Is India the next China for supplements?

As the United States’ relationship with China deteriorates, supplement industry executives have increasingly questioned whether India could become a “Plan B” supply chain partner, but findings in the new Nutrition Business Journal Global Supplement Business Report support the idea that India might also one day rival China as an attractive focus for international growth.

India passed China as the world’s most populace country in 2023, and the emergence of an exploding middle class coupled with a cultural openness to alternative health could position the nation as a dream market for supplements. The middle-class momentum is hard to overstate, with predictions placing the population of the middle class at 800 million by 2030, at that point more than doubling the size of the entire U.S. population.

Supplement sales growth is already notable. In the new report, NBJ projects India’s supplement market to reach $14.7 billion in 2024 on 8.7% growth, making it 50.6% larger than it was in 2019. China may boast a substantially larger market at $28 billion in NBJ 2024 projections, but the 5-year growth curve is not nearly as steep. NBJ predicts the China market will have expanded by 32.7%. 

Beyond the impact of the rapidly expanding middle class, other factors make India an increasingly attractive market. For starters, the government is more aligned with the industry than it was in the past, streamlining business development and supporting training for labor and management. The government’s backing of Ayurvedic medicine is also of note, but the presence of a growing industry on its own may help inspire consumer acceptance of supplements well outside of Ayurveda. 

Beyond the consumer market, growing strength of India as an ingredient supplier is already clear to U.S. brands. In an NBJ story published last year interviewing top executives, the acclaim for quality, professionalism and the eagerness to do business was universal, making it clear that India was the most obvious “plan B” as questions rise about China.

India has not been specifically described as a “plan B” as a consumer market, but it is undoubtedly rising on the priority list for U.S. brands leaning into international sales.

See more global market data and insights in the new NBJ Global Supplement Business Report.