Italians lead Europe in spending on supplements
With 30 million users and a 26% share in sales, trailing Germany and France at 19 and 15%. Purchases from pharmacies to large retailers for products not always of high quality
3' min read
3' min read
Ten per cent of Italians refrain from undergoing an examination or a specialist test because of the long timescales of public healthcare and the costs of private healthcare, reports the recent Istat Annual Report. And perhaps this is also why, since health is an increasingly precious commodity, 41% 'invest' in prevention by taking food supplements, the easiest way to take care of one's well-being. Supplements also keep the Made in Italy sector healthy, both in the domestic market and in exports, which grew by 12.4% in 2024 (source: Uif).
Dietary supplements are the 'flagship product' of Italian expenditure, with 30 million users spending almost 5 billion euros to buy them, putting us in first place among European countries with a 26% share of total expenditure, well ahead of our 'pursuers' Germany and France (19 and 15% respectively).
Italians' confidence is confirmed by their willingness to expand and vary the supplements they use. In fact, if 73% of Italians have resorted to supplements in the last year, in 33% of cases they have used two or more types, notes a study by Future Concept Lab. This is also why product innovation is going fast, with new brand launches (Liquid IV, the number one brand in the USA for functional hydration powder, is on the way) and the entry of companies from the food world, such as Bofrost.
Retailers are also enhancing their private-label offerings, sometimes with dedicated lines (such as Coop, Conad) taking advantage of the shift in purchases from the pharmacy channel to large-scale distribution, where supplements are worth over 450 million euros (source: Niq).
Meanwhile, the sector's biggies are under the lens of several investors on the hunt for opportunities, csuch as the acquisition of Named Group, ready to be put on the market. On the other hand, new companies are trying to ride the supplement boom and the proposals do not always live up to expectations.
'The quality of the raw materials, the guarantee of safety in use, the bioavailability of the nutrients and their correct dosage are essential elements to ensure the real effectiveness of the products. For this reason, it is important to rely on supplements made according to serious and rigorous standards and to read labels carefully, which only state the permitted indications,' explains Franca Marangoni, research manager of Nutrition Foundation of Italy (Nfi).
