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Consumer Health in
Ireland

Country Report

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Executive Summary

Oct 2019
Ongoing stable demand for consumer health in Ireland supported by polarised consumer groups

With rising disposable incomes due to a positive economic scenario, Irish consumers are increasingly investing in their health, particularly through prevention, with ongoing positive growth experienced by vitamins and dietary supplements, particularly combination dietary supplements and sales of segmented products that are being purchased by an ageing population, supporting increasing demand for co-enzyme Q10, eye health supplements and glucosamine. The shorter winter days in Ireland also support ongoing demand for vitamin D.

Growing interest in vegetarian and vegan lifestyles supports demand for alternative sources of protein

A growing interest in following vegetarian and vegan lifestyles in Ireland is supporting demand for a number of products across consumer health, particularly in vitamins and dietary supplements where protein supplements such as Pulsin' Pea Protein and Pulsin' Soya Protein continue to perform strongly by offering an alternative source of protein to animal products such as meat and dairy. New product development is also emerging in vitamins and dietary supplements from Beeline Healthcare, which launched its line of vegetarian multivitamins (comprising 25 nutrients including vitamins B12, D, iron and folic acid) and vitamin C, which are approved by the Vegetarian Society.

Global players continue to lead consumer health

Consumer health continued to be led by global players despite Ireland being a small market, with some of them using national distribution, including Johnson & Johnson (leading through local player McNeil Healthcare), Reckitt Benckiser, GSK Consumer Healthcare, and Bayer. Intense competition within some categories was noted in 2019, particularly through the disruption presented by the cooperation of GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer Inc, which led to GSK Consumer Healthcare representing the latter’s brands and gaining strong value share and position in the process.

Internet retailing continues to gain ground as distribution channel

While distribution of overall consumer health continued to be dominated by health and beauty specialist retailers in 2019, due to the ongoing need for pharmacists and the fact that some OTC medicines are required straight away after being prescribed, many retailers are now taking an omnichannel approach to expand their consumer base across all channels including convenience stores and forecourt retailers, in addition to internet retailing. The latter channel continued to gain value share of distribution in 2019, in addition to an ongoing strong performance in current value growth terms.

Positive performance for consumer health predicted although several negative factors could impact demand for certain products

Consumer health is predicted to record a stable performance in current value terms, supported by the ongoing investment in products related to preventative strategies amongst consumers and the attempts to improve their general health through supplementation, and the country’s ageing population. However, several issues could have a negative impact on the market over the forecast period.

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Consumer Health in Ireland

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Overview

Discover the latest market trends and uncover sources of future market growth for the Consumer Health industry in Ireland with research from Euromonitor's team of in-country analysts.

Find hidden opportunities in the most current research data available, understand competitive threats with our detailed market analysis, and plan your corporate strategy with our expert qualitative analysis and growth projections.

If you're in the Consumer Health industry in Ireland, our research will save you time and money while empowering you to make informed, profitable decisions.

When you purchase this report, you also get the data and the content from these category reports in Ireland for free:

The Consumer Health in Ireland market research report includes:

  • Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends
  • Detailed segmentation of international and local products
  • Historic volumes and values, company and brand market shares
  • Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth  
  • Robust and transparent market research methodology, conducted in-country

Our market research reports answer questions such as:

  • What is the market size of Consumer Health in Ireland?
  • What are the major brands in Ireland?
  • What are the main trends in OTC Healthcare?

Why buy this report?

  • Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders
  • Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats
  • Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions

This industry report originates from Passport, our Consumer Health market research database.

Consumer Health in Ireland

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Ongoing stable demand for consumer health in Ireland supported by polarised consumer groups
Growing interest in vegetarian and vegan lifestyles supports demand for alternative sources of protein
Global players continue to lead consumer health
Internet retailing continues to gain ground as distribution channel
Positive performance for consumer health predicted although several negative factors could impact demand for certain products

MARKET INDICATORS

Table 1 Consumer Expenditure on Health Goods and Medical Services: Value 2014-2019
Table 2 Life Expectancy at Birth 2014-2019

