Chinese Consumers Choose Health over Wealth
The health perceptions of Chinese consumers are increasing, positively impacting markets like organic food, vitamins and supplements. According to Daxue Consulting, in 2021, the health food market in China is expected to reach sales of RMB 330.7 billion.
Also, many Chinese millennials, perceiving themselves to be overworked and stressed due to busy lifestyles, are increasingly opting for wellness products to ward off any long-term health problems. China Daily showed that Chinese younger consumers no longer limit their spending power to clothes or entertainment, but also devote some of their income to a range of innovative health products, such as sugar-free beverages, vitamin supplements, and organic milk.
A lot of the new emerging brands are trying out bubbling energy drinks or sports drinks. Genki Forest, which produces an eponymous brand of sugar-free and low-calorie drinks, completed a series of funding last year that pegged its valuation at USD 2 billion, according to South China Morning Post. Genki Forest has a brand promise of creating healthy soft drinks. They use natural sugar substitutes to control their soft drinks’ calories. Their promise meets the market demand caused by the health trend in China. CGTN revealed that more than 50% of Chinese consumers surveyed said they prefered lower sugar or sugar-free drinks, especially in categories like sparkling drinks or tea.
A large number of Chinese consumers are also looking for weight management and low-calorie products. FFIT8, a protein bar brand, has officially completed 10 million of A-round funding at the end of 2020. 21Food showed that FFIT8's monthly sales in JD.com, Tmall, Xiaomi Youpin and other channels exceeded RMB 10 million last year.
There is no doubt that the pandemic has driven healthy food trends. However, China’s health food market is still in a very nascent stage compared to developed markets such as Japan and South Korea. As the growing health awareness in China continues to transform the nation into a health-conscious country, the need for health-related products will continue to boom.
Drinks from Genki Forest, Photos from Guandata
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