Gummies for adults: Nature’s Way pushing portfolio in China with category now well-established
The brand of Pharmacare Laboratories is well-known for its gummy nutraceuticals for both adults and children.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, Airing Wang, head of marketing – China, said that the company has been focusing on promoting its children's gummy products in the past few years, but now, more attention would also be given to its adult nutrition portfolio.
This development comes amid the explosive growth of the adult gummy market in China during the past year.
From BUFFX, to WonderLab and Minayo, many new market entrants have made a name for themselves within a span of merely a few months.
Most of these brands claim that their gummies could improve lifestyle problems. For example, BUFFX has developed products that claim to promote sleep, energy, eye health, digestion and liver functions.
In addition, health foods in the form of gummies can be registered with the Chinese regulator via the filing track – a less time consuming and less stringent process – since June 1. This has also supported the development of health foods that come in gummy formats.
On the other hand, Swisse – which has been topping the charts in China’s major e-commerce shopping festivals – has also launched adult gummies recently, but the products are currently only sold in Australia.
“I think it is now the time [to also focus on our adult gummy portfolio], because if you are the only one driving the category, if you are the only brand educating adult gummies with your monies and with your level of investment, it is very hard to educate all the customers.
“There are billions of customers in China and if you have to spend money to tell everyone what an adult gummy is, then that will be very hard.
“But if everyone is jumping onto these categories, that means everybody can make their voice known, and so, that category will be much easier to establish itself in China,” Wang said.
Examples of Nature's Way adult gummy products include omega-3, pre/probiotic, collagen, fibre, calcium plus vitamin D, and multivitamin.
Advantages
Although China is now flooded with various gummy products that claim to improve health, Wang believes that Nature’s Way can still stand out from the competition, as its products are backed with approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
“Yes, there's a lot of Chinese brands selling adult gummies, but they are playing in a different field.
“First, they are doing general trading. Second, their products are considered foods. Yes, they have added some nutrients, but their products are registered as foods and they can’t make health claims.
“For us, our products are TGA-listed, carrying TGA-permitted health claims and we are selling via cross-border e-commerce in the initial phase,” Wang said.
She said that the TGA-listing and TGA-permitted health claims have given the company the advantage to be able to communicate the health benefits of their products.
“With the health claims on the product packaging, that will also make our products more trustworthy.”
Food, nutra, and price
In addition, Wang pointed out that the loadings of vitamins and other nutrients in foods and nutraceuticals were highly different, which was another crucial differentiating point.
“The loadings of vitamins and nutrients in supplements and foods are very different.
“I am not saying that the food gummies are not good products. They have their own strengths, because they can offer a more competitive price point by the way they operate.
“And so, they can attract consumers of a particular group, such as the younger demographic who wants to try new things,” she said.
As for Nature’s Way, the company will be positioning itself as a pricier, premium brand, targeting a mix of the Millennials and Gen-Z.
