China’s infant formula sales up for major players in first half of 2025
Several leading infant formula companies have reported growth in their infant formula sales in China for the first half of this year.
Danone’s Aptamil, Yili, Friesland Campina’s Friso, The a2 Milk Company, and Biostime from H&H Group are some examples that have continued to see growth, amid concerns on fluctuating birth rates in China.
The popularity of premium products and expanding sales in both offline mother-and-baby stores and online channels a common thread.
Eye health: Emerging ingredients and research areas
There is growing research on red ginseng, citicoline, and cordyceps on eye health, according to India-based contract research organization Vedic Lifesciences.
The firm also said future research could explore how age-related cognitive decline would affect eye health, especially with a growing aging population across the world.
One of the its recent eye health research was conducted with AstaReal on how astaxanthin supplementation has shown to reduce chronic and acute digital eye strain in school-aged children.
Calcium, protein the most used supplements among China centenarians
Calcium and protein were the most used health supplements among China centenarians, according to a study involving over 2,800 centenarians.
According to findings published in Geroscience, about one in 10 Chinese centenarians used dietary supplements.
The prevalence was higher in men, with 12.3% of male centenarians taking health supplements, as compared to 10.7% among females.
Biotics for GLP-1 and metabolic health: Where are the opportunities?
Pre, probiotics could be used as companion products for GLP-1 drugs users to tackle side effects of the drug’s use, or used as an alternative to help with weight management.
There are two key ways in which biotics can play a role in supporting consumers who are on GLP-1 medications, according to Ewa Hudson, director of insights at Lumina Intelligence.
First is the use of probiotics as a companion product in tackling the side effects of GLP-1 medications.
China sees growing interest from Italian nutra firms
More Italian nutraceutical firms are seeing China as a potential export destination, with a group of companies forming the Italian pavilion for the first time at the Healthplex Expo 2025 (HNC Expo) held in China.
Eight Italian companies active in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical space formed the Italian pavilion for the first time at the expo.
One of them was Farmaflor, which exhibited in China for the first time.
