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Jagadish Jain, Founder of Nutrazee
Over the past few years, the market for gummy vitamins in India has experienced tremendous growth. This growth can be attributed to higher levels of health consciousness as well as the demand for supplement solutions that are both convenient and tasty. As a result of customers placing a higher priority on immunity-boosting products and looking for alternatives to typical tablets and capsules, the market gained a significant amount of momentum during and after the COVID-19 epidemic.
It has been shown that gummy vitamins are appealing to both children and adults since they provide a flavourful and simple option to eat, which has helped alleviate the issue of “pill fatigue.” The management of general wellbeing as well as specific demands, such as immunity, hair care, and sleep support, are typical applications for these products. Single-vitamin, multivitamin, and functional formulations that target certain aspects of health, such as energy or beauty, are among the most popular categories.
Distribution takes place throughout a variety of retail venues, including supermarkets and pharmacies, as well as on online platforms. E-commerce has emerged as a vital channel, and businesses are utilising it to meet demand from urban as well as Tier 2-3 cities, which are also experiencing a rapid increase in the understanding of nutrition. Among the most important players in the industry are Power Gummies, Swisse India, Nyumi, Nutrazee Setu Nutrition, and brands such as Mosaic Wellness. Each of these companies is extending their product lines and accommodating a wide range of customer requirements. An exclusive interview with Jagadish Jain, Founder of Nutrazee, was conducted by NUFFOODS Spectrum to gain insight into the most recent advancements and growth tactics implemented in the gummy vitamins market in India, which is now experiencing rapid expansion.
How do you envisage the future of the gummies sector in India?
Since the beginning of the last two years, the market for gummy vitamins in India has been expanding at an exponential rate. In 2018, there were only a very small number of brands in the gummy vitamin market, and the majority of them did not cater to what the consumer wanted in a gummy vitamin product. It was at that time that we made the decision to launch our first product, which was called “Nutrazee Multivitamin Gummies.” The success of our product attracted the attention of a large number of nutraceutical brands, and today, almost every nutraceutical brand offers at least one product in gummy form. Customers are becoming more knowledgeable about gummy vitamins as a result of the participation of numerous businesses in the promotion of their product. Furthermore, the rise in health concerns that are taking place as a result of a sedentary lifestyle is encouraging people to embrace health supplements. As a consequence of this, it is anticipated that there will be an exponential surge in the market for vitamin-induced items that are presented in gummy formats. Additionally, the expansion of the gummy vitamin can be related to the ease that gummy products offer, as well as the growing number of consumers who are experiencing difficulties swallowing pills. Within the next three years, I have a strong belief that India might become the market for gummy vitamins that is expanding at the quickest rate in the Asia-Pacific area.
Do you feel outbreak of pandemic has helped you to further push your business in the country?
As a result of the COVID pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people who are concerned about their health. This has resulted in an increase in the population’s awareness of immunity-boosting and other vitamin supplements. As a consequence of this, there has been an exponential growth in the demand for health supplements, particularly gummy vitamin products, which are currently the most preferred form of supplement for children. Our business has experienced a rise as a result of this demand, which has contributed to our exponential growth.
However, it is undeniable that effective advertising is of great assistance in bringing the Gummy Vitamin concepts to a more extensive audience. Through the use of creative advertising initiatives, the advantages of flavour and convenience that gummy vitamins offer over pills and tablets can be disseminated to a larger audience. I believe that there is a big chance for growth if more businesses participate in these campaigns.
What are the major challenges that you are facing currently?
The current market size of Gummy Vitamins is considerably small compared to the market in North America, Europe, and China but with increasing awareness among the population, we are very positive that it would be a broad market in the next few years.
Do you feel the growth of this sector is on the slower side in India as compared to the West? What are the reasons behind it?
At this time, the United States of America and Canada are the most significant markets for gummy vitamins; the growth rate in these countries is also significantly larger than the growth rate in the market here in India. Although there is a growing awareness regarding gummy vitamins in India, there is still a significant distance to travel before reaching a level of market penetration comparable to that of the Western world. It is estimated that approximately 75% of adults in the United States take dietary supplements. In India, these figures are almost insignificant; however, with the growing awareness of health supplements among the Indian population and the tremendous opportunities for brands, I believe that the Indian market has the potential to reach a level that is comparable to that of the Western market within the next five to ten years.
Additionally, we anticipate that the Government of India will provide support for the export of nutraceuticals in these areas through the use of e-commerce sales channels. When it comes to export shipments of supplements through e-commerce channels, IndiaPost, which is owned by the government, and other major logistics providers do not take them at the moment due to compliance difficulties. However, we anticipate that this will change in the near future so that we may make our products accessible to people all over the world.
Is packaging gummies a major challenge in this trade? If yes then what steps you are taking to overcome this challenge?
Not really. There are many options available for gummy packaging from bottles, jars, standup pouches to boxes. In fact, the Indian market for Gummy Vitamin has been more innovative in packaging compared to the West market where the brands mostly use bottles and jars, also they still do not have pillow pack or similar packaging for wrapping each individual gummies. In absence of a wrap around each gummy, the gummies tend to stick to each other in the bottle and sometimes even melt in harsh weather conditions. This is a common problem for consumers in the West market, thankfully this is not the case here in India where almost all brands use pillow packaging for each individual gummy. Nutrazee was among the first brands in India that started using pillow packaging to wrap each gummy in a bottle to avoid the problems faced by consumers in the West market.
Nitin Konde