A new survey by Kerry – the maker of health ingredient Wellmune – of 13,000 people across 16 countries shows a significant rise in sales of dietary supplements since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.
44% of respondents globally said they had purchased more dietary supplements since the pandemic began, while 42% had increased their intake of functional or fortified food and beverages (F&B).
Presented with a list of health concerns, 58% of people across the 16 nations cited immune system support as their primary reason for buying healthy lifestyle products. In the F&B categories, a further 33% said they would be interested in purchasing fruit and vegetable juices if they contained ingredients which promote immune health.
One of our key findings was the scale of the impact of the pandemic on demand – not just for immune health products, but for functional foods, beverages, and supplements overall
John Quilter, Kerry VP of Global Portfolio – ProActive Health, says: “Interest in health and wellness has never been higher and we wanted to give the industry new insights into changing purchasing habits. One of our key findings was the scale of the impact of the pandemic on demand – not just for immune health products, but for functional foods, beverages, and supplements overall. Consumers were adopting increasingly proactive, holistic attitudes to health, wellness and nutrition long before 2020 but the pandemic has massively accelerated this trend.”
