With healthcare costs rising, and consumers becoming more aware of their eating and living habits more than ever before, consumer health medicine is seeing great growth worldwide. The industry itself is worth over 233 billion dollars last year worldwide, showing an overall increase of Over the Counter (OTC) and Vitamin and Dietary Supplements (VDS) of four percent globally.

With Australians, the rise in VDS is significant, with more than 60 percent of all Australians using some type of supplement. The Australian complementary medicine industry reportedly generated $4.7 billion in revenue in 2016, up from $3.5 billion in 2014. Experts believe there are three primary reasons for this increase: a new wave of internet users creating digital consumers; a higher awareness to healthy living, and new distribution channels for foreign markets called, daigou.

Australians are enjoying the internet more than ever, with over 88 percent of the population considered active users. With access to health education and advice from digital sites, apps, and devices, digital consumers are becoming more prolific as public informing themselves on what is beneficial and detrimental to their health. Experts are confident that this has led to a 29 percent increase in online sales of VDS via e-commerce from 2012 to 2017.

Online access has also lead to an increase in the knowledge and use of micro supplements, or VDS doses containing just one primary ingredient, used to target specific ailments or improvements. Trace elements such as zinc, fish oil, magnesium and vitamin D have all seen large amounts of growth in the VDS market. The internet does not seem to have boosted OTS sales, however, as the need for instant access to those kinds of medications limits the amount of time consumers can wait for delivery.

Healthy living is becoming the new way of life for many Australians — especially those who have developed chronic disorders such as diabetes or high cholesterol from bad dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles. The term is related to more than just dieting, with modern subscribers taking a holistic approach to their health. Australians are focusing on their physical, mental, emotional and environmental conditions as a way of attaining well-rounded health, driving the growth of consumer health categories such as VDS for sports, weight-loss, sleeping aids, and overall wellness.

Finally, outside foreign buyers have contributed significantly to the rise of VDS sales in the Australian market, with the practice of daigou gaining traction. Daigou is a mandarin term meaning, “to buy on behalf of,” coined by Chinese buyers as the primary market for, “the practice of purchasing sought-after goods — from high-end handbags to premium infant formula -- overseas to resell back home.”

Experts believe that the rise of this practice in the VDS market is due to both the accessibly of product thanks to the internet, and a lack of trust in China’s own products. Foreign products are sometimes perceived as safer and better than their Chinese counterparts, and high quality merchandise can be purchased at a lower price than what markets in China can withstand. For Australia’s a2 Milk Co., half of its current revenue now comes from Asian markets. Supplement sales are also heavily benefiting from this trend.

It seems clear that sleep supplements are here to stay in the Australian market, and forecasters believe that coming years will see continue to see growth in the consumer health industry.