“Overall demand for nutraceutical, supplement, and preventive wellness products from the top four metros has seen remarkable growth,” said Sanjaya Mariwala, president of the Association of Herbal and Nutraceuticals Manufacturers of India.
Mariwala, who is also the executive chairman of OmniActive Health Technologies, said demand is strong in West Bengal and the Northeast as well. “Tier 2 and 3 cities in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat have also seen rising trends during the pandemic. People are far more invested in preventive health and natural wellness than before,” he said.
Since April 2020, the sector has seen a surge in demand for products including those related to digestive health, sleep and stress, said industry executives.
“Without a doubt, since April 2020, we have seen a surge in demand for nutraceutical, supplement and preventive wellness products. By May 2020, after conquering all supply chain challenges, our business was back to normal, and by July-August, it had doubled from the highs of March,” said Mariwala.
OmniActive Health Technologies is expecting its business to grow fourfold this fiscal. “Demand is strong, and the second wave of Covid is bringing us higher numbers for immunity products once again,” said Mariwala.
Nutraceutical products can be considered non-specific biological therapies used to promote general well-being, control symptoms and prevent malignant processes. India is among the major suppliers to the global market for medicinal plants and herbal extracts such as curcumin from turmeric, ginger, chillies, piperine from black pepper or mucuna and ashwagandha. India ranks among the top three producers in the world.
Covid-19 led to a sharp growth in preventive healthcare.
“With increasing awareness and to some extent due to the fear of catching the virus, people are now looking at disease prevention as their primary health support. More and more people are positively moving towards dietary supplements to address nutritional deficiencies,” said Mariwala.
He clarified, “I would like to reinforce the point that despite the exponential increase in demand in the immunity product market, no supplement will be able to stop the spread of coronavirus.”
It is extremely important to realise though, that there are far deeper and more addressable health challenges that can be prevented through supplementation, said Mariwala. “We are already seeing a lot of promise in the sleep category right now. So is the case for other issues such as stress, anxiety and mental health,” he said.
India’s nutraceutical industry was valued at $5 billion at the end of December 2019, with the domestic market valued at $3 billion and exports at $2 billion.
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