Middle East

Although cost-of-living crises have been putting pressure on consumers’ purchasing power in a number of countries in Middle East and Africa, they can also provide momentum for consumer health sales. Some consumers, unable to afford visits to a…

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

Consumer health is registering healthy growth rates in Oman in 2023. Growth is being driven by the increasing presence of OTC brands, increasing consumer awareness, an expanding population and an increase in self-medication. Easing inflationary…

Consumer health registered strong sales growth in Qatar in 2023 thanks to strong purchasing power and rising interest in leading healthy lifestyles. The country’s high obesity rate has combined with the sharpened focus on health and wellbeing that…

The harsh climatic conditions in Kuwait with extreme heat, rising pollution and large amounts of dust continue to play a key role in driving demand across key OTC categories, in particular analgesics and cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies.…

Wound care is expected to maintain solid growth in both retail volume and current value terms in 2023. With many aspects of life in Saudi Arabia back to normal after the pandemic disruption, consumers are spending more time outside the home and being…

One of the most notable consequences of the pandemic was the propensity for Saudi people to put on weight as a consequence of social distancing and home seclusion, which meant that many people were engaged in far lower levels of physical activity…

Despite the expectation of a slowdown compared with the high growth rates seen during the pandemic, vitamins is set to maintain solid retail volume and current value growth in 2023, supported by recommendations from pharmacists and doctors. In…

With all sports centres, activities, and events suspended for significant periods during the COVID-19 pandemic, sports nutrition suffered a drastic decline in 2020. Consumers were not able to work out as regularly as they did previously, meaning that…

COVID-19 led to a strong rise in the growth rate for sleep aids, as the stresses and pressures of the pandemic boosted demand for these products. In addition to the fear of falling ill, many Saudi consumers also faced economic uncertainty and nagging…

One of the actions the Saudi government took to limit the spread of COVID-19 was to close all schools and universities (with only remote learning permitted), and to suspend all social and community activities for children, including sports. This had…

To combat the Kingdom’s relatively high smoking prevalence, legislation and taxes on tobacco products have been implemented to deter purchases of such products. For example, in 2021, the government banned the sale of tobacco to children under 18,…

In 2023, herbal/traditional products is set to continue to see growth across all categories in current value terms, as health-consciousness was accelerated by the pandemic, and this is a trend that has endured and continues to affect consumers’…

Modern daily life is leading consumers to spend a significant amount of time in front of their phone and computer screens. This abundance of screen time has led to a greater proportion of the population developing eye health problems, be it eye…

As leisure and entertainment are on the rise in Saudi Arabia, including dining out, more people are facing digestive problems. Furthermore, during the holy month of Ramadan, more people experience digestive disorders such as bloating, heartburn, acid…

Dietary supplements is set to maintain dynamic current value growth in 2023. After the onset of the pandemic, consumers educated themselves on the health benefits of specific ingredients, and became particularly interested in dietary supplements with…

In 2023, dermatologicals is set to return to solid current value growth, although performances are expected to vary widely across categories. For instance, hair loss treatments is expected to continue to benefit from consumers’ perception of their…

The pandemic has led consumers to become more concerned about the products they consume, and more conscious of side-effects, with some people therefore preferring to purchase herbal/traditional products instead of standard products, or those needing…

Consumer health is set to maintain solid current value growth in 2023, with increases across most categories. Analgesics, and cough, cold and allergy (hey fever) remedies are expected to remain the largest OTC categories. Due to their maturity and…

The socioeconomic crisis remained a drag on growth in consumer health in 2023. High inflation, currency depreciation and restricted access to foreign currency are affecting the entire economy. Political instability has made the situation worse as…

The stabilisation of the Iraqi dinar in 2023 and rising local production led to price drops across consumer health in 2023, boosting demand across the board. Tighter regulation and more control over imports benefited the industry generally, while the…

In 2023, there have been stock shortages for some analgesics in key distribution channels in Saudi Arabia, resulting from producers, suppliers, and/or distributors. As a result, end consumers have been switching to alternative products containing the…

In 2023, wound care is expected to see its strongest current value growth rate for many years, with product innovation being the strongest driver of growth. Innovations in wound closure techniques, such as adhesive tapes, sutures, or surgical…

The wound care category is seeing strong growth for the third consecutive year in Israel, with normal lifestyles driving everyday demand for these products. Sticking plasters/adhesive bandages has seen a strong uptick in sales in 2023 after a…

Many residents in the United Arab Emirates lead fast-paced lives, in which ready-to-drink shakes and meal replacement bars provide a quick and convenient way for people to manage their weight due to their pre-packaged format; this is set to drive…

