This report looks at the following areas:
- Key factors in the sleep health management market
- Decoding trends in sleep health supplement innovation
- Exploring the sleep conditions and needs of consumers of all ages in a growing market
- Uncovering the unique selling points of different natural ingredients as interest in natural sleep aid formulas remains high
- Analysing barriers to using melatonin to guide product innovation and marketing strategies as demand for melatonin declines
Consumers’ understanding of sleep health is continuously evolving. Brands must respond by flexibly adjusting their product strategies, actively positioning their products for ‘all-day energy management’ and utilising unique natural ingredients to address the demands of consumers who want it all: better sleep at night and more energy during the day.
Catherine Liu, Principal Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
The sleep health products covered in this Report are:
- Sleep-aiding health supplements, such as melatonin
- Food and drink fortified with sleep-aiding ingredients, such as snacks or beverages with added gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- Traditional Chinese yangsheng foods, such as spine date seed paste and an shen soup
- Sleep-aiding Western OTC/prescription medicines
- Sleep-aiding essential oils
- Sleep-aiding bathing/body care products
- Sleep spray
- Home textile products, such as sleep-aiding pillows
- Sleep-aiding appliances/devices, such as headphones or massage devices
The insights in this year’s Report focus on consumer attitudes towards sleep-aiding health supplements to identify untapped opportunities for product innovation and key points in market communication. The Report also identifies blurring opportunities combining sleep-aiding health supplements with some of the products above.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Macro market overview from the perspective of historical consumer research
- Sleep health product trends
- Three major consumer insights
- Future product innovation opportunities
- What we think
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Market overview
- Market factors
- Sleep problems are on the rise, age-specific interventions are urgently needed
- Graph 1: sub-health issues – sleep problems, by age, 2023-25
- Graph 2: sub-health issues – sleep problems, 2023-25
- Prevention is better than cure: the shift towards all-day health management
- Graph 3: incidence of sub-health issues and related health improvement needs, 2025
- Governmental policy support will benefit high-tech products and services which improve sleep
- Overview of ecommerce sales performance
- eCommerce value sales of sleep aid health supplements rebound against the trend, Douyin and Tmall outperform the market
- Graph 4: value sales and year-on-year growth of sleep-aiding health supplements* on ecommerce platforms (Tmall, Taobao, JD.com and Douyin), 2022-25
- Graph 5: value sales and year-on-year growth of health supplements on ecommerce platforms (Tmall, Taobao, JD.com and Douyin), 2022-25
- Demographics: on Tmall, universal and adult sleep aids lead in value sales, products for older consumers growing fastest
- Graph 6: value sales and year-on-year growth of demographically targeted* sleep-aiding health supplements** on Tmall, 2023-25
- Ingredients: melatonin remains dominant but ginseng is growing fast
- Graph 7: sleep-aiding health supplements* typical added components**, Tmall sales summary***, 2024-25
- New product trends
- Innovation is increasing, albeit from a low base
- Graph 8: percentage of food, drink, vitamin and dietary supplement launches with stress and sleep claims, 2020-25
- Rapid growth in products offering combination of energy boost and brain health benefits
- Graph 9: top five overlapping functional claims in food, drink, vitamin and dietary supplement launches with stress and sleep claims, 2019-25
- Combine classic sleep-aiding ingredients with energy boosting components to transform sleep aids into all-day products
- Naturalness is on trend: herbal and botanical product innovation is on the rise, aromatherapy is showing promise
- Graph 10: overlapping natural claims in food, drink, vitamin and dietary supplement launches with stress and sleep claims, 2019-25
- Cross-category innovation in aromatherapy ingredients aligns with consumer trends in health and wellbeing
- Innovation in natural ingredients is leading the overseas market industry on to new heights, with natural melatonin creating a buzz
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The consumer