MARKET DATA

Table 3 Sales of Consumer Health by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 4 Sales of Consumer Health by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 5 NBO Company Shares of Consumer Health: % Value 2015-2019
Table 6 LBN Brand Shares of Consumer Health: % Value 2016-2019
Table 7 Penetration of Private Label in Consumer Health by Category: % Value 2014-2019
Table 8 Distribution of Consumer Health by Format: % Value 2014-2019
Table 9 Distribution of Consumer Health by Format and Category: % Value 2019
Table 10 Forecast Sales of Consumer Health by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 11 Forecast Sales of Consumer Health by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

APPENDIX

OTC registration and classification
Vitamins and dietary supplements registration and classification
Self-medication/self-care and preventive medicine
Switches
Summary 1 OTC: Switches 2018-2019

DEFINITIONS

SOURCES

Summary 2 Research Sources

Analgesics in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Static prices for adult analgesics due to generics, while parents continue to place trust in known brands for children
Waning interest in aspirin and combination products
Topical analgesics/anaesthetic will continue to gain in popularity due to direct targeting of problem

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

GSK Consumer Healthcare takes over leadership following merger with Pfizer
Irish player launches new acetaminophen
Calpol continues to enjoy strong brand loyalty amongst Irish parents

CATEGORY DATA

Table 12 Sales of Analgesics by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 13 Sales of Analgesics by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 14 NBO Company Shares of Analgesics: % Value 2015-2019
Table 15 LBN Brand Shares of Analgesics: % Value 2016-2019
Table 16 Forecast Sales of Analgesics by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 17 Forecast Sales of Analgesics by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

New launch to help support demand for antihistamines/allergy remedies, offering relief to hay fever sufferers
Continual decline for paediatric cough/cold remedies due to ongoing strict regulation
Nasal sprays offers alternative option to oral decongestants

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Close competition for leading two players but GSK Consumer Healthcare could disrupt status quo over the forecast period
Another strong performance for Bronchostop
Television advertising supports strengthening position of Cetrine Allergy

CATEGORY DATA

Table 18 Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 19 Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 20 NBO Company Shares of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies: % Value 2015-2019
Table 21 LBN Brand Shares of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies: % Value 2016-2019
Table 22 Forecast Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 23 Forecast Sales of Cough, Cold and Allergy (Hay Fever) Remedies by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Dermatologicals in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Topical treatments continue to gain in popularity by directly targeting problem
Irish parents happy to invest in babies’ comfort with leading nappy rash treatments
Salon treatments offer competition to dermatologicals with alternative treatments

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

McNeil Healthcare retains narrow lead but suffers strong share loss
Zovirax continues to dominate cold sore treatments but McNeil offers alternative product
Nizoral experiences change in national brand owner

CATEGORY DATA

Table 24 Sales of Dermatologicals by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 25 Sales of Dermatologicals by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 26 NBO Company Shares of Dermatologicals: % Value 2015-2019
Table 27 LBN Brand Shares of Dermatologicals: % Value 2016-2019
Table 28 LBN Brand Shares of Hair Loss Treatments: % Value 2016-2019
Table 29 Forecast Sales of Dermatologicals by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 30 Forecast Sales of Dermatologicals by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Dietary Supplements in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Ageing population supports demand for smaller supplement types
Strong opportunities for further segmentation but combination dietary supplements increases in popularity
Strong performance for protein supplements supported by consumers’ changing lifestyles and diets

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Seven Seas loses leadership to Valeo Healthcare
Strong performance by Irish player Galway Natural Health Sales
Younger consumers look to social media influencers more than medical professionals for advice on dietary supplements

CATEGORY DATA

Table 31 Sales of Dietary Supplements by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 32 Sales of Dietary Supplements by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 33 Sales of Dietary Supplements by Positioning: % Value 2014-2019
Table 34 NBO Company Shares of Dietary Supplements: % Value 2015-2019
Table 35 LBN Brand Shares of Dietary Supplements: % Value 2016-2019
Table 36 Forecast Sales of Dietary Supplements by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 37 Forecast Sales of Dietary Supplements by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Digestive Remedies in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Outcome of Brexit negotiations could negatively impact availability of popular digestive remedies such as Gaviscon
Two extremes of Irish diets lead to demand for certain digestive remedies
Increasing levels of IBS encourage consumers to self-medicate

