The Coronavirus pandemic and its impact has changed the perspective of health globally. There is now an increased awareness of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Better health and wellness continue to be top of mind for consumers.
According to a report by Grand View Research, the global dietary supplements market size was valued at USD 163,986.0 million in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0% from 2023 to 2030.
The primary factors driving the growth are the growing geriatric population, the shift from pharmaceuticals towards nutraceuticals due to the growing focus on preventive healthcare, and the growing focus on personalized nutrition, the report revealed.
Recently, Centrum, a global multivitamin brand from Haleon (erstwhile GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare) has launched their new line of daily supplements – ‘Benefit Blends’, for Indian consumers and their day-to-day health requirements.
The new range of Benefit Blends comprises of five variants namely Centrum Kids Immune Fuel, Centrum Kids Growth Fuel for the kid’s range and Centrum Immune Defence Gummy, Centrum Sleep and Refresh Gummy, and Centrum Digestive Balance Gummy for the adult range.
Ahead of the launch, Financial Express.com got the opportunity to speak to Garima Gupta, Vitamins & Mineral Supplements Lead, Indian Subcontinent, Haleon, and she talked about this new launch, future plans for 2023, and increasing adoption of VMS amongst Indian consumers as the ‘Self-care’ trends rise among others. Excerpts:
In September last year, Centrum forayed into the India market under Haleon. How has been the journey so far?
So, Centrum entered the India market around six months back. We launched our core holistic nutrition range of multivitamins and these were created as per the gender and lifestage cohorts in India. The products we created for men, women and 50+ and children include gummies and tablets. Each of these product were very unique because not only they were adapted as per Indian dietary requirements and the ICMR guidelines but also the offerings took care of existing and emerging needs. So, for example in case of children it took care of holistic growth and also eye health as more and more digital childhood is becoming common. Similarly, if you look at the women’s multivitamin it was not just taking care of overall energy and the multitasking that the women has to do everyday but it also took care of inside-out appearance. Instead of just cosmetic beauty, we had ingredients that were proven to take care of your inner glow. So, those are the kind of nuances that we have built into the multivitamins and we see an upward trajectory for the brand and we are doing pretty well in the India market and we look forward to building it from strength to strength.
As you mentioned gummies, in the recent years a lot of the market players are coming up gummy-based solutions. According to you, what is it about this particular segment that appeals to the consumer and give them the advantage over drugs that are there as supplements?
Currently, the way the VMS market is and the Indian consumer is…there is this big barrier around you know…’I don’t want to medicines for proactive health’. So, the moment you see a pill there is this perception that it’s a medicine even if its not. So, to really tackle that barrier in the mind of the consumer and help them understand that you have to take a ‘stich in time saves nine’ approach. If you timely start fulfilling the gaps in your nutrition then tomorrow you are taking care of your long-term health. So, for that the right format-fit is important. So, for consumers a gummy is much closer to their everyday food unlike a pill. So that’s a big factor and also gummies make it interesting also as a regimen as they are tasty and flavourful and they mask a lot of ingredients which are there and it ultimately becomes fun to consume especially for children.
The pandemic has changed a lot of thing and our perspective towards healthcare has also changed. As you metioned that the self-care culture is still evolving in India, how can this become an opportunity for consumer companies like Centrum?
The biggest-barrier to this category is that the consumers feel that their diet is enough. Because most of the issues that are happening or any gaps that are happening in your nutrition is invisible to you. You don’t know you have them. So, it is very important for consumers to recognise that it is something that is very pervasive. Today, the dietary patterns that we have, the lifestyle we have, it is not enough. COVID-19 has brought that to the limelight. When it comes to immunity, we all failed in front of COVID-19. During the initial days there is so much of noise that what is the right thing to do. So, I think it has really helped for Indian consumers to start making conscious effort towards proactive health and realising that regular diet is not enough. So, this has really helped both category and it has also Centrum as a brand.