- Sleep needs vary significantly by age: build profiles to reach target groups
- Large potential consumer base in the ‘sleep economy’
- Graph 11: percentage of respondents with sleep difficulties*, 2022-25
- The main difficulty is falling asleep, sleep quality tends to be acceptable
- Graph 12: self-assessment of sleep onset, 2022-25
- Graph 13: self-assessment of deep sleep (a), 2022-25
- People with sleeping difficulties are actively seeking solutions
- Graph 14: sleep improvement products – have used, by sleep status*, 2025
- Sleep difficulties worsen with age and are a common concern
- 18-29s are more inclined to view sleep as a way to stabilise their emotions
- Graph 15: daily work routine, all vs 18-29s, 2025
- Graph 16: ideal states of respondents aged 18-29, 2025
- Personalised and innovative experiences come first
- Graph 17: perceptions of efficacy of sleep improvement products among respondents aged 18-29, 2025
- People aged 30-39 want to get to sleep faster
- Graph 18: ideal states of respondents aged 30-39, 2025
- Reason and emotion are equally important
- Graph 19: perceptions of efficacy of sleep improvement products among respondents aged 30-39, 2025
- After 40, consumers understand that sleep health is not just a nighttime issue
- Graph 20: ideal states of respondents aged 40-49, 2025
- Build trust with science, data and principles
- Graph 21: perceptions of efficacy of sleep improvement products among respondents aged 40-49, 2025
- For the over 50s, sleep health is about both sleeping well at night and having energy during the day
- Graph 22: ideal states of respondents aged 50-59, 2025
- To cater to the needs of consumers over 50, brands should build their reputation, offer better service guarantees and introduce gentle, natural products
- Graph 23: perceptions of efficacy of sleep improvement products among respondents aged 50-59, 2025
- Consumer trust in natural ingredients the key to success
- Products focusing on functionality, sensory experience, internal regulation and relaxation are seeing greater penetration…
- Graph 24: penetration of sleep improvement products, 2024-25
- …but natural formulas are still the most credible selling point
- Graph 25: perceptions of the effectiveness of sleep health products, 2025
- Ginseng surpasses melatonin to become the most popular ingredient in sleep-aiding health supplements
- Graph 26: interest in sleep-aiding health supplements, 2025
- Ginseng for all-day regulation, spine date seed for safety, lavender for sensory soothing
- Graph 27: understanding of sleep aid ingredients, 2025
- Stabilise the market position of melatonin through product innovation and marketing tweaks
- While demand for sleep aid health supplements is growing, so is consumer scrutiny of poor efficacy
- Melatonin, as the leading sleep-aiding health supplement, is experiencing declining market share…
- ….but people with sleep difficulties still want to try melatonin, and manufacturers should not abandon this segment
- Graph 28: interest in consuming health supplements containing melatonin, by sleep status*, 2025
- Core concerns with melatonin: unknown mechanism of action and health risks of high doses
- Graph 29: reasons for lack of interest in melatonin, 2025
- Extract melatonin from natural sources to reduce concerns about its side effects
- Graph 30: perceptions of effectiveness – use of natural ingredients (a), by reason for lack of interest in taking melatonin, 2025
- Provide a more intuitive way to understand the principles of melatonin
- Graph 31: select ideal states, by reasons for lack of interest in taking melatonin – lack of understanding of its effects and principles, 2025
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Issues and insights
- An evolution in sleep products: from improving consumers’ nights to enhancing their days
- Sleeping problems, ideal states and desired products all differ by age group
- 18-29s and over-40s are rich sources of opportunity
- Start with morning sprays to provide unique wake up rituals for younger consumers
- Starting with cellular repair, emphasise the importance of night and day care for older consumers
- Explore the applications of ginseng in sleep health supplements
- The evolving perceptions of ginseng’s health benefits: from boosting energy to aiding sleep and calming the mind
- Chinese brands are promoting the innovative nighttime use of ginseng
- In the future, synergistically combine ginsenosides to create all-day ginseng health supplements
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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