S. Korea’s Dietary Supplement Market on the Rise

South Korean market for dietary supplements grew to 4.6 trillion won (US$3.9 billion), up by 3.5 percent since last year. (image: Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The market for dietary supplements in South Korea has been expanding in recent years thanks to eye vitamins and probiotics.

The Korea Health Supplements Association (KHSA), in a study of three-year data collected from 5,000 households, reported that the South Korean market for dietary supplements grew to 4.6 trillion won (US$3.9 billion), up by 3.5 percent since last year.

The top five products, sales of which were worth 3 trillion won, comprised 65 percent of the entire market.

The top sellers included red ginseng, vitamins, probiotics, Omega-3 fatty acids, and lutein, among which sales of probiotics products soared to 644 billion won, up by 38.4 percent over the past two years.

The market for lutein, a popular eye health supplement, expanded to 159 billion won, up by 67.8 percent.

Vitamins, on the contrary, amounted to 636 billion won, down by 4.1 percent over the past two years. Calcium also dropped by 20 percent.

The consumer buying behavior index, which indicates net growth of the market, also rose.

The rate of purchasing was 78.2 percent, which means that 78 in 100 people purchased dietary supplements more than once each year. The total number of buying households, in turn, rose by 3.3 percent compared to the average.

“South Korea’s dietary supplement market, once led by red ginseng, is going through diversification as consumers are looking for what is good for their stomach, blood circulation, and eyes,” said a source from the KHSA.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)