Can you highlight what is the market potential of the multivitamin segment in India? According to you, what Centrum has done so far? What needs to be done to take it ahead?
The VMS market in India as per our understanding and latest result from Nicholas Hall its a 1.1 Billion GBP category and it’s growing in double digit. It is the largest OTC category in India. While it is the largest segment it is deeply under penetrated because there is low self adoption and low understanding of what is the right supplement to be taken and what are deficiency that are common in India? So, Centrum as a brand…we feel we can being global leaders and being very connected to the science of nutrition we can really help consumers take that next step towards self care…there is so much noise in this category that it’s tough for consumers to find the reliable source of information. So, that’s where we feel that Centrum can play big role.
What is the difference that the brand has witnessed with respect to the audience landscape after its entry into the India market?
There is a huge amount of difference that is happening and it is a very rapid change in the consumers that we see now. For example when we launched multivitamins initially, there was very low understanding of the deficiency which are prevalent in India and we through our communication…through our work, both in consumers and doctors have talked about how one in two Indian adults have multivitamin deficiency, how one-in-two school going have nutrient deficiencies and not just that we have talked about women’s health at large, we have talked about how you can overcome the various barriers in your mind. So, our products are vegetarian, non-habit forming, we are offering products that are friendly for consumers like gummies. We are doing a lot of myth-busting which is why we see more and more consumers are latching onto self-care. In the last six months, we can also see how Centrum has grown and now we feel we can also launch a tailored-nutrition range. So, we see a significant change through the awareness that we are generating around nutrition in India.
India is a diverse country and there are varied types of deficiencies. Are you planning to diversify your product portfolio for more nutrient deficiencies?
Our vision is to become the leader in the VMS segment in India. Globally also we are a leading brand. From a research perspective on nutrition…we have some 40 years of research experience which is why we are the most-studied clinical brand in the world. Those are the credentials which is why we are confident that even for India we can be that larger anchor which can build the category overall. While we have launched multi-vitamin…it’s a core segment globally also we have seen a rapid adoption of our brand in India. Now, we are launching tailored products. So, we have launched a gummy product both for adults and children which can help in improving your immunity. Similarly, if you look at the digestive products that we have launched it has a combination of pre and probiotic. We are also launching a gummy for sleep as in India sleeplessness is very common. These are some of the needs which are here and now very big. In children, we have launched a growth gummy. There are also some large deficiencies like Vitamin D…9 out of 10 people in India have vitamin D deficiency. B12, six out of 10 people have B12 deficiency. So, we have a range of offerings. For Vitamin D we are launching Centrum OstoCalcium and its chewable and it completes the daily requirement of vitamin D and calcium and we are focusing more on women. The product was launched this month. In India, women are fed beauty and not long-term health. So, how do you kind of change that mindset? So, things like blood health. Anemia is also prevalent in India. So, in future you can our entry into this segment as well. We have the combined mind of consumer understanding as well as nutrition expertise and we are going to expand our reach. So, you can expect a lot of product entry from this brand.
What are your upcoming plans in the current financial year with respect to brand goals, market expectation and business plans?
While we have already launched the multivitamin range now we are expanding into tailored solution…so specialist products. We have just begun the journey with five launches which is Centrum Benefit Blends We are first taking the larger category which is immunity, digestive health, sleep is an emerging offering. In children we have an immune fuel product and growth fuel. The next big one which I really want to talk about is calcium and vitamin D as the segment. Because women’s health is so close to our heart and we know a lot of work is required especially for Indian women. Our OstoCalcium syrups are already very popular. Now, we have an advanced offering which is Centrum OstoCalcium 300 which is getting launched. It’s a syrup for children…Calcium and Vitamin D as a market is very important to us. It is important that we increase awareness around supplementing vitamin D and calcium especially after 30, after giving birth, during lactation. Women don’t take care of themselves…we have a very strong R&D team which takes care of emerging needs.
