Vitamins in Serbia

2020 IMPACT

Demand for vitamins shrugs off the impact of COVID-19, as consumers seek to boost their immune systems

COVID-19 will not affect growth in value sales of vitamins in Serbia during 2020. Indeed, 2020 will be the first year during the review period that value sales growth did not decelerate, with growth in value sales of vitamin A actually seeing a significant increase.

Social media help drive growing awareness of the importance of vitamins

Growth in value sales is mainly being driven by the perception that a regular intake of vitamins is key to health maintenance. This perception is fostered by the rising number of articles in the specialised press and more importantly on the internet, particularly social media platforms.

CaliVita leverages e-commerce and social media to maintain leadership

CaliVita International, Hemofarm ad and Galenika ad remain the top three players in vitamins. They all have a strong reputation for quality among consumers and continue to make significant investments in marketing.

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Health-conscious consumers don’t buy the argument that vitamins are superfluous

There has been an increase in negative media coverage of vitamins in Serbia during the latter part of the review period, with a growing number of articles maintaining that they are superfluous if a person is consuming a balanced diet. However, this has yet to impact value sales growth in any significant way and is not likely to do so during the review period: The notion that vitamins are good for one’s health is well established in Serbia and may even be deepening on the back of the burgeoning health and wellness trend.

Perceived as offering better value, growth in value sales of multivitamins will continue to outpace single vitamins

Most multivitamins sold in Serbia lack a specific positioning. Among the few that are positioned, the most popular are for women and pregnancy.

There’s life in private label yet

Although private label currently accounts for a negligible share of value sales in vitamins, it has not disappeared. When German discounter Lidl entered Serbia in the middle of the review period, it launched its Optisana private label line of vitamins.