This is against the back of rising consumer interest in healthier and functional products.
According to the Seattle-based e-commerce firm which is active in various Asian markets like Taiwan and South Korea, there is a trend of Taiwanese consumers choosing healthier and anti-ageing options when it comes to their their food and health foods purchase.
Coupang released the bestselling foods, beverages, and for the first time, data on popular vitamin brands in Taiwan for the first quarter of this year on May 13.
No-sugar tea, bottled water, vitamins, fish oil, and functional supplements have increased in sales during the quarter, according to Coupang.
Such a trend shows that consumers are not only interested in product flavours, but also placed high importance on health and personalised needs, said the e-commerce firm.
Releasing the bestseller vitamin brands in Taiwan for the first time, Coupang said that Japan’s DHC, GSK, local brands FB Shop (台塑生醫), Daiken Biomedical (大研生醫), and Sentosa (三多) were the top five best-performing brands in Q1 this year.
Products wise, single vitamin and multi-vitamins are some of the popular products.
In the case of DHC, the brand has offered small unit packages which allows consumers to make purchase based on their individual needs.
As for GSK, their strong performing product was the brand Stresstabs, which Coupang said offered consumers the choice to choose the products needed based on their sexes and age groups.
Stresstabs, for example, has B vitamins products designed for men and women. For men, the brand has created a B vitamins and zinc formulation, while for women, there is a B vitamins and iron option.
Spring festival drives sales of nourishing drinks
On the other hand, Coupang said it has seen a spike in the sales of “nourishment drinks” - such as the essence of chicken - which could be attributed to Chinese New Year gifting.
In this case, the top five bestsellers were dominated by local Taiwanese brands, with Standard Food (佳格） in the lead, followed by Niangjia (娘家), Laoxiezhen (老協珍), Japan’s Suntory, and another local Taiwanese brand Grape King Bio (葡萄王).
In the case of Standard Food, sales were driven by its ginseng and glucosamine drinks.
Niangjia, on the other hand, is known for their red yeast rice products. One of its products, branded Niangjia Monascus Capsule, was also the winner of Product of the Year: Botanical at NutraIngredients-Asia Awards 2023.
Aside from the “nourishment drinks”, data on sports beverages showed that Vitalon (維他露) was at the top spot, followed by HeySong (黑松), and Japan’s Pocari Sweat.
High conc, smaller capsule fish oil leads supplements category
On the other hand, Coupang has also released the five bestselling health supplements - which was also dominated by Taiwanese brands.
In the lead was Daiken Biomedical, followed by Damo Kampo (達摩本草), Chuan Jing Biomedical (船井生醫), Standard Food, and Mars (戰神).
According to Coupang, Daiken Biomedical took the lead with its premium fish oil products containing highly-concentrated omega-3.
The products also come in smaller capsule size, which is said to be more suitable for senior consumers.
Daiken Biomedical also recently expanded into the Japanese market in January with three products, including omega-3 and products for supporting sleep and mobility.
