Bian Zhenjia, President of the CNHFA, Simon Pettman, Executive Director of the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA), Loren Israelsen, President of the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA), Jean Christophe Kremer, Secretary General of the International Special Dietary Foods Industries (ISDI), Jan Carey, CEO at Infant Nutrition Council, and Carl Gibson, CEO at Complementary Medicines Australia attended the meeting. The event was livestreamed and interpreted simultaneously. Nearly 200,000 people watched the live broadcast on China Economic Net. The meeting was chaired by Li Liangqiu, Executive Vice President of the CNHFA.
In the opening speech, President Bian Zhenjia pointed out that China's nutrition and health food industry is increasingly integrated into the global industrial chain with the development of trade globalization, and that international exchanges and cooperation are becoming more important to China. In 2019, China witnessed good import and export trends in the nutrition and health food industry. After performing the reform of high-quality growth and structural optimization, Chinese high-quality enterprises are setting up a next-level plan to enter the international market. President Bian emphasized that the coronavirus epidemic has brought challenges to the development of the nutrition and health food industry; correspondingly, the industry must make adjustments and changes to meet new developments and opportunities; this exchange meeting is held to identify potential growth points. Since its establishment, the CNHFA has carried out a series of international cooperation and exchange activities to contribute to the coordinated development of the international nutritional and health food industry. The association will continue to build an international cooperation platform and provide more information for the development of the industry.
During the meeting, leaders from the six major industry associations made speeches respectively to introduce industry trends and reform ideas. The details are as follows:
Simon Pettman, Executive Director of the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA)
New concerns about health food: higher levels of nutrition; consumers' demands for special nutrients; more scientific and policy research work on nutritional and social resilience.
The market for dietary supplements is growing, especially the online sales market which has attracted many new consumers.
Loren Israelsen, President of the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA)
The total sales of the US dietary supplement market continued to grow. Though the traditional sales model was struck, e-commerce sales developed rapidly.
The product categories that reflect the current market trend and need our attention include: immune health products, gastrointestinal health products, probiotic products, sleep improvement products, brain health products, anti-inflammatory products, non-tablet products, etc.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, consumer consumption patterns have undergone tremendous changes, and consumers have increasingly taken dietary supplements as a choice for health management.
American consumers purchase supplement products for various purposes, such as body shaping, immunity improvement, disease prevention, and gastrointestinal improvement.
There are and will be development opportunities to the dietary supplement market during and after the epidemic.
Jean-Christophe Kremer, Secretary General of the International Special Dietary Foods Industries (ISDI)
The epidemic has spread worldwide, but food safety can still be guaranteed.
Multilateral trade cooperation will not cease due to the epidemic, and its future development still deserves attention.
Formulas for special medical purposes (FSMP) are vital to patients. It is necessary to strengthen the guarantee of FSMP's supply and trade.
The food for special dietary use industry has been affected by the epidemic. For example, additional certification is required for imported formula foods. Thus, we should discuss the stability of national policies with the normalization of epidemic control and prevention measures.
ISDI will work with the CNHFA and other associations to ensure the sound development of global trade and provide high-quality and safe food for people around the world.
Jan Carey, CEO at Infant Nutrition Council
The epidemic has changed consumer behaviors:
1. The reason for the high sales record of nutrition and health products in February is that consumers in panic scrambled for those products while merchants hoarded goods.
2. The current market presents excessive inventory, with reasons including: overcapacity and unpredictable supply and demand in the future.
The epidemic has posed challenges to the international trade
1. Under the influence of the epidemic, the testing of imported products has become frequent and the requirements stricter.
2. The changing regulatory environment has increased the uncertainty of the trading environment.
Carl Gibson, CEO at Complementary Medicines Australia
The summary of Australia's 2020 industry report:
The sales of vitamins and dietary supplements have nearly doubled in the past decade, with female consumers buying more frequently than male consumers.
The products that has seen the fastest growing trend include probiotics, evening primrose oil, calcium supplements, and coenzyme Q10.
The export volume of Australia's dietary supplement products is leading the world. As its sales volume is increasing, China is the largest importer. The rising trend of the middle class and aging population in Asia will be expected to promote the export of Australian dietary supplement products.
As the industry continues to grow, innovations in delivery methods, packaging, flavors, ingredients, and formulations are required.
Li Liangqiu, Executive Vice President of the CNHFA
The outbreak of the epidemic has increased the people's awareness of nutrition and health and made food safety and nutrition the focus of the industry.
The publication of the Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline has facilitated the nutrition and health industry to develop rapidly. China is implementing this Outline as its basic development strategy.
From the perspective of special foods, China's health food industry has gradually entered an era characterized by high-quality growth and structural optimization. Besides, the new retail model has become an emerging force in the market.
During the outbreak of the epidemic, the products for "immunity enhancement" became the first choice for consumers with health needs, and the need for products that focus on sports nutrition and gastrointestinal nutrition have increased significantly.
There is huge market development space for FSMP in China. It is estimated that at least 70% of the demand for FSMP in China needs to be met urgently.
Infant formula food has entered a benefit-expanding period for top brands. The up-to-date national standards planned for the end of 2020 will bring another round of industry adjustment.
Since 2020, the CNHFA has carried out 9 online exchange sessions of Health Food Salons, 13 research projects and many public welfare activities to promote the development of the nutrition and health food industry.
At the end of the meeting, the international guests had a lively discussion on how to collaborate and develop in the future, and put forward relevant ideas and suggestions on how to coordinate everyone's strength to integrate global participants in the nutrition and health food industry. Meanwhile, the guests expressed their willingness to communicate and collaborate in the future to combat the impact of the epidemic on the global nutrition and health industry.
The CNHFA will publish the materials and details of the meeting in its official WeChat account for all followers to stay tuned.
Scan the QR code below to watch the conference playback.
