Fast Moving Health Goods (FMHG) market in India

June 2, 2009 - PRLog -- Fast Moving Health Goods (FMHG) is now a burgeoning market in India. More and more businesses from pharmaceuticals, OTC, Nutraceuticals & dietary supplements, functional foods and fast moving consumer goods are entering into this high growth segment.

FMHG segment -  Components

1.   Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines that may be sold without a prescription.  Eg: Crocin, Disprin, D Cold, Benadryl, etc.
2.   Functional Foods are foods or dietary components that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition like Oats, bran, psyllium husk, whey protein, etc.
3.   Medicinal Foods – They are same as functional foods but have more medicinal values.  Eg: Health bars with added medications.
4.   Nutraceuticals is any substance that is a food or a part of a food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease.
5.   Phytochemicals are non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties
6.   Ayurvedic & Herbal Medicines  are alternate branch of medicine with claims of prevention, treatment & cure.  Herbal medicines are essentially derived from plants in full or extract form.

Growth drivers of FMHG market in India

Consumer Awareness
Growing awareness of the advantages of wellness to avoid illness, information on the benefits of nutraceuticals and greater health consciousness are the factors increasing the popularity of wellness products.

Changing lifestyle
The incidence of lifestyle diseases has been increasing with the changing lifestyle. Sedentary habits & the growing fast food culture makes them vulnerable to lifestyle diseases.

Concern over hospitalization
Escalation in cost of serious medial treatment and the resultant inconvenience are major factors that are encouraging the masses to go for preventive support.

Ageing population
The ageing population will increase the demand for supplements and functional foods to address age-related conditions..

Increasing disposable income
Growing population, particularly that of earning people, is the true growth opportunity to the Indian nutraceutical industry.

Industry lobbying
The Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) has submitted a list of 11 molecules to the DCI to be excluded from Schedule H paving way for the initiation of responsible self medication as the first line of health management.

Changing regulatory thought process
The Drugs Controller’s plan to permit schedule K drugs for sale not only at chemist shops but also at grocers and departmental stores is being actively considered for unrestricted spread of healthcare products in non-serious category.  

The booming retail growth
A sudden rise in the pharmacy chains which were absent a few years back has added a new dimension to the healthcare product availability, display, counselling and growth in sales.  The mod retail  formats are also poised to give a bigger exposure to this product segment

Market size & growth

Different sources have quoted different statistics pertaining to the size of the market but all have been invariably common in their narration of the current & future potential of this market in India.
FMHG market  in  India is growing much faster than the prescription market which was always considered to be the backbone on Indian healthcare industry. In 2007, Indian nutraceutical market was estimated at INR18.75 billion and is growing at the CAGR rate of 21.23%; it is estimated to reach INR27 billion in 2009. (Source: Cygnus Business Consulting & Research 2008)

Recipes for success

Bottom of pyramid marketing
The strategy to lower down the cost of nutraceutical products by coming up with innovative ideas like ‘the ‘single use therapy’ may help in generating demand  for these products among target consumers.

Creamy layer marketing
The other strategy could be to target only the creamy layer comprising of SEC A & B through cost effective communication media and retail marketing campaigns for a slow but systematic & consistent growth.  

Intrinsic product value marketing
There are many products in nutraceutical segment (being sold as fixed dose caps) that can be marketed as dietary supplements in powder form to keep the  intrinsic value alive & reduce the cost of manufacturing & packaging.  

Heritage brand switch
Calcium Sandoz, Crocin, Benadryl and many such brands have been long existent in the market and have been prescribed to & used by millions of consumers with good results.  

Professional endorsement
Wellness is fast becoming a high involvement area with most urban consumers who have already resorted to informed self medication for non-serious ailments.  However in some health areas like fever, weakness, child health etc. they look for endorsement from their family doctors to get doubly sure of their decision.

Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is at its nascent stage in India and the multi level marketing has not been generally well received in this segment.  

Conclusion

The converging economic and demographic trends in India have laid the groundwork for opportunity in the FMHG segment. Today the opportunities are plenty, there is vast empty space in the market, the consumer is hungry for products, the market forces are openly welcoming the new entrants, the competition is not yet intense, and the growth drivers are in place.  
Hence, in all probability, this is perhaps the right time to enter this market segment in India

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Sohum, a Mumbai India-based advertising and communications agency focused on providing marketing services and consultancy to the fast moving health goods (FMHG) segment