Digestive Health Products Market

Market Overview

The global digestive health products market size was worth USD 39,665 million in 2021 and is estimated to reach USD 79,290 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8% over the forecast period (2022–2030).

Supplements that help people's digestive health by improving gut function are natural digestive system health products. Digestive health products are foods, functional foods, or supplements made from wild plants, animals, or microorganisms that aid in preventing digestive problems. Digestive health products can control inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel, constipation, colic, and ulcerative colitis.

Humans need a healthy digestive system to stay healthy, and the use of digestive health products has increased in all regions of the world. Since they have no side effects, digestive health products are used to cure stomach problems. Hence, the global market will benefit from the increasing influence of these digestive products due to their cost-effective and safe properties. Besides that, the global digestive health products market will be motivated by the rising use of digestive health products in healthcare and certain medical conditions. 

Market Dynamics

Market Driver: Rising Need for Nutritional and Fortifying Food Additives

Food and beverage companies fortify nutritional and digestive components in their product offerings, including enzymes, prebiotics, and probiotics. The motive for incorporating the additives, as mentioned earlier, in the food and beverage industry is to increase the nutritional and fiber content in food items. Probiotics and other digestive components are commonly found in fish oil and yogurt to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and increase the quality of intestinal bacteria. Over the next eight years, this tendency is likely to fuel the expansion of the digestive health products market.

The European Commission and EPA have framed supportive regulations to augment the production and consumption of naturally derived ingredients due to the rising concerns about reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a result, food and beverage manufacturers are undertaking efforts to fortify naturally derived additives in their product offerings to ensure raw material access in the future by reducing their reliance on synthetic-based chemicals.

The favorable growth of the food and beverage industry, particularly in BRICS, is expected to remain a market driver for the development of the digestive health products market over the forecast period. The growing domestic consumption of food and beverages due to the expansion of the retail network, new product launches, and population growth is expected to promote the development of the industry in BRICS.

Asia-Pacific is expected to drive the demand for bioactive ingredients in food because of the increasing spending power, globalization, and changing lifestyles. Moreover, awareness of the benefits offered by bioactive ingredients in various countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan, is anticipated to spur the growth of these ingredients and functional food products in the food and beverage industry over the next eight years.

Market Restraint: High Ingredient Development Cost

Research and development are crucial success factors in the digestive health products market. Thus, investing in R&D is imperative for market participants; however, the requirement for colossal investment is likely to be a restraining factor for the overall market growth.

While validating the claims made by a probiotic strain, numerous in-vitro tests have to be carried out to examine its effectiveness. In addition, before the product launch, human clinical studies have to be carried out. Therefore, these tests are expensive and increase the overall product development cost.

However, companies are using the results attained by these tests to lure more customers into purchasing their offerings. Before launching a probiotic strain in the market, several strain parameters have to be studied. Properties offered by the strain, such as resistance to gastric acid and bile acid, intestine cell adhesion, pathogen exclusion, multiplication in the intestinal tract, immune modulation, and several other factors, need to be studied. The execution of this exercise requires detailed planning, effort, and considerable time.

Market Opportunities: Growing Concerns Regarding Gut Health

The growing awareness among consumers about gut health is expected to fuel the digestive health products market. As per reports, intestinal inflammation and other irritable bowel disorders such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis were responsible for several deaths in the western world in the last few years.

The impact of these disorders increases with the growing age owing to various reasons, including constipation, change in the digestive system, side effects of drugs, inactivity, not drinking enough fluids, diverticular diseases, ulcers, NSAIDs, polyps, and GERD. Changing food habits and the increased consumption of sodium content in food in developed and emerging economies are likely to be the possible reasons triggering gut disorders.

Digestive health products help fight harmful bacteria and boost immunity by improving gut health. Probiotic yogurts are among the few widely consumed probiotic products with digestive health claims. The growing awareness for improved health has increased per capita expenditure on digestive health food and beverages in the major regional markets. The prevalence of digestive disorders in Japan, the US, and Europe have benefitted the overall market demand. 

Consumers these days are ready to pay a little extra for better health, which, in turn, is expected to change the overall scenario. The increasing awareness about the effectiveness of probiotics in immunity and increasing disposable income of the consumers are expected to provide opportunities for the global probiotics market in the long run. A significant rise in expenditure is witnessed in China, Russia, Brazil, and India.

Segmental Analysis

The global digestive health products market share is divided by ingredient, product, and region. 

