Weight Management and Wellbeing in South Africa

PROSPECTS

Sugary Beverages Levy results in intensified focus on dangers of excess weight

South Africa’s Sugary Beverages Levy came into effect in April 2018, set at ZAR0.21/g of sugar added to soft drinks above 4g/100ml.

Government campaigns focus on lifestyle changes but also support growth in weight management

The government continues to invest in health campaigns across the country to inform people about the risks associated with obesity, with South Africa having been named the fattest nation on the African continent. The Department of Health’s Healthy Lifestyle Campaign notably encourages people to eat healthy diets and to exercise regularly, amongst other lifestyle changes.

Social media shaping consumer attitudes to weight

Excess weight was traditionally associated with beauty, wealth and health in some South African cultures. While female curves were often seen as a sign of health and beauty, slimness was often viewed as being linked too ill health, with some even connecting a thin physique with highly stigmatised diseases such as HIV/Aids.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Herbalife gains share despite poor performance for direct selling overall

Direct selling was the leading distribution channel for weight management at the start of the review period but continues to lose share as these products gain wider distribution via store-based retailing. In response to consumers increasingly seeking to lose weight, some retailers increased their focus on weight management and began to offer a wider range, with direct selling thus facing growing competition.

Herbex’s Attack the Fat attacked by ASA but the company maintains marketing momentum

Herbex (Pty) Ltd is ranked second in weight management and wellbeing and also achieved a marginal gain in share in 2019, with this player distributing its range via leading chains such as Game, Dis-Chem and Clicks. The company suffered a setback in 2018 when its Attack the Fat TV advertising campaign was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making unsubstantiated weight loss claims and was thus unable to be broadcast by ASA members.

Dis-Chem and Clicks vie for private label success

In terms of the retail distribution of weight management and wellbeing, drugstores/parapharmacies have proven particularly active in expanding their ranges, with the leading chains increasingly offering weight management and wellbeing areas in their stores and also offering successful private label products. By 2019, Clicks and Dis-Chem ranked second and third in supplement nutrition drinks with their Clicks Nutritional Supplement and Biogen brands respectively, while Dis-Chem also saw the most dynamic growth in overall weight management and wellbeing in the year.

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