Health & Beauty

In the post-epidemic era, general health has become one of the current hot topics. Chinese consumers' attention to their own health has risen to a new height, and health consumption is gradually infiltrating more areas of life. Mintel expects that China's household food and medical and health products industry will usher in a period of prosperous consumption.

On July 21st, Mintel's offline trend sharing meeting ended in Beijing. Mintel Food and Beverage Category Director Li Hongjia and General Health Category Senior Analyst Liu Wenshi conducted an in-depth analysis of the new opportunities for healthy eating in the post-epidemic era, and answered questions about the future industry trends that the audience was very concerned about in the subsequent interactive communication session.

According to statistics from Mintel, China's total healthcare consumption expenditure in 2020 was 2.458 trillion yuan last year, accounting for 5.9% of total consumption expenditure (41.589 trillion yuan). Mintel predicts that the share of healthcare expenditures in total expenditures will maintain a growth trend in the next five years, and healthcare expenditures will account for 6.3% of total expenditures in 2025.

At the same time, the total consumption expenditure of household food in China in 2020 last year was 7,330 trillion yuan, a growth rate of 13.1% from 2019, and accounted for 17.6% of the total consumption expenditure (41.589 trillion yuan). After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the consumer price index (the food price index was 10.6%, the non-food price index was 0.4%) continued to rise, the shift from eating out to cooking at home, and the belief that dairy products can help boost immunity, all accelerated The increase in household food expenditure.

Liu Wenshi, a senior analyst in Minute's health category, said, “Driven by increased health awareness, steady income growth, and an aging population, Chinese consumers will continue to increase their consumption of health care. The epidemic has also driven health-related dietary issues. Consumption growth in the industry, household food and medicines and health products will usher in a period of prosperous consumption, which is mainly attributed to the behavioral changes brought about by consumers’ awareness of this aspect. They are re-examining and choosing products from the perspective of health needs. The overall focus of consumption is Has slowly changed.

Chinese consumers are changing from

Start with the overall situation and turn to detail enhancement

Mintel data shows that Chinese urban consumers believe that nutritional balance (60%) is very important, and they have already done so. Although only a few Chinese urban consumers have achieved dietary details such as reducing sugar intake (35%) and eating less processed foods (33%), they have realized the importance of doing well in these details.

In fact, Chinese urban consumers believe that they have a positive mental outlook (42%), more exercise (47%), adequate sleep (52%), reduced sugar intake (55%) and eat less processed foods (59%) ) Is very important, but it still needs to be strengthened. However, compared to before the epidemic, Chinese urban consumers have begun to increase the frequency of healthy eating (65%) and regular exercise (57%), and even the frequency of taking health care products (34%) has also increased.

Liu Wenshi explained, "Especially after the test of the epidemic, Chinese consumers have further deepened their understanding of health. From simple medicine to cure disease, to expand from medicine to supplement, and then from nutritional balance to through Details strengthen the health of the diet, and every consumer group is actively responding and acting."

Mini wave responds to flexible diet needs

According to the Mintel Global New Product Database (GNPD), in the Asia-Pacific region, the proportion of new food and beverage* products that mention "portion control" on the packaging increased by 68% in 2016-21. Mintel research shows that in China, for young consumers, they believe that "relieving gluttons" is part of a healthy diet. 52% of Chinese urban consumers aged 18-24 believe that "I would rather eat less snacks that I like. , And don’t eat healthy but unpalatable snacks," and agreed that "as long as you control the amount, occasionally eating junk food will not affect your health" (56%).

For the consumer group of weight management, according to Mintel data, among the respondents who have a weight management plan in the next 12 months, the desire to lose weight and the desire to maintain weight have been divided into equal parts, each accounting for half. 48% of Chinese urban consumers who want to maintain their weight hope to maintain a happy mood through weight management.

"We have seen brand merchants actively innovate products based on consumer needs. In the context of greedy, the first thing we see is the emergence of the mini trend, especially the packaging innovation like portion control, which responds to young people. The consumer demand of China not only maintains the established taste of the product, but also brings a certain degree of health, which may become the direction that the food and beverage category can try in the future.

