Last year, South Korea’s health functional foods production was valued at KRW2.762tr (US$2.024bn).
This was only 0.1 per cent higher than the previous year’s production value of KRW2.759tr (US$2.021bn).
While total health functional foods production had only increased by a small amount, the country’s exports have been growing by double-digits for two consecutive years.
Between year 2023 and 2024, health functional foods export increased by 12.2 per cent or US$278.64m.
Between 2022 and 2023, the increase was 15.4 per cent or US$248.3m.
These figures were released by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in late May.
“The production of health functional foods in 2024 was KRW2,761.8 billion, up 0.1 per cent from the previous year.
“This amount is similar to the previous year, but export performance showed a double-digit growth rate for two consecutive years, reaching US$278.64 million (12.2 per cent increase) compared to US$248.34 million seen in the previous year,“ said the MFDS.
Notably, overseas demand for South Korea’s vitamin and mineral products have changed the dynamics of the country’s health foods production.
For years, red ginseng dominated the charts as the health functional foods with the highest production value.
However, the trend last year showed a greater preference for vitamin and minerals supplements, with the category overtaking red ginseng for the number one spot.
Last year, South Korea’s production amount of vitamin and mineral increased by 24.4 per cent from KRW438.9bn (US$321.49m) to KRW546.1 bn (US$400.29m) - taking up 19.8 per cent of the market share.
In contrast, red ginseng production value had dropped from KRW464.4bn to KRW459.2bn - with market share shrinking from 16.8 per cent to 16.6 per cent.
“The production of vitamin and mineral products has steadily increased every year, surpassing the undisputed number one red ginseng product to take first place in terms of production amount in 2024,” said the MFDS.
The change signals not just a greater demand for vitamin and minerals supplements, but also where the demand is coming from.
According to the MFDS, the increase in vitamin and mineral production could be due to two factors.
One is the growing exports of South Korea-made vitamin and mineral products.
In this case, the value of vitamin and mineral exports jumped 58 per cent last year - up from US$46.24m to US$73.04m, it said, citing data from Korea Health Functional Food Association.
South Korean companies have been actively pursuing international markets. A reason is the highly saturated and competitive domestic health functional foods market.
A notable presence of Korean companies could be seen at last year’s Vitafoods Asia, with heritage firms such as Dong-A Pharmaceutical joining the show for the first time and looking into overseas expansion after 92 years in the business.
Other companies that have been actively seeking overseas markets include Korea Ginseng Corporation with its JungKwanJung series of red ginseng products, as well as CJ Bio and Huons N, which have both exhibited at the recent Vitafoods Europe and are pursuing the European markets.
The second reason behind vitamin and mineral production growth is the greater consumption of dual-format health foods.
These are products that typically contain a tablet or capsule together with a liquid vial or liquid shot.
The concept was first popularised by German brand Orthomol, with local Korean brands, such as Chong Kun Dang, CJ Wellcare, and Pulmuone Green Juice catching on the trend in the last two years.
According to the MFDS, the “purchase amount” of such types of products was up 73.1 per cent from KRW235.4bn (US$172.48m) to KRW407.4bn (US$298.53m) last year.
Probiotics, EPA and DHA, and HemoHim angelica mixed extract were the remaining top five most-produced health functional foods in South Korea last year.
Out of the three, probiotics grew in market share from 12.9 per cent to 14.2 per cent, while that of EPA and DHA was down from 7 to 6.4 per cent. The market share of HemoHim angelica mixed extract remained unchanged.
Top functionalities
In terms of functionalities, products that claim to improve blood circulation and memory continued to be the most popular health functional foods.
Beauty-from-within and cognitive health products, on the other hand, have seen strong growth.
Sales of beauty-from-within had increased by 32.7 per cent from KRW148.2bn (US$108.57m) to KRW196.7bn (US$144.10m), while that of cognitive health products have increased by 106.7 per cent from KRW25.4bn (US$18.61m) to KRW52.5bn (US$38.47m).
