Health products will remain in demand even after the pandemic subsides as Filipino consumers continuously seek to improve their overall health.

The Euromonitor Digest said consumers look for functionality and convenience in their health products, as well as increasingly adopting what they feel are preventative strategies to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The report said this will largely be in the form of boosting the performance of the immune system, underpinned by more general health strategies, such as reducing obesity, giving up smoking, and taking vitamins and dietary supplements.

“Products offering convenience such as combination cough, cold, and allergy remedies and multivitamins are likely to remain popular, underpinned by the value of such products in their ability to treat a variety of symptoms in a single dose,” said the monthly online publication of the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB).

It said Filipino consumers likewise will increasingly seek products offering good value for money, as well as effectiveness given the economic impact of Covid-19,

“To meet such demand, it may be beneficial for players to offer products in smaller packaging formats that reduce the purchase price for consumers, but offer convenience of consumption when on the go,” it added.

The report also sees an increasing number of them likely to take up sporting activities and exercise regimes.

“This is likely to increase demand for topical analgesics for the treatment of injuries, herbal/traditional products, sports nutrition, and wound treatments,” it said.

It further said pediatric products also offer potential for growth with the rising birth rate in the Philippines, as parents transfer their desire for good health and a high level of immunity onto their children.

“While demand for such products remained limited in 2020, categories such as pediatric vitamins and dietary supplements offer opportunities, as consumers in the country continue to adopt increasingly preventative strategies regarding health,” it added.

Moreover, the report said economic recovery is likely to see spending priorities shift once more, favoring products offering longer-term benefits.

“In addition, products offering convenience in terms of their ability to be used outside the home may also appeal as consumers resume pre-Covid-19 lifestyles,” it said.

In 2020, awareness of the influence of factors such as obesity, smoking, and a weak immune system as contributors to the severity of the disease influenced purchases and the way in which consumers prioritized their product choices.

“Overall, most notable was the consumers’ adoption of an increasingly preventative approach to health and wellbeing, which is set to continue,” the Euromonitor Digest said.