Dietary Supplements in Japan

PROSPECTS

Eye health supplements continues to grow

Eye health supplements continued to see the strongest growth within dietary supplements in 2018, mainly supported by the success of Fancl Corp’s eye supplement, Enkin series. Since the launch of this product in 2015, it has contributed to increasing awareness of the importance of eye health amongst consumers and making them realise that eye fatigue can be relieved by taking dietary supplements.

The ageing of the population is a key driver of growth

Japan has a continually ageing population. In 2018, 28% of the population was aged over 65, up from 22% in 2008.

Functional claim approval critical for success

In 2015, a regulatory class known as Foods with Functional Claims (FFC) was introduced in Japan. This classification allows specific health claims to be made about products, and had a positive impact on the performance of dietary supplements towards the end of the review period.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Suntory Wellness continues to lead dietary supplements

Suntory Wellness continued to lead dietary supplements in 2018, with well-known brands such as Sesamin and Suntory Glucosamin. In April 2017, the company received its first FFC approval for its Suntory Glucosamin product Glucosamin Active.

Small players enter the market with new dosing formats

In July 2018, CosMED Pharmaceutical launched a new series of supplements called HaruLabo. This series was introduced following the popularity of the patch type supplement elsewhere: for instance, Patch MD in the US.

Products targeting the older population

To meet the needs of Japan’s continually ageing population, many manufacturers focused on this in the review period and introduced dietary supplements targeted to the older population. For instance, in April 2018, Fancl Corp launched Kioku Support (directly translates to “Memory Support”), which mainly consists of ginkgo biloba and helps to prevent memory loss.

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