China’s Rapidly Growing Health and Nutrition Food Market

Asia has recorded double digit growth rate in human nutritional market with China as one of the major players in terms of production and consumption of nutritional supplements. According to the Public Nutrition and Development Center, China's nutrition food market is growing at an average pace of 8-10% annually and may speed up to 15% in the near future as China's population is directing their increasing disposable income on high quality food. Today, Chinese parents are more concerned over product safety than ever before, and are willing to pay a premium for products manufactured in the US.

Despite the rapid growth in recent years, China's health food market has been small compared to developed nations. However, the nutritional industry is on a high-growth trajectory due to increased government support to address health care concerns and rising income levels. In 2007, Nutrition Business Journal estimated that China's domestic supplement market was already worth approximately $7 billion and made up about 10% of global supplement sales. Chinese consumers spent an average of $11.53 on health food each year, 20 times lower than the typical spent in Japan, and a sixth of the average European consumer's annual purchases.

According to Zhou Haichun, vice director of the Centre for Public Nutrition and Development, there is large demand for food containing the necessary vitamins and minerals, especially for children and pregnant women. Also according to research on the health and nutrition of the Chinese population, there are severe deficiencies in diet that are leading to diseases and malnutrition. There is an urgent need for the Chinese to change their attitudes and adopt healthier and more balanced diets, resulting in a huge market for nutritious food, vitamins and supplements.