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

McNeil Healthcare holds slim lead over Reckitt Benckiser
Gaviscon strengthens leadership of overall digestive remedies
Strong brand loyalty means limited appeal of generics for the time being

CATEGORY DATA

Table 38 Sales of Digestive Remedies by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 39 Sales of Digestive Remedies by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 40 NBO Company Shares of Digestive Remedies: % Value 2015-2019
Table 41 LBN Brand Shares of Digestive Remedies: % Value 2016-2019
Table 42 Forecast Sales of Digestive Remedies by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 43 Forecast Sales of Digestive Remedies by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Eye Care in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Strong performance for niche of allergy eye care but future potential limited by lack of innovation
Standard eye care remains dominant due to high exposure to digital screens
Greater innovation could prove popular with consumers who continuously search for new more effective eye care solutions

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Reckitt Benckiser strengthens leadership, benefiting from strong consumer loyalty to Optrex
Low penetration for private label due to small size of overall eye care
Standard eye care will remain dominant over forecast period, benefiting from ongoing exposure to digital screens

CATEGORY DATA

Table 44 Sales of Eye Care by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 45 Sales of Eye Care by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 46 NBO Company Shares of Eye Care: % Value 2015-2019
Table 47 LBN Brand Shares of Eye Care: % Value 2016-2019
Table 48 Forecast Sales of Eye Care by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 49 Forecast Sales of Eye Care by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Herbal/Traditional Products in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Irish consumers increasingly turn to more natural alternatives to address certain health-related issues
Herbal/traditional dermatologicals attract consumers searching for gentler solutions to skin conditions
Strongest performance for herbal/traditional topical analgesics due to direct targeting of problem

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

High fragmentation for herbal/traditional products
Category unlikely to be strongly impacted by proposed application of VAT on certain consumer health products
Private label continues to hold low but increasing share of herbal/traditional products

CATEGORY DATA

Table 50 Sales of Herbal/Traditional Products by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 51 Sales of Herbal/Traditional Products by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 52 NBO Company Shares of Herbal/Traditional Products: % Value 2015-2019
Table 53 LBN Brand Shares of Herbal/Traditional Products: % Value 2016-2019
Table 54 Forecast Sales of Herbal/Traditional Products by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 55 Forecast Sales of Herbal/Traditional Products by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

NRT Smoking Cessation Aids in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Government’s aim for Ireland to be smoke free by 2025 likely to miss target
Increasing popularity of vaping could pose threat to NRT smoking cessation aids
Strongest performance for other NRT driven by rising demand for spray format

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

McNeil Healthcare retains dominance of category with wide product portfolio
Several strong advertising opportunities for players
Wider distribution needed to make NRT smoking cessation aids readily available

CATEGORY DATA

Table 56 Sales of NRT Smoking Cessation Aids by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 57 Sales of NRT Smoking Cessation Aids by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 58 NBO Company Shares of NRT Smoking Cessation Aids: % Value 2015-2019
Table 59 LBN Brand Shares of NRT Smoking Cessation Aids: % Value 2016-2019
Table 60 Forecast Sales of NRT Smoking Cessation Aids by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 61 Forecast Sales of NRT Smoking Cessation Aids by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Paediatric Consumer Health in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Irish parents increasing turn to preventative measures to help support their children’s immune systems
Nascent development for paediatric combination supplements

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Paediatric consumer health continues to experience strong brand loyalty
Seven Seas strengthens lead of paediatric vitamins and dietary supplements
Low but growing share for private label

CATEGORY DATA

Table 62 Sales of Paediatric Consumer Health by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 63 Sales of Paediatric Consumer Health by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 64 Sales of Paediatric Vitamins and Dietary Supplements by Type: % Value 2016-2019
Table 65 NBO Company Shares of Paediatric Consumer Health: % Value 2015-2019
Table 66 LBN Brand Shares of Paediatric Consumer Health: % Value 2016-2019
Table 67 Forecast Sales of Paediatric Consumer Health by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 68 Forecast Sales of Paediatric Consumer Health by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Sleep Aids in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Herbal/traditional products continue to gain in popularity within sleep aids
Lack of innovation inhibits potential stronger growth
Consumers look to alternative methods of relaxation and sleep aids

