Thai consumers are reevaluating their lifestyle and wellbeing, with strong social performance highlighted in self-assessments. However, stress and mental health remain major challenges, often overlooked in health priorities.
Thailand’s digestive health market is highly competitive and nearing saturation. Consumers are now looking beyond traditional gut health benefits to areas like sleep quality, weight management and immunity, reflecting a more holistic approach to wellbeing.
Healthy living is gaining focus, with Gen X consumers, the Nutrition Navigators (aged 35+), leading the ‘food as medicine’ movement. This generation is driving the pursuit of longer, healthier lives through smarter food choices.
Despite these shifts, stress is emerging as a hidden crisis in health and nutrition goals. High stress levels are fuelling emotional eating, which is a major barrier to sustainable health outcomes.
Read this Report to learn how food and drink brands can align with new gut health priorities, cater to Nutrition Navigators and help turn emotional eating into positive, empowered choices.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Self-assessment of lifestyle and wellbeing
- Evolving health and nutrition goals
- Barriers to achieving health targets
- Demands for specific ingredients and nutritional attributes
- Changing attitudes towards health and nutrition
Position the gut as central to health goals such as better immunity, sleep quality and weight management. Support longevity and transform emotional eating into empowered choices.
Rashmika Khanijou, Senior Analyst
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Mintel’s perspective
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Overview
- The outlook of health and nutrition goals in Thailand
- The pursuit of healthy ageing will redefine goals and pave the way for the ‘food as medicine’ movement
- Digestive health is no longer just a standalone goal; the spotlight has shifted to achieving optimal gut health
- Graph 1: health and nutrition goals, 2024
- Introducing the Nutrition Navigators: physical appearance and sodium reduction takes priority
- Stress manifests through emotional eating, creating an obstacle to achieving health goals
- Graph 2: biggest challenges faced in achieving health and nutrition goals, 2024
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KEY TRENDS AND MARKET FACTORS
- What you need to know
- The pursuit of healthy living and healthy ageing
- Thai consumers are embracing ageing, driving preventive care
- Emerging research highlights the importance of gut health for healthy ageing
- The topic of longevity is trending, with antioxidants emerging in the realm of healthy ageing
- Health issues such as obesity and diabetes  will reshape health and nutrition goals
- 2025 Global Food & Drink Trend: Fundamentally Nutritious
- Evolution of the plant-based diet
- The changing dietary landscape of Thai consumers signals a growing omnivorous market
- Graph 3: dietary preferences, 2021, 2022, 2024
- Plant-forward, nutrient-dense diets come to the forefront
- Graph 4: most important factors when shopping for food*, 2024
- Curious minds: evolving knowledge of plant-based nutrition and sustainable sources paves the way for novel protein sources
- Food and drink in Thailand are expanding around plant-based protein options
- Graph 5: top 10 plant protein sources, by sub-category, 2021-24
- Mental wellness comes into the spotlight
- Mental health issues are on the rise in Thailand
- Comfort food is turning into soul food for Thais
- Graph 6: what consumers do to relieve stress*, 2024
- Consumers seek functional indulgence
- 2025 Global Food & Drink Trend: Rule Rebellion
- Global innovations support stress-eating at bedtime and better sleep
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- What you need to know
- Thai consumers are social butterflies under pressure
- Graph 7: self-assessment of performance in lifestyle and wellbeing aspects, 2024
- Health goals for 2025: resilience, physical appearance and sleep
- Graph 8: health and nutrition goals, 2024
- Protein and fortified nutrients emerge as key claims for food and drink brands supporting consumers’ 2025 health goals
- Gut gap: navigating the red ocean of digestive health
- The Thai digestive health food and drink market is becoming saturated, leaving little room for brands to stand out
- Graph 9: share of product launches in food and drink categories, by top 10 functional claims, 2021-24
- Digestive health is no longer just a standalone goal; the focus has shifted to achieving optimal gut health
- Graph 10: health and nutrition goals, 2024
- Graph 11: health benefits that consumers believe a good gut can bring, 2024
