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The Covid-19 pandemic impact has accelerated the growth of herbal formulations via the D2C (direct to consumer) mode not just in India but globally too. There was an unprecedented demand for herbal products spanning from ginger to pepper and turmeric, among others.
Globally, the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical segment holds the largest share in the herbal medicinal segment. Quoting the Polaris Market Research study, Sujit Jain, chairman & managing director, Netsurf Communications said that the global herbal medicine market size is expected to reach US$ 411.2 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 20.5% during the forecast period.
Undoubtedly, the increased health concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic helped the industry prosper worldwide. Speaking of India, we are the second-largest exporter of ayurvedic and herbal products in the world, he added.
This led to the growth of healthcare start-ups to chip in their expertise and invest in offering innovative product forms backed by science in attractive packaging varieties. Consumers worldwide and in India scouted for herbal formulations that were safe and efficacious to control and prevent the coronavirus disease. From reviews for product ingredients to carefully comprehending the benefits of herbs and easy online purchase, herbal formulations companies flourished and geared for intensive research and development to launch novel combinations and drug delivery forms. Overall, the market was optimistic and it created a promising opportunities about the future of herbal healthcare products in India and worldwide, Jain told Pharmabiz.
An imminent trend that emerged during this pandemic, are a slew of immunity-boosting supplements. The consumers preferred Ayurveda based products like chyavanprash, giloy juice, etc. There was also a huge demand for multivitamins and zinc tablets. We at Netsurf also launched a few products to help the consumers build their immunity and take care of their eyesight in the work-from-home scenario, he said.
Herbal and natural products have a greater demand. Hence, from a product marketer’s perspective, going forward considerable attention will be given to innovation. Adequate focus is placed on health ingredients and the different ways of extraction to improve its potency, safety and efficacy to develop herbal formulations in a form that is convenient to consume, noted Jain whose Netsurf is a two-decade-old D2C platform engaged in marketing chemical free daily herbal formulations.
However, there are multiple challenges in the herbal nutraceutical portfolio. The ingredient’s effectiveness need to be verified as false claims are rampant. Procuring quality herbal ingredients for the products is another challenge. There is no way a consumer can find out about the quality of ingredients used. The stark reality is that many herbal products in the market contain low-quality ingredients that are not potent enough to give the desired results. Therefore the consumers usually associate the price of the product with its quality; which, is not the ideal situation, said Jain adding that there is need for stringent surveillance by regulators to spot not-of standard quality formulations.
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