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In the last 5 years, the market of biologically active additives in Russia has been developing very actively. 

In 2019-2022, the domestic dietary supplements market, according to Smart Consult, showed an average annual growth of 18.9% in monetary terms. At the same time, the dietary supplements market increased by 24.1% in 2022. The reason for the growth was, among other things, a significant increase in the cost of products, especially imported ones, analysts say. In physical terms, the increase in the consumption of additives, despite the difficult geopolitical situation and a decrease in real disposable incomes of the population, amounted to 7.4% relative to the number of packages sold in 2021. Smart Consult's estimates are based on an expert survey and open data sources.

The dynamics of the pharmacy market of dietary supplements in money, according to DSM Group estimates, is close to these indicators and has averaged 18% per year over the past four years. 

In 2022, the total market volume reached 105 billion rubles against 64.4 billion rubles in 2019. The growth of the pharmacy market of dietary supplements last year, according to the DSM Group, amounted to 19.8% in money and reached 364 million packages.

The main driver for the dietary supplements market was the pandemic, says Alexander Zhestkov, executive director of the "The Union of Manufacturers of Dietary Supplements": "Vitamin and mineral complexes were included in treatment and rehabilitation protocols, used as a preventive measure to strengthen immunity." According to Sergey Chebanov, a business analyst at Siberian Wellness (Sibirskoye Zdorovye), consumption of not only classical immunostimulants, but also pre- and probiotics necessary for the formation of a healthy microbiome increased during the pandemic. As a result, the demand for probiotics has more than doubled. In addition, given the special danger of such a covid complication as thrombosis, the need for drugs that have a positive effect on blood flow has increased, which has affected the growing popularity of supplements with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids — it amounted to 68%.

Finally, due to increased nervousness, fear for their health and the well-being of their loved ones, people began to buy magnesium supplements more often — their sales increased by 40%.

Not only did the pandemic itself contribute to the growth of consumer attention to the segment, but also the official permission from January 2021 to sell dietary supplements and vitamins online. Along with a decrease in the average age of the audience that consumes supplements, these factors make the market one of the fastest growing and most attractive for putting new positions on sale, according to the DSM Group.

Pharmacy sales volumes increased by 19.8% last year and amounted to 105 billion rubles and 364 million packages, according to DSM Group estimates. At the same time, among the main types of pharmacy products, the dietary supplements category has the highest share of eCom, DSM Group analysts note: the online channel accounts for 17.7% of the total capacity of the pharmaceutical market of dietary supplements by the end of 2022.

Dynamics of demand for certain types of dietary supplements in 2023

Source: Monthly monitoring of pharma market by DSM Group

The name of the vitamin or dietary supplement	Dynamicsв %
Vitamin С	-0.5
Vitamin D	+ 4
Omega 3	+9
Collagen	+30
Probiotics	+23
Antistress supplements	+23
Magnesium (Mg)	+16
Biologically active supplements for the heart	+28

TOP 4 CATEGORIES of BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE ADDITIVES at the MARKET PLACES in 1 – 3 QUARTERS of 2023

Source: Sirius Group of companies database

CATEGORY	VOLUME OF SALES in pieces	AVERAGE PRICE	SHARE AT THE MARKET in %
Omega	1972370	845	13
Amino-Acids	1413709	794	9
Collagen	1271858	885	8
Weight –loss  products	1194813	673	8

The trend in 2022 was the redistribution of the structure of the domestic market due to the departure of some foreign manufacturers. Western sanctions did not directly restrict the supply of dietary supplements, but affected all market participants, according to the study "Market analysis of biologically active food additives (dietary supplements) in Russia" prepared by BusinessStat. The main difficulties faced by foreign companies are the disruption of logistics chains and difficulties in paying for foreign economic transactions through Russian banks.

In 2022, the import of dietary supplements to Russia, according to Businessstat estimates, decreased by 20.3% and amounted to 87.9 million packages. Shipments from Germany (by 9.0 million packages), Lithuania (by 8.3 million), and the Netherlands (by 4.0 million) decreased the most. The largest share in imports, according to the authors of the marketing research "Analysis of the dietary supplements market in Russia — 2023. Indicators and forecasts" Tebiz Group, occupies a low price segment with a share of 74%, the main supplies of which fall, among others, on the USA, Germany and China. The high price segment of dietary supplements is represented by a share of 10.1% mainly from the USA, Romania, Austria.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, over the past three years, the number of certificates of state registration of products from domestic manufacturers has increased — up to 70% of all registered dietary supplements in the country.

Domestic production in the structure of the dietary supplements market in 2022, according to Tebiz Group, exceeded the volume of imports by 1.5 times. At the same time, the best production indicators were demonstrated by domestic producers of the Siberian Federal District with a production volume of 9 thousand tons.