Of course, for special consumer groups, the role of flexible diet in weight management products is more like providing consumers with flexibility in mentality, while brands can follow the trend of overall health and be humane when launching cyclical products and services. Design. "Liu Wenshi said.

Aromatic ingredients help consumers

Decompression, sleep aid, energy boost

The quality of sleep is closely related to the quality of life. According to Mintel data, one-quarter (25%) of 18-39-year-old respondents said they had emotional problems before going to bed; one-fifth said they had emotional problems when they woke up. At the same time, according to the Mintel Global New Product Database (GNPD), in the Asia-Pacific region, food, beverages and health products that involve the decompression and sleep aid effects of aromatic descriptions on the packaging of new products have increased from 0.5% in 2018 It will increase to 1.1% in 2021, and the claims on the efficacy of energy enhancement will rise from 1.4% to 1.6%.

Liu Wenshi said, “In terms of sleep aid and decompression, whether from a service perspective or a product perspective, brands can consider meeting the new sleep needs of consumers. By emphasizing detailed usage scenarios, they can visually resonate with consumers. Enhance product practicability.

In addition to packaging innovation, the application of raw materials is still one of the most concerned topics in product development. In the Asia-Pacific market, the growth rate of aromatic ingredients in food and beverage health products with decompression/sleep/energy-enhancing effects is on the rise. Although in the traditional sense, aromatic ingredients are more related to beauty and personal care products, this accelerating trend shows the feasibility of expanding aromatic ingredients to food and beverage health care products. "

Personalized nutrition emphasizes precise positioning

As everyone needs more and more precise guidance, we see that in the field of packaged food and beverages, the demand for targeted food and beverages by sub-healthy people is increasing. According to Mintel data, 36% of Chinese urban consumers stated that they focused on understanding their nutritional needs after the COVID-19 pandemic, which is much higher than that of American consumers (12%) and British consumers (6%). Specifically, although urban Chinese consumers said they would look at an average of 2.6 types of nutritional information when buying food and beverages, respondents with sleep or skin problems said that the health food section is the food retail concept they are most interested in.

67% of respondents in lower-tier cities** in China are more interested in trying to customize personalized health services, which is higher than that in first-tier cities (63%). At the same time, 63% of respondents aged 18-29 are willing to try Condition customized healthy meals.

Liu Wenshi said, “In product packaging and display, through precise positioning of the scene, such as visually presenting the health functions of this food and beverage, it can quickly attract sub-healthy people. In addition, we can see that on healthy meals (such as light meals) When consumers have a stronger interest in personalized customization. Brands can emphasize the individualization of ingredients/effects while superimposing interesting experiences and establishing emotional bonds with young people. For future health care products, it may change from emphasizing ingredients. To provide more humane services to help consumers improve their health."

Study both internally and externally, get healthy and get old

At present, aging is a major trend. Therefore, whether it is cosmetics, personal care, or food and beverage health products, it is actually necessary to think about how to "healthy get older" with consumers of different ages in the longer term. According to data from Mintel, 50% of Chinese urban consumers strongly agree that the earlier measures to prevent aging are taken, the better, and even 84% agree/strongly agree that anti-aging products with more advanced technology are worth more.

In appearance, most Chinese urban consumers consider sagging skin (66%) and fine lines/wrinkles (58%) as signs of aging. In terms of physical function, although only 22% of Chinese urban consumers associate “prone to intestinal discomfort” with aging, this association is more prominent among 30-29 year-old respondents (26%). In addition, 54% of 30-39 respondents have taken intestinal health products/functional foods and considered them effective.

Liu Wenshi concluded, "Preventing aging can be an opportunity for functional innovation, because consumers have a strong willingness to consume in this area. Looking to the future, we foresee that consumers will mobilize their multiple perceptions when thinking about healthy aging. ——Not only the perception of appearance, but also the perception of bodily functions. The next opportunity for food and beverage brands can help consumers grow healthier by focusing on bodily functions, especially by creating a healthier intestine. ."