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…

Sleep aids continues to benefit from the growing number of Swiss consumers affected by constant stress at work, as well as at home and in life in general. Stress levels have been compounded by the event of COVID-19 and ongoing global unrest from…

Value sales of paediatric consumer health remains positive in 2023. Swiss parents prefer to consult with their health practitioner when it comes to their children, and seek help from professionals before resorting to medical recommendations that lead…

NRT smoking cessation aids saw a return to volume growth in 2023 with current value sales also gaining pace. Smoking prevalence is on the decline in Switzerland, albeit slowly, despite anti-smoking campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the health…

Herbal/traditional products is expected to maintain strong value growth in 2023, as consumers rely on natural approaches and seek to reduce their chemical exposure. Herbal/traditional products benefit from consumer perception that they are safer than…

Eye care is witnessing very marginal volume decline in 2023, although current value growth remains positive. Category sales are underpinned by standard eye care, which remains the largest subcategory as consumers spend more time in front of the…

Digestive remedies reported much stronger value growth in 2023 as consumers started eating outside the home once more, with greater exposure to bacterial infections. Sales of diarrhoeal remedies have increased as a greater number of consumers deal…

In 2023, minerals are the most sought-after dietary supplement in Switzerland. Protein supplements, probiotics and calcium have been showing the highest demand among dietary supplements. Herbal and traditional supplements, on the other hand, have…

Dermatologicals continues its positive development in 2023, although value growth has subsided slightly compared to 2022 levels. On balance, value sales are still stronger than the pre-pandemic era when demand dropped amid social distancing and home…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies have witnessed stronger growth in 2023, due to warmer weathers and increased time spent out of the home. Warmer weather in Switzerland has led to an increase in pollen and the incidence of allergic…

Consumer health witnessed a solid performance in 2023, with current value growth gaining momentum for the fourth consecutive year. Overall there has been little change in the price of OTC products, despite the slightly higher inflation rate in 2023,…

Analgesics has witnessed a return to positive volume growth in 2023, driven by the recovery of adult acetaminophen as a stronger flu season took hold in Switzerland. As the incidence of cold and flu increases, so does the use of analgesics in…

Wound care in Austria has continued to see declining sales in retail volume terms with current value growth being the result of an inflation driven increase in unit prices. Wound care last saw growth in retail volume terms in 2021 as consumers…

With consumers becoming more active again and spending more time away from home going to the gym, doing sports outside, and going on outdoor pursuits such as walking and cycling the overall demand for weight management and wellbeing has decreased…

Sales of vitamins have continued to drop sharply in retail volume terms in 2023, with price inflation unable to prevent the category from recording a decline in current value terms, too. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 there was a surge in demand…

Sports nutrition has been one of the few bright spots in consumer health in Austria in 2023 with sales continuing to benefit from developing health and fitness trends in the country. With consumers being more concerned about their overall health and…

Retail volume sales of sleep aids are declining for the second year running in 2023. The outbreak of COVID-19 led to increased levels of fear and anxiety in 2020 and 2021 which helped drive record sales of sleep aids. With conditions improving in…

Paediatric consumer health has recorded a small sales decline in current value terms in 2023. Children are becoming more prone to getting sick now that the pandemic is over, with them not staying home as much anymore, going to school/daycare,…

24% of Austria’s adult population still smokes in 2023, although this figure has been steadily declining for several years, falling from 27% in 2018. The pandemic provided further incentive to quit smoking with medical bodies highlighting the added…

Herbal/traditional products has continued to grow in current value terms in 2023 albeit volume growth has been curbed by financial uncertainty, high inflation and a sharp rise in the cost of living. With incomes stretched consumers have been focusing…

Elevated inflation and spiralling manufacturing costs has led to further price increases within eye care in Austria which has helped to support current value growth in 2023 but has led to a significant decline in retail volume terms. Despite seeing…

Digestive remedies continues to see strong mid-single digit growth in current value terms in 2023, albeit this is mainly being driven by price increases rather than an increase in demand. High inflation and the rising cost of manufacturing and…

Dietary supplements has seen mixed results in 2023 with some categories recording healthy growth while others have seen a steep drop off in demand. Overall, consumers are frequently using dietary supplements in 2023 as they look to lead healthier and…

Dermatologicals is seeing mid-single digit growth in current value terms in 2023, although like many areas of consumer health this is largely the result of price increases. Prices have been rising across all categories of dermatologicals as a result…

Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies received a strong sales boost in 2022 due to consumers returning to working in the office more frequently again and kids returning to in-school classes. This led to consumers spending more time among other…

The World Health Organisation declared the end of the COVID-19 health crisis in 2023 with this having an overall negative impact on sales of consumer health in retail volume terms. For example, demand for products with a strong focus on immune health…

While sales of analgesics are seeing mid-single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, sales have seen a steep decline in retail volume terms. The main reason for this disparity between value and volume growth in analgesics is the sharp rise in…

Wound care has seen significant fluctuation in demand since the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Turkey. Lockdowns and home seclusion reduced the opportunities for participation in sports and school and outdoor play for children,…

The demand for weight management and wellbeing products is set to grow over 2023, having experienced fluctuation in the earlier years of the review period. Many consumers continue to struggle to lose weight gained during the periods of lockdown and…

The Turkish economy is taking longer to recover from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and high inflation than many other countries, partly due to the upheaval of political elections, as well as two big earthquakes, which affected around 20% of the…

As Coronavirus (COVID-19) measures lifted, consumers resumed their regular visits to gyms and leisure centres, in addition to participating in individual and team sports. This has stimulated the demand for sports nutrition in Turkey. In light of the…