FACT SHEETThe Food Supplements
Market in Germany

Issue 2021/2022

Germany’s consumer health market is enjoying consistent growth thanks to an increasing focus on preventative healthcare and self-medication in German society.
More and more Germans are showing increased healthawareness and seeking to pursue a more active andhealthy lifestyle – a trend that is reflected in the fastgrowing food supplements market.
Europe’s biggest healthcare market
Europe's most populous country with 83 million inhabitantsalso represents the largest healthcare market in Europe.
Health spending in Germany is growing continuously, exceeding the EUR 400 billion mark in 2019. This trend creates anarray of opportunities for international companies operatingin the market.

Food Supplements in Numbers
EUR 2.6 billion

Total sales of food supplements

5.8 percent
Annual revenue growth in the Germanmarket between 2017 and 2019

266 million
Total number of packages soldin Germany in 2019

Demand for food supplements is booming as a result of
increased health consciousness, a desire for self-improvement
and the wish to grow older in a healthy fashion. According
to the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR),
almost one in three Germans currently takes such pills, powder or capsules.
Growing food supplements demand
Total food supplement revenue in the German market grewby five percent to EUR 2.6 billion in 2019. Pharmacies, including brick-and-mortar as well as mail-order pharmacies, constitute the main distribution channel of food supplements. In
2019, more than 84 percent of revenues – equivalent to EUR
2.2 billion – were generated in the pharmacy market.
Many Germans stocked up on different over-the-counter(OTC) products in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including nutraceuticals associated with a positive effect on theimmune defense and for the prevention of diseases. Within
the first six months of 2020, food supplement sales by pharmacies increased by almost eight percent to EUR 1.2 billion
compared to the same period the previous year.

> 84 percentof revenues generated in pharmacy
market in 2019

Total Sales of Food Supplements
in EUR billion

2.29

2017

2.44

2.57

2018

2019

Note: Revenues are based on retail prices.
Sources: IQVIA 2020

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Vitamins, Minerals, Beauty Care from the Inside
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for foodsupplements strengthening the immune system reached
a new high. In the first quarter of 2020, pharmacy salesof pure vitamin C almost doubled, simultaneously revenue of zinc preparations, vitamin C combinations andimmune stimulants grew by between 40 to 60 percent
compared to the same period in the previous year.
Market diversity creating new products
According to the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL), almost 8,000 new food supplement products were registered in Germany in 2018. Vitamins
and minerals represent the highest-revenue product group in
the German food supplements market. In 2019, around half ofsupplement revenues (EUR 1.11 billion) in the pharmacy market
were generated in this segment, followed by remedies for the
cardiovascular system and analgesics for muscles and joints.
During the same period, the product groups recording thestrongest increase in sales - with growth rates of around sevento eight percent - were remedies for the bladder and reproductive organs, vitamins and minerals as well as probiotics forthe digestive tract, aiming to build a healthy intestinal flora.
Vitamins and minerals highest OTC revenue growth
Vitamins and mineral nutrients constitute the fourth-largest
segment among all major OTC segments in the pharmacy
market and demonstrated the highest revenue growth (6.8percent) in 2019. Sales volume also increased by 3.7 percent
during the same period. Of those vitamins and minerals distributed by pharmacies, magnesium preparations represent
the largest segment – accounting for almost 19 percent ofsale and generating revenue of more than EUR 209 million in2019. Vitamins and multivitamins are also in great demand.
Sales of vitamin A and D, for instance, increased by morethan 15 percent in 2019 to EUR 108.4 million.

Segment Revenue Share in the German Pharmacy Market 2019
+7.0%
Lifestyle Trends Drive DemandVitamins & Minerals

Health and fitness trends as well as changing dietary habits –including the growing popularity of vegetarian and vegan nutrition –have driven demand. About five percent of the German population
are vegetarians, whereas one percent follow a vegan diet.

51%
-0.1%

-2.0%

+0.2%

+7.0%

Remedies for the
cardiovascular systemAnalgesics formuscles and joints

Tonics/geriatrics/immune
stimulants

Probiotics for thedigestive tract

10%

9%

9%

8%

+8.0%

Remedies for the bladderand reproductive organs

8%
Source: IQVIA 2020

-2.0%

+3.0%

+0.2%

Ocular vitamins

Oral beauty

Hair care

2%

2%

2%

Probiotics market continuing to grow
Following many years with double-digit growth, sales of probiotics for the digestive tract are still demonstrating attractive growth rates. In 2019, revenues in the pharmacy marketrose to EUR 163 million, equivalent to a growth rate of sevenpercent and a sales volume of six million packages.
OTC self-medication and prescription with high revenues
The dominant share of food supplement sales in the Germanmarket can be categorized as self-medication. However,nutraceuticals – like other OTC products – may also beprescribed by doctors. In 2017, approximately one quarter ofsupplement sales via pharmacies (24 percent of sales volumeand 26.9 percent of revenue) originated from medical prescriptions. In terms of leading indication areas, minerals represent the highest revenue products: not only within the foodsupplements segment but among all OTC products prescribedby doctors. In 2019, mineral nutrients worth EUR 135 million
were dispensed to patients on prescription.
Pharmacies main point of distribution
Pharmacies remain the main distribution channel for foodsupplements and enjoy a high level of trust among the German population. In 2019, more than 84 percent of overall
food supplements revenue and 43.2 percent of sales volume
were generated in the pharmacy market. Consumers are also

increasingly buying nutraceuticals online. In 2019, one in five
supplements distributed in the pharmacy market were soldby mail order. With a revenue share of 10.6 percent, drugstores
represent the most important distribution channel after pharmacies, followed by other mass-market channels including
supermarkets.

Pharmacies Remain Top Distribution Channel for
Food Supplements
Sales by distribution channel 2019 in percent

Pharmacies

10.6

Drugstores

Others5.0

EUR 2.57
billion

20.7

84.5

36.1

266
millionpackages

43.2

Note: Others include sales by discounters, supermarkets and food retailing.
Source: IQVIA 2020

Food Supplement Regulations in Germany
Food supplements are foods intended to supplement thegeneral diet. They may contain a broad spectrum of nutrients or other substances with a specific nutritional orphysiological effect. They may be, for instance, vitamins,minerals, trace elements, amino acids, fatty acids, fibre,
plants or herbal extracts which are added in concentrated
form either individually or as a combination. Food supplements are sold in a dosed form, for instance as tablets,
capsules, coated tablets, powders or liquids for intake insmall, measured amounts.
Is official authorization required?
Food supplements are covered by the basic provisions of
the German Food and Feed Code of Law (LFGB) as well
as all other food law legislation of the European Union.
Amongst other things, foods must be safe, consumers may

not be misled by the information on the package anddisease-related claims are prohibited. However, claims toreduce a risk of disease are possible after they have undergone official examination and been approved.
What kind of registration is needed?
Food supplements are not subject to mandatory approval
regulations. Pursuant to the German Food SupplementsRegulation (NemV), they must be registered with the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL).
Responsibility for the safety of products and compliancewith food law provisions lies with manufacturers and distributors. Monitoring of food supplements placed on themarket and of manufacturing companies is the task of thefood monitoring authorities of the German federal states.

Note: Extracts from the “FAQs on Food Supplements” published by BfR; Source: German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) 2018

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