China Trends in Health and Wellness tracks consumers’ sub-health issues and health management behaviours, and compares them with data from past years. In addition, it also explores consumer attitudes and behaviours towards workplace wellness and cardiovascular care. It aims to identify untapped opportunities in the general health market for product innovation, and key market communication messaging focused on the two aforementioned hot health-related topics.
Trends in Health and Wellness – Consumer Insights
With ever-increasing working hours and unhealthy lifestyles on the rise, some sub-health issues are surging. Of these, chronic fatigue, sleep and mood disorders, and respiratory diseases are more likely to be viewed as occupational diseases by consumers. In addition, there has been an upward trend in cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, high blood cholesterol and hyperglycaemia over the past three years, and younger consumers are increasingly concerned about these. How to encourage these concerned consumers to take proactive management actions will therefore be a key consideration for brands.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Market factors impacting trends in the health market
- Analysis of the supply and demand sides of nutrition products
- Health product innovation and market communication opportunities, targeting consumers with workplace wellness needs
- Health product innovation and market communication opportunities, targeting workers with occupational ailments
- Product innovation and market communication opportunities arising from cardiovascular care needs
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report was written by Qianqian Ji. Qianqian Ji joined Mintel in 2023 as a senior health & wellbeing analyst. Prior to Mintel, she worked in consulting companies. She holds a Master’s degree in Business from Emlyon Business School and is also an Advanced Public Dietitian in China.
Increasing work-related stress is leading to rising incidences of sub-health issues among working people, and cardiovascular disease among ever younger populations. Brands are responding to holistic health demands by developing products that combine sensory enjoyment and health benefits, to help people easily maintain their health and wellbeing.
Qianqian Ji
Senior Analyst, China Insights
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Market overview
- Nutrition products supply side trends
- Nutrition products demand side trends
- Insights into consumer segments and demands
- Future business opportunities
- What we think
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The market
- Market overview
- Increasing working hours may create more opportunities to improve workplace wellness
- Graph 1: average weekly working hours of employees in enterprises*, 2025
- China is experiencing increasing cardiovascular health issues
- Graph 2: cardiovascular disease mortality rate among people living in urban and rural areas, 2012-21
- Opportunities and trends in product innovation
- Cardiovascular-friendly clean formula claims on the rise
- Graph 3: minus claim categories to watch in food, drink and healthcare launches, 2020-25
- Graph 4: clean formula claims in new food, drink and healthcare products, 2020-25
- High-protein and -fibre claims continue to grow
- Graph 5: plus claims in food, drink and healthcare launches, 2020-25
- Graph 6: plus claim categories to watch in food, drink and healthcare launches, 2020-25
- Overview of ecommerce sales performance
- Sugar control labelling enhances potential for premiumisation
- High-protein and -fibre and sugar-free claims are the key selling points of blood sugar management food & drink
- Examples of top-selling products with a sugar-free claim
- Workplace wellness should focus on the best-performing categories
- Coffee, juice and sparkling water are standout workplace wellness products
- Essential nutrients are key for health supplements targeting office workers; enhancing skin and gut health are attractive claims
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The consumer
- Workplace wellness consumer profiles and category opportunities
- Workplace wellness is more concerned with enhancing physical and mental wellbeing, as opposed to being a tool for alleviating occupational diseases
- Graph 7: workplace wellness behaviours, by self-evaluation of health, 2025
- Graph 8: workplace wellness behaviours – cross analysis, 2025
- Those born between 1980 and ’99 are the key workplace wellness consumers; each cohort demonstrates its own preferred approach
- Graph 9: workplace wellness behaviours, by age, 2025
- Graph 10: proportion of consumers who adopt any workplace wellness behaviour, by generation, 2025
- Tier 1 cities are the main workplace wellness hubs, with different cities showing wellness preferences matching their unique personas
- Graph 11: workplace wellness behaviours, by Tier 1 cities, 2025
- Graph 12: workplace wellness behaviours, by city tier, 2025
- Health devices and fragrance products indicate healthy lifestyles
- Graph 13: changes in health management behaviours – have done the following activities more, by workplace wellness behaviour, 2025
- Brands can explore blurring opportunities for scented products in health devices and health food & drink
- Graph 14: workplace wellness behaviours – cross analysis, 2025
- Develop scented products with health effects for oily, sugary diets
- Graph 15: unhealthy lifestyles, by workplace wellness behaviour, 2025
- Graph 16: unhealthy lifestyles, by sub-health issue, 2025
- Product innovation and communication opportunities arising from sub-health and work-related ailments
- Chronic fatigue and respiratory problems are exploding in prevalence…
- Graph 17: sub-health issues, 2023-25
- …with consumers more likely to define them as ‘modern occupational diseases’
