The market for food supplements will grow by 5% per year between 2020 and 2024

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The market for dietary supplements in Poland totalled PLN 5.4bn (€1.2bn) in 2018. It was the second year in a row during which it grew at a modest rate of below 5%. In 2020-2024, market growth will average 5% a year, according to a new report from PMR, “Dietary supplements market in Poland 2019. Market analysis and development forecasts for 2019-2024”.

Slower market growth

The Polish market for dietary supplements grew at a much slower pace in 2017 and 2018 than it did in 2013-2016. This resulted from several factors, including further market saturation, more prudent purchases, or competition from other products (medicines, functional foods). Price erosion is also observed in this category, mainly due to the large number of private labels appearing on the market.

Going forward, however, the introduction of increasingly expensive, sophisticated products will help drive growth in the market’s value. Several other factors will support price increases, too. One is heightened regulatory scrutiny, which is making it more difficult for low-quality products to enter the market. Another is the ban on pharmacy chains’ expansion. Moreover, the safety of dietary supplements has become the subject of public debate, and we expect customers to buy them more often in pharmacies, although the outlook for online sales is also optimistic.

Rising awareness as a market driver

In the 2018 edition of the PMR poll of dietary supplement industry executives, „attractive offer and new products” emerged as the most important contributor to business growth. (In earlier surveys this factor was mentioned less frequently.) But in the 2019 edition, the percentage indicating it fell again. This may be due to the fact that the level of competition in the marketplace, stemming from a large number of products (especially lower-priced ones), is currently quite severe for companies.

Rising public awareness of dietary supplements was the most mentioned factor this year.

Significantly, there has been an increase in the number of respondents pointing to the need to streamline the notification process. This is a reflection of the increased vigilance of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS).

Respondents mentioned the following areas as requiring legal changes: