2025
9
UK Digestive Health Market Report 2025
2025-12-18T11:37:46+00:00
REPEE24AD6B_0FA6_49B7_8EE2_128FA06AF2B5
2995
189752
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Report
en_GB
2025 marks a new high for the UK OTC gastrointestinal remedies market, with value sales projected at £495m (+8.7% YoY). The positive growth figure can be attributed to, most significantly,…
UK
Health and Wellbeing
simple

UK Digestive Health Market Report 2025

"To brace for the holistic wellness shift, brands must adapt to stay relevant. Address lifestage and lifestyle needs, and engage via social media to empower."

Ziyu Tian, OTC & Personal Care Research Analyst

Ziyu Tian, OTC & Personal Care Research Analyst

UK Digestive Health Industry – Trends and Insights

  • 2025 marks a new high for the UK OTC gastrointestinal remedies market, with value sales projected at £495m (+8.7% YoY). The positive growth figure can be attributed to, most significantly, the increasing prevalence of gut health problems, with 85% of UK adults experiencing digestive issues in the past six months. This underscores both a rapidly expanding market and a clear escalation in consumer demand for digestive solutions.
  • Despite demand, innovations in this space are scarce. GI remedies only accounted for 1.6% of health product launch activity in the last year, with only 12.5% new products. This puts the future growth of OTC GI remedies at risk, as they face the challenges of adjacent VMS and functional food and drink categories, with high consumer interests and plentiful innovations.
  • The biggest opportunity lies in untapped innovation potentials in targeted solutions. OTC GI remedy brands could target consumers’ lifestage and lifestyle needs, looking to VMS ingredients and formats for inspirations. For instance, incorporate additional PMS benefits for women experiencing ‘hormone bloating’, and highlight overnight use occasions with stress-relieving functions.
  • Amid a shift towards holistic management, it is vital that OTC brands stay relevant and reach their audience with reliable offerings and empowering messages.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • Market performance and 2025-30 outlook for OTC gastrointestinal remedies
  • The impact of the economic outlook, and additional market factors that drive or erode OTC GI usage
  • The prevalence of digestive health issues and key demographics to look to
  • Opportunities emerging from a growing preference for dietary/lifestyle solutions, and potentials for personalised relief
  • The influence of social media as a source of information and channel of empowerment
  • A shift toward preventative and holistic approaches in managing digestive health
  • The power of destigmatisation in unleashing sales potentials and engaging with the audience

Collapse All
  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • The outlook for digestive health
    • Opportunities
    • Personalise digestive health remedies for lifestage and lifestyle
    • Build social media presence to engage and empower
    • Graph 1: interest over time, 2022-25*
    • Brace for a shift towards holistic management
  2. THE MARKET

    • Snapshot – market size and forecast
    • Inflation eased a bit, but focus on value continues
    • Financial stress will sustain demand for digestive health solutions
    • Graph 2: British household financial confidence, 2021-25
    • A focus on fibre could erode OTC usage
    • Adoption of popular diets brings new opportunities
    • Increasing obesity opens up new ground
    • Uptick in winter virus could spur demand for treatments and prevention
    • Graph 3: weekly norovirus laboratory reports against 5-season average, 2025/26
    • Market size and forecast of OTC gastrointestinal remedies
    • Graph 4: market size and forecast for OTC gastrointestinal remedies, 2019-30
    • Market size and forecast
    • Treatments for upset stomach have room to grow
    • Big brand names maintain a strong sway
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Frequency of digestive health issues experienced in the last six months
    • Experience of digestive health issues is prevalent
    • Incorporate gender-specific benefits
    • Grocers can expand presence in the value GI remedy space
    • Graph 5: repertoire of digestive health issues experienced in the last six months, by financial situation, 2025
    • Target younger audience with multifunctional solutions
    • The influence of social media cannot be overlooked
    • Factors thought to have caused digestive health issues in the last six months
    • Position digestion as the cornerstone of overall wellbeing
    • Lifestyle-targeted solutions could appeal
    • Explore overnight usage occasions
    • Tap into tracking interests among women
    • Graph 6: factors thought to have caused digestive health issues in the last six months, by gender, 2025
    • Create call-outs to cater to diet trends
    • Treatments used for digestive health issues in the last six months
    • Complement portfolio with supplement offerings
    • Graph 7: treatments used for digestive health issues in the last six months – supplements, by generation, 2025
    • Potential for family oriented product positioning
    • Preventative treatment could appeal
    • A third delay taking medication for digestive health issues
    • Associations with different types of digestive health treatments
    • Attitudes towards targeted, multifunctional and supplements vary
    • Three out of ten did not use a digestive health remedy
    • Targeted remedies need to better communicate to men
    • Graph 8: selected associations with targeted digestive health remedies, by gender, 2025
    • Supplements bridge the gap between OTC and natural remedies
    • Multifunctional remedies need to improve palatability
  4. PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING

    • NPD was low for OTC gastrointestinal remedies
    • Own-label launches had a moment
    • Graph 9: digestive & detoxifying treatment launches, branded vs private label, 2020-25
    • Revamp of heritage brands
    • Adjacent categories pave the way for pre/probiotic innovations…
    • Graph 10: digestive & detoxifying treatment and digestive VMS* launches with pro- and prebiotic claims, 2020-25
    • …and multi-faceted natural offerings
    • Differentiate with nutrition knowledge
    • Link digestive health with metabolism
    • Destigmatise through empowering campaigns
  5. APPENDIX

    • Report scope
    • The market
    • Forecast methodology
    • Forecast methodology – fan chart
    • Market size and forecast of OTC gastrointestinal remedies
    • Market forecast and prediction intervals
    • Market segmentation
    • Brand share
    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • Repertoire analysis methodology
    • UK generation groups
    • Other data source methodologies
    • Mintel Spark
    • Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
    • Nielsen Ad Intel advertising expenditure
    • Abbreviations

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