Tmall/Taobao, October 2024-September 2025
- Consumers influenced by external information are more likely to trust cardiovascular health supplements with high-tech ingredients
- Graph 37: perception of effectiveness of cardiovascular health supplements (select options), by situations that trigger cardiovascular health concerns, 2025
- Cardiovascular supplements to move beyond blood lipids, blood pressure and blood sugar and focus on greater segmentation
- Graph 38: future plans for preventing cardiovascular health issues – taking health supplements with this function (a), 2025
- Emerging target groups to watch: focus on men’s anti-ageing needs and help them manage their wellbeing with confidence
- Women still the main consumers of health supplements, but demand among men is growing
- Graph 39: usage of health supplements – number of types I have taken myself, by gender, 2023-25
- Graph 40: usage of health supplements – have taken it myself, by gender, 2025 vs 2023
- Anti-ageing among men needs urgent attention
- Graph 41: forecast of male and female average life expectancy, 2019-35
- Men to become a new force in the anti-ageing health supplements market
- Graph 42: attitudes towards delaying ageing – I think taking health supplements (a) can delay ageing effectively, by gender and age, 2025
- Men’s perception of ageing includes both traditional and newer ideas
- Graph 43: perceived signs of ageing among men, 2021 vs 2025
- Graph 44: changes in perception of the signs of ageing among men of different age groups, 2021 vs 2025
- Health supplements can be combined with facial skincare to offer men a comprehensive and convenient skin anti-ageing solution
- Graph 45: male consumers’ usage of anti-ageing products/services – using now, 2024-25
- Graph 46: male consumers’ usage of anti-ageing products/services, 2025
- Sales of pre-pregnancy health supplements are cooling, while blood and qi nourishing health supplements are in favour
- Graph 47: [no title]
- Men are ready to break out of the constraints of traditional masculinity and explore new ways of emotional regulation
- Graph 48: attitudes towards health supplements, by gender and age, 2024
- Graph 49: emotional regulation methods – never tried but interested in trying, by gender and age, 2025
- Learn from men’s grooming market to rethink men’s supplements for emotional health
- New gift-giving scenarios to watch: expressions of love among younger couples
- Increasing number of younger people observing that their partners are taking health supplements
- Graph 50: usage of health supplements – my partner/spouse has used them, by generation, 2025 vs 2024
- Health supplements increasingly popular as festival gifts for partners among younger people
- Graph 51: preference for festive foods – when gifting to partner/spouse, 2021 vs 2023
- Romantic scenarios are a brand-new opportunity
- Graph 52: preference for gifting partners/spouses TCM supplements or Western health supplements during specific festivals (TGI analysis), 2024
- Associate the lasting sweetness of TCM products with the enduring of love
- New definition of romance as mutual support means health supplements can be a modern expression of love
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Appendix – market size and forecast, research methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast
- China: best- and worst-case forecast of retail value sales of vitamins, 2020-30
- Graph 53: best- and worst-case forecast of retail value sales of vitamins, 2020-30
- China: best- and worst-case forecast of retail value sales of minerals, 2020-30
- Graph 54: best- and worst-case forecast of retail value sales of minerals, 2020-30
- China: best- and worst-case forecast of retail value sales of dietary supplements, 2020-30
- Graph 55: best- and worst-case forecast of retail value sales of dietary supplements, 2020-30
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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