In terms of ingredients, the global digestive health products market is divided into prebiotics, probiotics, and food enzymes. Probiotics were the largest ingredients segment and accounted for 87.7% of the overall market in terms of revenue. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 5,255 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 6%. Probiotics are one of the most significant digestive health ingredients used in the production of digestive health products because of their efficient health properties, such as strengthening the immune system in aging people.

Probiotic ingredients help to improve the digestive system, immunity, and intestinal disorders. Probiotic ingredients find wide application in healthy food with beneficial bacteria and nutritional food and supplements. Growing health concerns and unhealthy lifestyle has constrained consumers to opt for healthy dietary options like probiotics.

By product, the global digestive health products market is divided into dairy products, bakery and cereals, non-alcoholic beverages, supplements, and others. The dairy product segment dominated the market. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 60,230 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 7.2%. The nutritional value of yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products can be attributed to their high protein content, making them favorable for consumption.

Dairy product upsurges the global digestive health products market because of growing per capita income, consumer awareness regarding unhealthy food, and the importance of digestive food in daily consumption. The global demand for dairy products has been propelled by increasing government arbitration in regulating the growth, further spurring the global market. In addition, unhealthy food habits, implementation of a sedentary lifestyle, and rising consumer awareness for nutritional dairy products have spurred the global demand for digestive health dairy products market.

Impact of covid-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted both government and non-government corporate entities. It is detrimental to the global economy. The implementation of lockdown and social distancing policies in many countries has impacted product manufacturing. The COVID-19 pandemic had a combined effect on the digestive health products market. Despite the countries' restrictions, demand for natural digestive health supplements is rapidly increasing.

People are attempting to maintain healthy habits and consume nutritional health products in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. During this pandemic, people are becoming more aware of the health benefits of core health products for digestive health. According to the beverages and supplements report 2020, the consumption of healthy beverages has increased. However, due to a lack of production due to labor shortages and the lockdown, demand for digestive health products decreased. As a result, the COVID-19 pandemic had a mixed market impact.

However, due to the need for digestive health supplements, the market for digestive health products will increase over the forecast period. During the COVI-19 period, producers noticed an increased demand for digestive health products. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease, consumers became more concerned about health products. Furthermore, during the shutdown, pharmacy stores and e-commerce distribution channels were critical in allocating digestive health products.

Regional Analysis

By region, the global digestive health products market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Central and South America, and the Middle East and Africa.

North America is the most dominant region in the market. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 27,990 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 7.5%. A gradual rise in baby boomers suffering from digestive ailments and social media influence regarding digestive health products have driven the consumers to purchase the products. However, stringent regulations for health claims and the achievement of return on investment (ROI) of premium formulations and new delivery forms pave further hurdles for further expansion.

Nonetheless, growing consumer interest and demographic shift to an adult population in the region bring new opportunities for the market over the forecast period. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that around 65 to 70 million people in North America have problems associated with the digestive system. Such factors have brought a rise in demand for the market owing to their beneficial health factors.

Asia-Pacific is expected to be the second-largest region, growing at the highest CAGR of 8.7% over the forecast period. It is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 21,430 million by 2030. The regional market is predicted to expand due to an increasing geriatric population and rising consumer demand for digestive health food products.

Furthermore, increased processed food consumption in emerging markets such as India and China is expected to drive demand for these items. Due to their more significant populations, China and India are among the largest markets for digestive health products. At the same time, Japan and Australia have experienced increased knowledge of health benefits, which is projected to fuel growth during the projection period. 

In addition, rising expenditure on health-enhancing products in light of physical fitness requirements and increasing sports activities in the region are likely to fuel demand over the forecast period. Various regulatory bodies govern and regulate the market. For instance, in Japan, Foods for Specific Health Uses (FOSHU) approval is required to seek health claims and the FOSHU logo. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) in Australia and New Zealand and Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) in India strictly control the digestive health products. A mandatory pre-market approval is required for health claims.

Recent Developments

• April 2022- Arla Foods and DSM start a large-scale on-farm pilot program to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by 30 per cent
• November 2021- ADM Completes Acquisition of Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes

Digestive Health Products Market Segmentation

 By Ingredient

• Prebiotics
• Probiotics
• Food Enzymes

 By Product

• Dairy products
• Bakery and Cereals
• Non-Alcoholic Beverages
• Supplements
• Others

By Regions

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Central and South America
• The Middle East and Africa.