Foreign health foods to help improve domestic market

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02:41

One cup of protein powder every day is an unshakable morning routine for Zhang Lili.

For 16 years, she and her family have made Amway items a big part of their lives. The popular American home product maker is well known in China for its health foods and supplements.

She always had colds and went to hospitals frequently. But after taking these health supplements, her health picked up and she felt much better.

Zhang knows that the key to a strong body is a healthy diet and proper exercise. But extra nutritional supplements are also important, especially for the elderly.

Currently China has more than 16,000 health foods and products, with over 95 percent of them coming from domestic makers while the rest are from overseas.

Amway is one of those foreign companies cashing in on the booming market.

Vincent Hwang, vice president of Amway China, says he has witnessed the growth of China's health food market where the per capita disposable income is also climbing. He said the market is still young, and the company wants to develop deeper into the third and fourth tier cities.

An increasing number of Chinese people prefer foreign health-care foods to domestic ones. Experts say a convincing quality, diverse product line, and professional marketing has won over the majority.

VCG Photo

China has decided to open up more to such overseas products. That means a much more competitive market which stands a really good chance of maturing further.

Government statistics put China's health food market at over 58 billion US dollars. And China is expected to become the world's second largest market for health foods by 2020.

New health food regulations introduced in 2016 have simplified the process of entering the market for both domestic and foreign brands.

Zhu Yi, a health food expert from China Agricultural University says the domestic market will ultimately benefit from the entry of overseas brands since competition will bring down health food prices.

Besides, foreign brands have reached a high level of product segmentation and are able to meet even picky consumer needs. That has set an example for domestic brands, and will be able to help us find new research hotspots and profit points.