- Move beyond the red ocean of digestive health: position the gut as the path to new health goals
- The gut revolution: beyond digestion and immunity, unlock gut health’s potential in weight management and sleep
- Graph 12: share of product launches in food and drink categories that include the term ‘gut’, by top 10 claims, 2021-24
- Leverage probiotics’ benefits for the gut and develop their link to weight management and immunity
- Tackle Gen Z’s wellness challenges with gut-focused solutions for better sleep in men and more physical activity in women
- Graph 13: selected ‘poor’ or ‘fair’ in self assessment of sleep and exercise over the last year, by gender and age, 2024
- Explore the potential of yogurt drinks to enhance the gut-sleep connection, particularly for Gen Z men
- Superfood smoothies can support the gut-sleep connection
- Use glucomannan to enhance satiety in weight management drinks for Gen Z women
- Nurture and nourish: support the ‘food as medicine’ movement for healthy ageing
- The importance of a healthy diet will grow in the pursuit of longer healthy years
- Introducing the Nutrition Navigators of the Thai market
- Graph 14: Nutrition Navigators and Non-Nutrition Navigators, by age, 2024
- VMS spending highlights proactive health management and opportunities for the ‘food as medicine’ movement
- Graph 15: consumers that selected ‘vitamins, minerals and supplements’ as a priority in monthly spending during the last three months, by Nutrition Navigators vs Non-Nutrition Navigators, 2024
- Physical appearance is among the top priorities for the Nutrition Navigators
- Graph 16: health and nutrition goals, by Nutrition Navigators vs total, 2024
- Fuel healthy ageing with plant-powered, all-natural nutrition for Nutrition Navigators
- Harness the power of superfoods and mushrooms for ageless beauty
- Leverage the consumption of plant-based milk among Nutrition Navigators to push plant-powered beauty
- Graph 17: consumers that selected ‘have taken, and will take again’ for select plant-based milk products in the past six months, by Nutrition Navigators vs total, 2024
- Nutrition Navigators’ desire to improve physical appearance paves the way for sodium reduction
- Link reduced-sodium snacks to preventing age-related beauty issues
- Nutrition Navigators are paving the way for specialised nutrition: offer nourishing solutions for age-related health conditions
- Graph 18: select health and nutrition goals, by Nutrition Navigators vs total, 2024
- Pre-meal protein drink positioned to support weight management by promoting GLP-1 production
- Balancing act: unlocking blood sugar control through strategic protein pairing
- eggyday – the local Thai egg protein rice innovation tackling health conditions
- Bring specialised nutrition into the everyday beverage of Nutrition Navigators – coffee
- Graph 19: select unconventional benefits of interest in non-alcoholic beverages, by Nutrition Navigators vs total, 2024
- Beverage brands may target various health conditions through blood sugar control
- Coffee for unconventional benefits in the realm of specialised nutrition
- Turn emotional eating to empowered choices
- The silent struggle: stress is a health crisis not being prioritised in goals
- Graph 20: self-assessment of stress management as ‘poor’ or ‘fair’, by generation, 2024
- Graph 21: health and nutrition goals, 2024
- Stress is driving emotional eating among Thais
- Graph 22: biggest challenges faced in achieving health and nutrition goals, 2024
- Redefine snacking moments to turn emotional eating into a strength
- Showcase how consumers can create their own rules in food and snack menus
- Spark real life moments: integrate snacks as rewards for daily chores and activities to drive empowerment
- ‘Snack like a pro’ – integrate snacks into self-care routines by identifying imperfect realities
- ‘Goals never tasted this good’
- Push purpose into emotional eating: snacks that fuel, not just fill
- Snacks and sweets can be both enjoyable and beneficial: encourage purposeful snacking
- Position as the right choice for winding-down occasions: snacks done ‘properly’ for a ‘proper night in’
- Play on texture with functionality targeted at the sleep-time routine to drive stress-alleviating, purposeful snacking
- Rule Breakers: help Gen Z break the rules in beverage consumption
- Opportunity for CSDs, RTD teas and juice drinks to help Rule Breakers do what they want
- Beverages can stand as a force of upliftment and inspiration for consumers
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APPENDIX
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- CHAID/Decision tree analysis
- Social data research methodology
- Consumer research questions
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