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Kalms Tablets strengthens leadership of sleep aids with natural positioning
High fragmentation within competitive landscape
Private label continues to gain ground through offers from popular retailers

CATEGORY DATA

Table 69 Sales of Sleep Aids: Value 2014-2019
Table 70 Sales of Sleep Aids: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 71 NBO Company Shares of Sleep Aids: % Value 2015-2019
Table 72 LBN Brand Shares of Sleep Aids: % Value 2016-2019
Table 73 Forecast Sales of Sleep Aids: Value 2019-2024
Table 74 Forecast Sales of Sleep Aids: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Sports Nutrition in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Sports nutrition’s strong performance supported by gym culture and social media influencers
Protein/energy bars records another year of high volume growth supported by demand for nutritious filling products for on-the-go consumption
Vegan protein alternatives set to continue to gain ground over forecast period

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Richmond Marketing strengthens leadership of sports nutrition supported by Irish brand Fulfil
Despite lack of space in protein/energy bars smaller brands perform well
Intense competition within sports protein powder

CATEGORY DATA

Table 75 Sales of Sports Nutrition by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 76 Sales of Sports Nutrition by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 77 NBO Company Shares of Sports Nutrition: % Value 2015-2019
Table 78 LBN Brand Shares of Sports Nutrition: % Value 2016-2019
Table 79 Forecast Sales of Sports Nutrition by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 80 Forecast Sales of Sports Nutrition by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Vitamins in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Stable but undynamic demand for vitamins due to increasing demand for alternative combination products
Another strong performance for vitamin D supported by medical recommendations and lack of daylight during winter months
Increasing innovation and new brands likely over forecast period targeting children

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Centrum retains leadership and gains new national distributor
Ongoing slow penetration of private label within vitamins
Increasing promotion of vitamins through social media influencers comes with a warning

CATEGORY DATA

Table 81 Sales of Vitamins by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 82 Sales of Vitamins by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 83 Sales of Multivitamins by Positioning: % Value 2014-2019
Table 84 NBO Company Shares of Vitamins: % Value 2015-2019
Table 85 LBN Brand Shares of Vitamins: % Value 2016-2019
Table 86 Forecast Sales of Vitamins by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 87 Forecast Sales of Vitamins by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Weight Management and Wellbeing in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Consumers continue to turn away from quick fix solutions to weight management
Slimming teas bucks declining trend due to drastic unit price declines
Sports nutrition bars offer alternative on-the-go consumption

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Slim Fast retains leadership but continues to suffer share loss
Direct selling companies begin to lose ground
Slimatee retains leadership of highly fragmented landscape of slimming teas

CATEGORY DATA

Table 88 Sales of Weight Management and Wellbeing by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 89 Sales of Weight Management and Wellbeing by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 90 NBO Company Shares of Weight Management and Wellbeing: % Value 2015-2019
Table 91 LBN Brand Shares of Weight Management and Wellbeing: % Value 2016-2019
Table 92 Forecast Sales of Weight Management and Wellbeing by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 93 Forecast Sales of Weight Management and Wellbeing by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024

Wound Care in Ireland

HEADLINES

PROSPECTS

Increasing demand for gauze, tape and wound care due to higher participation in extreme sports
Strong performance by first aid kits although unit price can limit demand
Trading down to private label wound care continues due to greater affordability

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Elastoplast retains leadership of largest category, sticking plasters/adhesive bandages
Fleming retains dominance of first aid kids targeting different types of demand
Greater innovation needed from branded players to halt share loss to private label

CATEGORY DATA

Table 94 Sales of Wound Care by Category: Value 2014-2019
Table 95 Sales of Wound Care by Category: % Value Growth 2014-2019
Table 96 NBO Company Shares of Wound Care: % Value 2015-2019
Table 97 LBN Brand Shares of Wound Care: % Value 2016-2019
Table 98 Forecast Sales of Wound Care by Category: Value 2019-2024
Table 99 Forecast Sales of Wound Care by Category: % Value Growth 2019-2024