With increasing health and wellness awareness, China should become the world’s top consumer of nutrional supplements in 2010. China’s sales of nutrional supplements more than doubled from US$5.6 billion in 2006 to US$13.4 billion in 2009, making it the second largest purchaser in the world after the United States (US$16.1 billion in 2009). This rapid growth has come with changes in industry structure. In previous years, sales companies played the role of a middleman between pharmacists and supplement manufacturers. However this role is no longer needed because of increasing competition and the rise of pharmacy chains that have better marketing capabilities; instead, suppliers can now sell direct to pharmacy chains. Notably, health products and supplements have replaced drugs as the most profitable category for drug stores.

The market for dietary supplements for women’s health in China is a huge one, especially for products that target aging, skincare, weight loss, detox, prenatal care and blood enrichment. Chinese women have always had their homegrown, and affordable, health remedies, like “bird’s nest” and donkey hide gelatin, a fact that has so far made the market almost impenetrable for Western companies. On top of that are other barriers: government regulations, lack of consumer awareness, and resistance to prices boosted by shipping costs, taxes and import fees. But importers have reason to be optimistic. Especially encouraging is the fact that China’s version of the FDA is drafting new rules designed to nurture the industry and expand consumer education about Western nutritional and other supplements.

A Canadian researcher investigating drinking patterns when alcohol and caffeinated energy beverages are combined has found that people drink twice the alcohol when they consume energy drinks than they would normally. One hypothesis about why this happens is that it’s a social behavior: people consume more of anything when they’re enjoying themselves. Another possibility points to the banning of smoking – a common stimulant – in many bars: people may turn to energy drinks to pick up the stimulant slack. But the most interesting hypothesis is physiological: the drinks’ ingredients may affect dopamine release from the brain, prolonging the initial euphoria that comes with rising blood-alcohol levels and holding off the sedative-like effects when they fall. According to researcher Sean Barrett, this parallels lab studies done with stimulants like tobacco cigarettes and cocaine.

The People’s Republic of China has approved omega-3 fish oil and fish oil powder as “novel food ingredients” for use in any food and beverage category for consumers of all ages. Chinese food companies already include omega-3 DHA in many infant formulas and children’s foods. The approval by the Chinese government acknowledges that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are necessary “good” fats that deliver health benefits that may be missing in the typical Chinese consumer’s diet, according to Ocean Nutrition Canada Limited (ONC), a supplier of omega-3 EPA/DHA food and dietary supplement ingredients. The company said the Chinese market “will quickly follow the lead of both North America and Europe, where omega-3 fortified food and beverage new product launches are showing excellent growth.”