Analysis of the dietary supplement market, certification of dietary supplement production according to GMP standards, development of a list of products prescribed by doctors, sales on marketplaces and other topics

The business program of the second day of the Pharmtech & Ingredients 2024 exhibition in the Main Hall was opened by a round table "Current issues of development of the dietary supplements market in Russia" . The moderators of the event were Victoria Presnyakova, head of the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations, director of the SRO Association of Independent Pharmacies, and Ivan Dyndikov, director of development of the SRO SP BAD.

Maxim Lisitsyn , Development Director of DSM Group, presented important statistics on the dietary supplement segment to the audience and speakers . According to the expert, a permit regime for the sale of dietary supplements came into effect on November 1, 2024, and the lack of verification of the marking code is a violation. From September 1, 2025, individual accounting in the UPD (full traceability) is planned. The speaker attributed increased competition to the trends in the dietary supplement market: the market growth in the number of dietary supplement brands was +50%, in the number of manufacturers - +42%.

In addition, as the expert stated, the number of dietary supplement names in pharmacy retail is already comparable to the number of medicinal product names. As for imported dietary supplements, their share has been decreasing since 2022. This year, the structure of imported dietary supplements by origin in packages is 15.8%.

Another trend in the dietary supplement market, according to Maxim Lisitsyn, is a slowdown in growth rates (13% last year compared to 21% in 2022).

The next trend, according to the report, is a change in demand. Thus, the greatest demand is for dietary supplements with anti-cellulite action, used for diseases of the nervous system, fungal diseases, inflammatory-dystrophic diseases, and others.

Another trend in the market is the growth of the e-Com share in the turnover of the dietary supplement category. This year, the share of pharmacy e-Com was 27.2%. In addition, Maxim Lisitsyn emphasized the increase in the average weighted price by 13% due to the increase in cost in 2024. "Inflation is the main factor in the growth of dietary supplements in pharmacies," the expert concluded.

Ekaterina Belyaeva , Deputy Director of Communications, Moscow Representative Office of Evalar CJSC, spoke at the round table .

As the expert stated, the segment's growth slowed down in the second half of the year, and the main forecast is that the market growth will be below the inflation rate (348 million in packages for 2024 - minus 5%).

"The private label market will shrink by 10% by the end of 2024," added Ekaterina Belyaeva. According to her, pharmacies remain an important channel for purchasing dietary supplements (70%), but purchases through marketplaces and online pharmacies are becoming increasingly important (30%). The dietary supplement market today is predominantly female, with the top products being vitamins and dietary supplements for women, children, and the whole family.

As was said during the presentation, the expansion of the private label portfolio rests on marketing expertise and the readiness to manage such a complex portfolio: in particular, high competition among pharmacy chains is relevant, which puts consumers in a dead end. Now the industry faces the goal of convincing the consumer.

Ekaterina Belyaeva gave the audience several conclusions and prospects for brands:

// High level of competition with high level of costs
// Key capital: brand knowledge, marketing resources, expertise
// Regulatory changes
// Strengthening control and supervisory activities.

Some experts, following the round table, also linked the decline of private labels to the lack of experts who can now consistently organize deliveries from abroad, at least due to problems in the payment and logistics sectors. In addition, the speakers agreed that it is important to expand access to dietary supplements and raise the level of public confidence in this category of goods.

Answering the question about the need to certify the production of dietary supplements according to GMP standards, Yuri Klyushenkov , CEO of VPLAB LLC, took the floor at the event: “55 thousand SKUs appeared on the shelves in Russia after iHerb left in 2023. In this regard, we are talking about ensuring maximum transparency of the market so that our consumers receive only a high-quality, safe product. For this purpose, certification of the production of dietary supplements according to GMP standards is important.”

Ekaterina Belyaeva supported this opinion: “The 70% growth of dietary supplement producers over five years contains certain risks, and the introduction of universal requirements that define the quality and safety standards of products is extremely relevant.”

