Dietary supplements, sales exceed EUR 4 billion: annual revenue of 1,099 million

Vitamins and minerals, probiotics and supplements to boost immune function. These are the food supplements most offered and sold by companies that in Italy generate more than 4 billion euros in value sales and employ more than 51 thousand people, almost half of whom are women. Germano Scarpa, president of Integratori & Salute, the sector association of Unionfood, speaks of it as 'a solid and mature market where consumers are showing increasing confidence in the use of these products, taking them frequently and even methodically because they are convinced that through consumption they can more easily maintain their state of health'. Among the preferred purchasing channels are pharmacies and parapharmacies, where over 80% of the products are purchased, because it is "a conscious consumption, guided by health professionals," explains Scarpa.

The numbers of the sector are encapsulated in a research study that was carried out with the technical and methodological support of PwC Italia, with which the association carried out an unprecedented analysis of the economic impact that the sector is able to generate. Well, it emerged that in our market, Italian companies are a point of reference with 60% being domestic, 24% with foreign capital and 16% multinationals with Italian capital. The research was carried out with data from 2023, reworking the balance sheets of the more than 15,000 Italian corporations active in the pharmacy, parapharmacy and GDO channels and those of the Italian companies associated with Unionfood that produce and distribute supplements in Italy and abroad.

Beyond its size, the sector has its own capacity to generate wealth and employment. Looking at the numbers, the report by Integrators & salute and PwC calculates that for 1 million euro of value of the national retail market for supplements, an average of 1.13 million euro of GDP is generated, 0.27 million euro is contributed to tax revenues, and 12.7 jobs are created for a year. After all, this is a sector where there is a strong aptitude for innovation and investment. 86% of companies have an R&D unit, 8 out of 10 companies have active research collaborations, mainly with universities or academic research institutes. Looking ahead, according to companies, investments will be increasingly oriented towards identifying new formulations (84%), digitising business processes (68%), training staff (62%) and expanding distribution (48%).

The data of the analysis tell of a healthy sector from an economic, social and employment point of view. Starting with sales in value, which in 2023 in the three channels analysed amounted to 4,091 million euro excluding VAT. Considering also VAT, the sector generated 4,626 million euros of GDP. This result was affected by the supply chains and the economy generated by the consumption of labour income distributed by the sector. At the direct level, pharmacies, parapharmacies and large-scale retail trade generated 911 million euros of added value through the sales of supplements, the domestic demand for which was mainly satisfied by Integratori & Salute member companies. In fact, the manufacturing and sales business units recorded EUR 2,754 million in turnover in supplements, including exports, and EUR 781 million in added value. Finally, from a fiscal point of view, the supplements sector as a whole generated annual revenue of 1,099 million euros in 2023.

The analysis carried out by Integrators and Health and PwC shows that there are 51,719 workers in the supply chain, including direct and indirect employees: about half of these, 25,805, are women. Entering into the details of female employment, in pharmacies, parapharmacies and large-scale retail trade enterprises 77% of the employees (8,696 Ula) dealing with supplements are women. In production and intermediate distribution the figure changes and the proportion drops to 53% women (3,000). Finally, in the areas concerning further suppliers in the supply chain and operators involved, women employees are 41% of the workforce (about 14,109 Ula).