One of the growth drivers in recent years has been such a fast-growing category of dietary supplements as probiotics, said Sergey Chebanov, business analyst at Siberian Wellness. In 2021, the global probiotic market amounted to $63 billion with growth of 8.7% by 2020. It is projected to double to $134 billion by 2030. Sales of the probiotic complex manufactured by Siberian Wellness increased by 58% in the first quarter. The company's overall performance increased by 22% in 2020, 44% in 2021 and 48% in 2022. 

At the same time, consumers are switching to more expensive additives, according to the DSM Group. A significant increase in volume was demonstrated by the "high" price segment (+33.1% in rubles and +25.8% in packages). As a result, expensive food additives brought pharmacies more than half of their revenue in 2022 — 60.6% in rubles (in 2018 — 39.6%).

At the same time, 49% of Russians are ready to spend from 1 thousand to 3 thousand rubles per month on dietary supplements and vitamins. Up to 500 rubles — 17%, over 3 thousand rubles — 14%. Only 20% of respondents are not ready to spend money on dietary supplements, according to a joint study by Rambler media holding & Co, "Sber Eapteki" and "Sbermarketing". 

Online trade was a driver of fast development of supplements market. In 2021, the share of online sales of dietary supplements increased by 8.5%, last year the segment grew by 11.4%, according to the DSM Group. 

In January 2023, compared to the same period last year, sales of dietary supplements in the top 6 marketplaces in Russia increased by 100%, according to Sirius Pharma. 

Regulation

According to the general definition in Federal Law No. 29 "On the quality and safety of food products", dietary supplements are natural biologically active substances intended for consumption simultaneously with food or introduction into food products. The EAEU (EuroAsianEconomic Union) Technical Regulation "On Food Safety" refers dietary supplements to specialized food products subject to state registration and mandatory entry into the state register, which already has about 25 thousand items. According to Larisa Popovich, director of the HSE (Higher School of Economy) Institute of Health Economics, this document strictly regulates the registration and safety testing of dietary supplements along with other specific products, such as mineral water or baby food.

The main way to control products that are sold, including on electronic platforms, is mandatory labeling of dietary supplements from October 1, 2023. Labeling has already proven its effectiveness in the drug market, Alexander Zhestkov notes.

The need for labeling also generates a number of problems:  the need to purchase additional equipment, the appearance of labeling defects — all this leads to an increase in the cost of production. According to Sergey Chebanov, Siberian Wellness retail is already equipped with scanners, but this is the result of the fact that the company produced labeling of perfume products, and in general, innovations in the market will hit the consumer's wallet.

In 2023, the demand changed from "covid" dietary supplements towards "anti-stress" + consistently popular dietary supplements of the category’s collagen, probiotic.

Evalar has become the No. 1 brand in sales on marketplaces

The relevant data was published by the MoneyPlace research company. Analysts have processed sales data in the dietary supplements category of the largest marketplaces – "Ozon" and "Wildberries" according to the results of the first half of 2023.

According to experts, in the first six months of 2023, the total turnover of the dietary supplement category at Ozon increased by 256% compared to the same period in 2022. The peak of sales in both years falls on the month of March. During the specified period of 2023, the leading brand is Evalar, the company's turnover exceeded 434 million rubles. The top product is "Magnesium Chelate" of the Evalar brand with a turnover of more than 23 million rubles.

TOP 5 brands in the dietary supplements category at the OZON:

• Evalar site
• EGIS Pharmaceuticals
• Solgar
• Maxler

On the Wildberries marketplace, in the first six months of 2023, the total turnover of the dietary supplement category increased by 102% compared to the same period in 2022. The peak of sales in 2022 was in June, in 2023 it falls on the month of March. During the specified period of 2023, the leading brand is Evalar, the turnover exceeded 264 million rubles. The top product is "Magnesium Chelate" of the Evalar brand – its turnover amounted to more than 20 million rubles.

TOP 5 brands in the dietary supplements category on the Wildberries site: 

• Evalar
• Zhiznivek
• EGIS Pharmaceuticals
• VitaMeal
• Myopharm

Commenting on the analysts' data, Natalia Prokopyeva, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Evalar CJSC, stressed that the development of online sales is among the company's priorities: "We have strengthened the digital integration of our sites with the largest marketplaces, maximizing our own assortment. Working with marketplaces allowed us to reach a new target audience (35+), which in three pandemic years switched from classical media (TV) to digital. In many ways, these steps allowed us to more than double the turnover in e-comm in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year."

Source: https://plus.rbc.ru/news/6452766e7a8aa9298d10c5f5?ysclid=lq230v45nl891691149 ; https://www.vedomosti.ru/press_releases/2023/08/24/evalar-stal-brendom-1-po-prodazham-na-marketpleisah