Food Supplements Industry in China

Our client is a European leader in Phytotherapy and nutritional supplements manufacturer, with an international presence in more than 60 countries. Due to the recent boom of food supplements sales in China, our client is interested in entering the market. The company mainly wished to know which of their product segments would be attractive in the Chinese market, and why.

Steps of the market research: Food Supplements Industry in China

The phases presented below show the topics Daxue researched, and the methodologies used to collect first-hand insight on the Food Supplements Industry in China.

Phase 1: Desk research

Daxue’s team performed a through desk research regarding competitors, distribution channels and market trends in the food supplements market in China. It was also important to analyze the Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) in this market because they are an expression of the values, and they have a lot of influence on their followers in the Chinese e-commerce.

The data gathered online helped our team to have a better understanding of this industry market environment and to show to the client the high level of food supplements awareness showed by the Chinese consumers.

Phase 2: Focus group

Focus groups, consumer roundtables, and workshops are ones of the most executed methodologies by Daxue Consulting to collect first-hand consumer insights.

Our team conducted in Shanghai two focus groups, to get more detailed information, especially about young Chinese women that usually are the main consumers, about food supplements in China.

The first focus group aimed to identify young Chinese women consumption behaviors and what level of awareness did they have about food supplements and their ingredients.

The second focus group was instead focused on the packaging and the exterior design of the products. We showed our client company’s products to define which one was more attractive, based on what grounds and how much these women were willing to pay to purchase these products.

Phase 3: Store check

Our consultants performed the store-checks to help our clients get in-depth knowledge on a range of products in one specific location. It also helped to identify products with visuals, counting the number of prospects, customers, and the visuals on the Point Of Sales (POS).

Following these methodologies, Daxue Consulting team was able to develop a distribution strategy for the client on two levels: firstly on an e-commerce level and secondly on an in-store level. Our consultants provided a detailed analysis of the market, giving our client the key information it needed to pursue his development in China.