The consumer health industry grew by 5.7% last year, achieving global retail sales of US$216.4 billion, according to research by Euromonitor International.

Over-the-counter remedies such as sleep aids, eye care, dermatologicals, and digestive remedies performed well reaching US$36 billion in sales globally. Sports nutrition grew strongly in the mass market with US$10 billion in sales globally, yet it still represents the smallest category within the consumer health industry at 4.7% share.

Latin America is the fastest growing market, rising 7 percent from 2013 with US$20 billion in sales in 2014 as more over-the-counter remedies became available to consumers. The Middle East and Africa followed with growth of 6 percent and US$7.3 billion, respectively, as local manufacturing created affordable options for consumers.

Monica Feldman, Head of Industry Research at Euromonitor, commented, “The industry keeps growing at a healthy pace as significant corporate consolidation will transform the competitive landscape and the rise of mobile health will impact consumer behaviour in years to come.”