With the growing popularity of health and wellness trends, many locals are increasingly sceptical about weight management products, and prefer to eat a balanced diet and incorporate physical activity to reach their goals. This focus on healthy eating…

Although multivitamins is set to maintain growth and remain the largest category within vitamins in current value terms in 2023, the trend towards personalisation in healthcare is also leading to an increase in sales of single vitamins. As…

The health and wellness trend has accelerated in Israel since the COVID-19 pandemic, with more people interested in adopting healthier regimes. This led to an increase in demand for vitamins, which continues to drive growth in the sales of vitamins.…

The rise of new players in sports protein powder in the United Arab Emirates indicates a growing fitness and health culture, and provides consumers with a wider range of products from which to choose to align with their preferences. The explosion in…

In 2023, Israelis have fully returned to gyms with many placing a bigger focus on health and fitness since the COVID-19 pandemic. With greater opportunities to get fit and workout, sports nutrition products are enjoying strong growth in current value…

Increasing awareness of sleep health is a significant trend set to drive the solid current value growth of sleep aids in the United Arab Emirates in 2023. As people are becoming more conscious of the vital role sleep plays in maintaining physical and…

Demand for sleep aids remains strong in 2023, with everyday lifestyle issues and security concerns leading to sleep issues. The COVID-19 pandemic had a very strong impact on sleep in Israel and caused a surge in sleep deprivation and insomnia, which…

In the United Arab Emirates, there is wide knowledge of consumer health, due to the diverse make-up of the population. However, there are a significant number of parents who continue to be hesitant to give children over-the-counter medications due to…

In 2023, paediatric consumer health continues to witness a strong performance, with current value sales predicted to be higher than in the previous year. In the years following the pandemic, the increase spread of common viruses and lower levels of…

In an effort to promote a healthier population and support the wellbeing of the local community, the government of the United Arab Emirates is actively encouraging smokers to quit. This includes the establishment of smoking cessation clinics at…

Tobacco smokers are considered at a higher risk when it comes to COVID-19 and this caused an increase in smoking cessation aids during the pandemic, as many locals tried to quit smoking. While locals are now learning to live with the virus in 2023,…

Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a strong emphasis on preventive health in the United Arab Emirates. This has been fuelling a surge in demand for herbal/traditional dietary supplements, including ginseng, garlic, echinacea, and…

The health and wellness trend has accelerated in Israel since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Locals are increasingly aware of what they put into their body and seek out more natural products when it comes to consumer health. This holistic…

Eye drops is the leading format for eye-related treatments in the United Arab Emirates, for several reasons. First, eye drops offer ease of application, allowing individuals to self-administer the treatment directly to the affected area. Second, they…

Eye care is expected to see stronger growth in 2023 compared to the previous year, with healthy retail volume and current value growth. The product area has seen consistent strong performance over the review period and during the pandemic. The…

Gastrointestinal disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcers, and gastritis are relatively common in the United Arab Emirates. Digestive remedies such as proton pump inhibitors are effective in treating these conditions by…

The return to relatively normal patterns of eating out at restaurants, combined with more stressful on-the-go lifestyles, is leading to an increase in digestive health issues in 2023. In retail volume terms, there is a modest increase in sales of…

Dietary supplements has witnessed a surge in products targeting beauty and anti-ageing, which reflects consumers’ growing desire for holistic wellness solutions and the “beauty from within” trend. Supplements such as co-enzyme Q10, which is known for…

Dietary supplements is a sizeable product area in Israel, only second behind analgesics, and it is expected to register strong current value growth in 2023, and the highest rate during the review period. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the…

Hair loss treatments in the United Arab Emirates has been experiencing increased fragmentation, due to the emergence of numerous new entrants, with the value share of the smallest players, included under “others” set to rise above 50% for the first…

The incidence of head lice is rising back to normal levels in 2023 as children circulate freely in schools and at social gatherings, and kids play close together. With retail volume sales back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, demand for…

The increasingly dusty weather in the United Arab Emirates is causing a rise in allergies and respiratory illnesses amongst consumers. In particular, in August 2022 there were so many dust storms that doctors in Abu Dhabi and Dubai issued a warning…

The normalisation of consumer lifestyles has hastened the return of common coughs and cold in Israel, with a notable uplift in schools. In April 2022, the mask mandate was removed, aside from specific locations such as hospitals and medical clinics,…

2023 is set to be a strong year for consumer health in the United Arab Emirates. Many categories are expected to see robust current value growth, underpinned by an increase in online distribution channels, as well as an increasingly savvy,…

Consumer health is expected to register a healthy pace of current value growth in 2023. After a successful vaccination programme in 2021, society opened up quickly in Israel. With society returning to greater normality in 2023, common illnesses are…