Western Europe

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…

Wound care has been registering positive volume and current value growth rates in 2022 and 2023 as outdoor and physical activities increased again in the post-pandemic period. The relatively long summer season in 2023 also benefitted demand for wound…

As a year earlier, most areas of weight management and wellbeing were recording positive volume and value growth in 2023 as consumers looked to shed the weight gained during lockdown and home seclusion, but also due to increased health consciousness.…

Single vitamins continued to record positive volume and current value growth in 2023. Multivitamins, which offer convenience and economy benefits, also continued to grow in volume and current value terms in 2023. The demand for vitamins spiked during…

Sports nutrition – one of the most dynamic categories in the entire consumer health industry, continued to record strong growth in 2023. The category has been continuing to experience a positive performance, with double-digit current value growth…

As in 2022, sleep aids was registering a slight decline in current value terms as a result of falling in 2023. While prices were still rising during the pandemic (2020, 2021), which, paired with increased volume demand for sleep aids during the…

Having already recorded very dynamic growth in 2022, paediatric cold, cough and allergy remedies continued to register the strongest growth in paediatric consumer health in Germany in 2023, albeit at a much more modest pace. This strong performance…

The retail prices of all NRT smoking cessation aids were rising in 2022 and 2023, which helped to drive current value growth for these products in these years. However, volume sales of most NRT smoking cessation aids were flat or even declining in…

Herbal/traditional continued to grow at healthy pace in current value terms in 2023. Many of the leading players in consumer health were investing more in developing their herbal/traditional product ranges as well as their marketing activities in for…

Over the review period, eye care continued to benefit from the growing demand for products that can soothe eye fatigue, which is mainly resulting from extended exposure to digital devices, mainly computers, smartphones, TVs and tablets. Sales…

In 2023, the demand for digestive remedies across different categories was relatively stable. The increasing prevalence of symptoms of acid or gastroesophageal reflux have been supporting retail volume and current value sales of proton pump…

Most areas of dietary supplements continued to grow in volume and current value terms in 2023, albeit generally at quite modest rates, particularly in volume terms. Sales have been hit by the saturated nature of dietary supplements as well as the…

Dermatologicals again registered positive current value growth in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous years. The most dynamic category – hair loss treatments – continued to post strong growth. There are several reasons supporting the demand…

Cough and cold remedies were recording see high single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, with sales benefiting from the large number of cases of cold and flu in the 2023/2024 season. Furthermore, value sales were also being boosted by unit…

Consumer health in Germany was recording moderate current value growth in 2023. While OTC was performing better than vitamins and dietary supplements, it was being outperformed by categories such as sports nutrition and weight management and…

Consumption of analgesics continued to increase in Germany during 2023, after the demand spike in 2022, a year in which consumers were often experiencing flu and colds in the post-pandemic period and therefore OTC medicines, such as analgesics, were…

Wound care sales have gained momentum in 2023 amid a return to travel and tourism. People are more comfortable with travelling following the COVID-19 pandemic and have resumed taking vacations and excursions. Moreover, there has been a reduction in…

A growing proportion of the Swiss population is considered obese, while the percentage of overweight people has also been increasing for several years as the pandemic years resulted in weight gains. These trends have created a somewhat positive…

Consumers in Switzerland continue to self-educate on the benefits of supplementation and how to get the necessary nutrients into their diets. Although priority is still given to obtaining vitamins from food as part of a balanced and healthy…

The growing interest in health and fitness is forging growth in sports nutrition. Functional products in different formats are gaining mass appeal as brands shift away from targeting athletes and sports professionals. Protein powders continue leading…