Unlocking Southeast Asia's Health Supplement Boom: Trends and Insights
By Quan Wenjun
3 min read
According to publicly available data, revenue in the Southeast Asian vitamin and mineral market is projected to reach USD 2.27 billion in 2024 and to keep expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 6.13%. This growth comes mainly from changes in what local consumers want, together with new trends in the market and conditions that are particular to the region.
Consumers in Southeast Asia are becoming steadily more aware of their health as local economies grow and their purchasing power rises. By 2023 more of them recognised the importance of nutrition to their overall health and chose vitamins and minerals as essential nutrients for staying healthy.
The region's large middle class and its ageing population have also given health supplements a broad base of buyers, and as the market develops quickly, supplement sales on Southeast Asian online marketplaces are growing with it. According to data from Moojing Oversea, sales of health supplements on two leading Southeast Asian marketplaces reached USD 1.764 billion in 2023, an increase of over 25% compared with 2022.
Competition in Southeast Asia's health supplement market is intensifying, and brands that want to build a business here need a full understanding of what consumers want and of how conditions and preferences differ from one country to the next. We believe that ongoing market research will help companies follow trends in the market and update their products and strategies in good time, so that they can stand out as competition grows.
In Thailand, the Market for Beauty and Weight Management Supplements Is Growing Rapidly#
Southeast Asia lies in the tropics and is hot throughout the year, which has a strong influence on what local consumers buy. Besides intense sun exposure, Thailand also has severe air pollution, which makes acne, dark spots, freckles and sensitive skin common concerns among its population.
According to data from Moojing Oversea, sales of beauty and weight management supplements on a leading marketplace in Thailand grew by over 50% in 2023, and the interest of female shoppers in both health and beauty has been the main force behind the development of the local supplement industry.
Among beauty supplements, skin nutrition supplements are the largest segment, with annual sales of USD 70.8 million, 82.6% of beauty supplement sales, after growth of 41% year on year. Thai consumers pay particular attention to collagen, vitamin C and antioxidants as ingredients, which reflects their main wish to delay ageing and keep their skin looking young.
Weight supplements fall into two main groups, weight loss and muscle gain, and weight loss supplements, which Thai consumers prefer, account for 72% of weight supplement sales after growth of 103% in 2023.
This article has looked at nutritional supplements in Thailand and at the functional needs that drive consumer demand there. In the next article in our series on Southeast Asian health products, we will look at how consumer preferences for ingredients and dosage forms shape the markets in Indonesia and the Philippines, since understanding what consumers need makes it easier to succeed in each market.
This content adheres to Moojing's editorial standards .
Frequently Asked Questions
Publicly available data puts revenue for the Southeast Asian vitamin and mineral market at USD 2.27 billion in 2024, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 6.13%. The online portion is moving considerably faster: sales of health supplements on two leading Southeast Asian marketplaces reached USD 1.764 billion in 2023, an increase of over 25% on 2022. The gap between those two rates is the part worth planning around, because the category as a whole is growing steadily while the channel through which it reaches consumers is shifting online much faster than the category itself is expanding.
Rising health awareness alongside economic growth and purchasing power, a large middle-class population, and an ageing trend that broadens the base for supplements. Climate is a fourth driver and it is specific to the region: year-round heat and, in Thailand, severe air pollution produce acne, dark spots, freckles and sensitive skin as common concerns, which pulls demand toward beauty-facing formats rather than general wellness. For a brand this matters more than the headline growth rate. The same category sells against a different set of problems here than it does in temperate markets, and the product claim has to follow the problem rather than the category.
Beauty and weight management, whose combined sales on a leading marketplace in Thailand grew by over 50% in 2023. Within beauty, skin nutrition supplements are the largest segment, at USD 70.8 million in annual sales, 82.6% of that segment, with 41% year-on-year growth, and consumer attention concentrates on collagen, vitamin C and antioxidants, reflecting a core interest in delaying ageing and maintaining skin. Within weight management the split is between weight loss and muscle gain, and weight loss is the clear preference at 72% of the segment, with 103% growth in 2023. Female buyers pursuing health and appearance together, rather than as separate purchases, are what connects the two.
Treat it as several markets rather than one. The Thailand evidence, in which beauty and weight-management demand is shaped by heat and air quality, does not transfer unchanged to Indonesia or the Philippines, where ingredient and dosage-form preferences differ enough to change what the product itself should be. The workable sequence is to establish each country's dominant consumer concern first, then the ingredient consumers associate with solving it, then the format and price position, rather than launching a regional range and localising the marketing afterwards. Competition is intensifying, and the entry window rewards specificity over breadth.