Elena Nevolina , PhD, Executive Director of the Health Products Industry Association and the National Pharmaceutical Chamber Union, joined the discussion online : “It will be interesting to see how this initiative will be perceived by consumers and doctors. The sharp increase in manufacturers does raise a lot of questions, and in terms of prescriptions - today nothing prevents a doctor from offering a dietary supplement, another question is whether the patient will use this prescription. For doctors, this standardization is an additional burden. They will need to understand the nomenclature in order to correctly write out recommendations. From the point of view of manufacturers, the question arises of how the list will be compiled and where the products themselves can be purchased. Only pharmacies (incoming inspection, consultations when purchasing a product) can ensure absolute safety of selling dietary supplements. As a result, there is no ready answer about certification yet, but there are already a lot of concerns within the framework of this initiative. Proper information of the population will definitely help expand the consumption of dietary supplements.”

Further during the round table, the speakers covered the topic of classification of dietary supplements.

Alexander Zhestkov , executive director, SRO "Union of Dietary Supplement Manufacturers", spoke about the adoption of the bill in the first reading (on the mechanisms for forming lists of dietary supplements) and about the categories of citizens for which they will be intended. Commenting on the issue of checking the effectiveness of dietary supplements, the expert said: confirmation of the effectiveness of the products is planned not in the format of clinical studies, but documentary.

Alexander Zhestkov added about the aspect of regulating dietary supplements: according to the speaker, an effective measure would be product labeling and blocking codes of manufacturers who are unscrupulous in releasing products and, for example, indicate dietary supplements as complex food additives, mimicking biologically active ones.

Dmitry Zabezhinsky , Director of Sales and Business Development, R-Pharm Cosmetics, shared his views on certification of dietary supplement production according to GMP standards : “As for the story with GMP, we conducted research. As part of this work, we decided to calculate how much it costs to make a dietary supplement at production sites where drugs are produced. This turned out to be simply financially impossible. Secondly, we decided to create a product line within the brand and went to the largest players in the market to study their raw materials and conditions. Conclusion: 19 out of 20 did not let us in and did not show the data. Thirdly, we looked at the marketplaces for the leaders in dietary supplement sales and what the sites where dietary supplements are produced look like. To summarize, is it necessary to introduce standardization: if this is a systematic step, it will benefit the market and at the same time lead to an increase in the cost of products. Since manufacturers will have to invest in production sites and raw materials with which they work.”

As the expert stated at the end of the event, it would be best to place dietary supplements within a separate category with their own developed legislative norm.

Yuri Klyushenkov took part in the discussion . He emphasized the significant problem of selling dietary supplements on marketplaces, where some manufacturers trade dishonestly. "It is important to decide how to bring marketplaces to proper work with dietary supplements. It is important to think not about how to treat people, but how to help them not to get sick, how to introduce dietary supplements into doctors' recommendations, expand consumption, and improve information literacy of the population," the speaker added.

Andrey Konstantinov , Head of Marketing Communications and Brand Management Department, SBER EAPTEKA, expressed his position at the round table . In his opinion, the global issue is that dietary supplements on marketplaces should be sold only by specific organizations: primarily pharmacies and manufacturers.

"Blocking and labeling will not be suitable for regulating the market, a different solution is needed, since it is the dietary supplements that make up the margins on marketplaces," the speaker commented. He also mentioned a study on trust in advertising in retail media: respondents showed the highest level of trust in drug advertising in online pharmacies, while marketplaces were at the bottom of the list. The expert emphasized the issue of public awareness and recommended "not to fall for" the tricks of selling dietary supplements on marketplaces.

Next, Alexander Oparin , Executive Director, Russian Association of Pharmacy Chains, took the floor : “The main goal is to competently convey to the consumer which product is safe and useful for him. A person should be able to consult a doctor or pharmacist. Today, the consumer is the least protected when buying dietary supplements, unlike the drug market. The dietary supplement segment is only on the threshold of developing regulation, again unlike the long-established drug market. The key idea is to give the consumer an indicator and, for a start, understand what can serve them while regulatory authorities agree among themselves. Perhaps labeling will help, perhaps other measures will play a role in resolving the issue.”

All business program events and the large-scale exhibition exposition can be visited free of charge with a ticket to the exhibition. We look forward to seeing you at Pharmtech & Ingredients on November 21 and 22!