- Graph 18: working situation, by sub-health issue, 2025
- Issues with vision, digestion, sleep, skin, and the ‘three highs’ are closely associated with chronic fatigue and respiratory problems
- Graph 19: sub-health issues – cross analysis, 2025
- Men are the hardest hit by occupational ailments
- Graph 20: working situation, by gender, 2025
- Consumers are less engaged in healthcare and emotional management than last year
- Graph 21: changes in health management behaviours – have done the following activities less, 2024-25
- Graph 22: changes in health management behaviours, 2025
- Brands can create lifestyle supplements aimed at overworked employees
- Graph 23: changes in health management behaviours – have eaten more health supplements, by sub-health issue, 2025
- Graph 24: changes in health management behaviours – have done the following behaviours more, by working situation, 2025
- Focus on occasions such as prolonged device usage and frequent late nights in brand communication
- Graph 25: unhealthy lifestyles, by sub-health issues, 2025
- Graph 26: unhealthy lifestyles, 2025
- Food & drink should focus on occasions such as temporary hunger relief, late-night snacking, and compensating for nutritional imbalances from eating out, to help overworked employees boost their energy levels
- Graph 27: unhealthy lifestyle, by working situation, 2025
- Product innovation and communication opportunities arising from cardiovascular care needs
- Preventative healthcare attitudes create new opportunities for cardiovascular care in light of rising prevalence of the three highs
- Graph 28: attitudes towards cardiovascular issues, 2025
- Graph 29: sub-health issues – three highs, 2023-25
- Younger adults are a key demographic for cardiovascular health protection
- Graph 30: change in the proportion of consumers concerned about cardiovascular issues*, 2025 vs 2024
- Graph 31: change in the proportion of consumers suffering from three highs*, by age, 2024-25
- Pressing need to convey the connection between the three highs, diabetes and hyperuricemia to the under-30s
- Graph 32: consumers concerned about cardiovascular issues – cross analysis, 2025
- Graph 33: proportion of consumers concerned about cardiovascular issues and taking actions to prevent/treat them*, by age, 2025
- Healthy eating and regular exercise are the biggest barriers to blood sugar management
- Graph 34: have done the following health management behaviours more, by different behaviours for managing hyperglycaemia and diabetes, 2025
- Painless ‘oil and sugar control’: new opportunities for sugar control nutrition brands
- Graph 35: unhealthy lifestyle habits, by different management behaviours for hyperglycaemia and diabetes, 2025
- Food format is the most promising direction for sugar control products
- Graph 36: blood sugar management product purchase – cross analysis, 2025
- Graph 37: blood sugar management product purchase, by different management behaviours for hyperglycaemia and diabetes, 2025
- Emphasise specific nutrients, rather than just low-GI labelling
- Graph 38: awareness of the nutritional characteristics of blood glucose management, 2025
- Medicinal ingredients are a key added value for sugar control products
- Use low-carb, natural sugar substitute and medicinal ingredient claims to back up the low-GI concept
- Graph 39: awareness of the nutritional characteristics of blood glucose management – cross analysis, 2025
- Coronary heart disease, myocardial issues and arterial stiffness are serious conditions that require systematic solutions
- Graph 40: consumers concerned about cardiovascular issues – cross analysis, 2025
- Graph 41: proportion of consumers concerned about cardiovascular issues, by age, 2025
- Create a comprehensive range of systematic care products, with medicinal ingredients at their core
- Graph 42: proportion of consumers concerned about cardiovascular issues, by awareness of the nutritional characteristics of blood glucose management, 2025
- Graph 43: blood sugar management product use, by awareness of the nutritional characteristics of blood sugar management, 2025
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Issues and insights
- Explore the health benefits of scented products
- Beauty and personal care remain the main area of fragrance application, while innovation in oral products is emerging
- Graph 44: proportion of food & drink products described as ‘aromatic’ over the past few years, 2020-25
- Pace of innovation in food-inspired fragrances is accelerating
- Graph 45: proportion of fragrances with food flavours over the past five years, 2020-25
- Harness weight and dietary management as starting points for future fragrance crossovers into food & drink
- Scented products’ health benefits remain untapped
- Graph 46: beauty, personal care, household and healthcare product functional claims with an aromatherapy positioning, 2020-25
- Leverage the holistic ‘mind, body & spirit’ health trend to explore opportunities in scented products for cross-category collaboration
- New opportunities for sugar control food & drink: the workplace as the core occasion, with dietary fibre and protein as key ingredients
- Latest China Food & Nutrition Development Outline encourages product innovation in dietary fibre and high-quality proteins
- Focus on the core workplace occasion to attract adults under 40 who are aware of blood sugar management but do not take action
- Lack of innovation in dietary fibre-rich drinks
- Graph 47: food and drink launches containing high fibre/added fibre claims, 2020-25
- Examples of blood sugar control drinks high in dietary fibre
- The future: dietary fibre and protein could underpin delicious health food
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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