Susanne Hornikel says food supplements products offer potential for European marketers.

In recent years, manufacturers of food supplements have had interesting opportunities for growth: an ageing population; increasing health awareness; rising incomes; and changing opinions about nourishment. A desire for comfort, a guilty conscience and a bid for higher physical efficiency and vitality are important reasons for the purchase of food supplements.

Italy and Germany currently offer the largest markets for food supplements in the European Union – sales volumes are estimated at more than six billion euros. In the eastern EU member states, the demand is growing particularly fast, while growth in western states is projected to rise five per cent annually.

But opportunities for growth could look less bright in the future: The European regulation EG Nr. 1924/2006 regulates nutritional and health-related claims in the advertising and marketing of food (supplements are legally ranked among food). Food supplements are only permissible if their specifications are provable by appropriate scientific authorities and are expressly certified by the ‘Health Claims’ regulation. Different nations’ rules are thereby being harmonised in order to strengthen consumer protection. This ‘positive list’ of permitted ad statements is still at the European authority for food security and is not thought to be available until the end of the year.

Some market representatives share the view that, in the future, ‘only good and honest products with special health value’ will continue to exist on the market. Effectively, new niches within the range of the food supplements market continue to appear – pet foods, for example: this market is predicted to grow and to become well developed in the future.

But it is not just legal barriers which are concerning the food supplements industry – sales figures are declining. According to information supplier IMS Health, food supplements including vitamins and minerals formed the third strongest over-the-counter pharmaceutical product range, in 2008. But turnover of food supplements is declining approximately one per cent in all sales channels.

Reasons for decline

There may be different reasons for this – sales being affected by the overall economic situation, for example, or by consumers reacting to expert statements about the suitability of food supplements in daily life – one statement read: “For healthy nutrition all food supplements are redundant“!

As the number of enterprises launching new food supplements onto the market is increasing rapidly, more and more agencies and consulting firms have joined the search for the optimal sales model, particularly to reach the ever-growing 50+ age group.

This demographic still prefers the print medium for information and news about healthcare. Many products are particularly aligned to older consumers, but also the percentage of online users among this target group is growing as the older generation increasingly embraces the diversity of the Internet.

According to statements by producers, buyers of food supplements are ‘quality and nutrition-conscious consumers searching for a complete supplement for their current phase of life’. A survey of German consumers in connection with the annual market media study ‘Typologie der Wünsche’ showed that women are especially inclined towards food supplements: of the 24 per cent of all survey respondents saying they take them, 83 per cent are women.

Advertising mailings that provide scientific information about the food supplement product achieve particularly good response rates. Mailings vary widely in appearance and shape, but must primarily convince the consumer of the health advantages of the product, and encourage them by means of interactive elements to make a purchase. Testimonials of celebrities or other customers can play a decisive role, too.

The mailings must be adjusted to the particular life situation of the given target group – for example, the mailing for omega-3-fatty acids for older people should be designed differently from the one for 20 to 50-year-olds.

The aim of the food supplement producer is to increase customer loyalty long-term and this works for three month, six month and 12 month special offer subscriptions. Here, it is important to note that the subscription must be cancellable at any time, to demonstrate consumer-friendliness. Many firms also offer a free deal in connection with a subscription.

The proper choice of address lists and their quality is always very important.

And it seems that people around the world who are willing to believe in miracles are especially inclined to buy food supplement offers! These are usually mail-order customers who enjoy taking part in lotteries or those who are signed up to receive esoteric and astrology mailers. There are exceptions to the rule. If the offer is more in the direction of health = beauty, then the addresses are more likely to be in the beauty sector.

According to the Typologie der Wünsche study, pharmacies (24%), drugstores (21%) and supermarkets (15%) are the predominant sellers of food supplements.

However, one can expect that as these traditional sellers lose more and more ground, the beneficiaries will be mail order companies, making good use of their best direct marketing methods. Online shops are in a good position, too – according to Eurostat, 26 per cent of women and 38 per cent of men across Europe go online an average of once a week.

Susanne Hornikel is managing director, Direct Success GmbH.