“The Chinese probiotic market has evolved a lot” - Biome Australia
Biome Australia is keeping a close eye on China’s probiotic market as part of a broader long-term international growth strategy, following what its founder, Blair Vega Norfolk, says is a market that has “evolved a lot” in the past five years.
One of the biggest transformations is how cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) platforms like JD Health and Tmall are focusing more on engaging healthcare professionals, instead of celebrities or online influencers, when promoting health products.
This increasing focus on healthcare professionals aligns with Biome Australia’s practitioner-only approach.
China’s probiotics market sees fast, consistent growth, says IFF
China is one of the “best and fastest” probiotic markets, Allyson Fish, senior vice president at IFF Health & Biosciences, told NutraIngredients at the recent Healthplex Expo 2026 held in Shanghai.
In fact, the biggest advantage of the Chinese and wider Asia-Pacific probiotics market is its consistent growth, which is not necessarily the case seen in other major nutraceutical markets like North America.
This consistent growth boils down to consumers’ desire for wellness, strong consumer engagement and knowledge, as well as product innovation.
Botanic Healthcare looks to address ‘neglected’ men’s health category
Indian company Botanic Healthcare told NutraIngredients at Healthplex Expo 2026 that its new men’s health ingredient innovations are set to be launched within the year, despite the category having taken a back seat in recent years.
Specifically, the firm is focusing on two demographics—men aged between 25 and 45, and older men above 45 years.
For the first group, their needs are all about strength, stamina, endurance, overall well-being, and not just sexual health. On the other hand, older men have a different body profile that has different needs with declining testosterone, metabolism, and muscle mass.
How cross border e-comm and social platforms power China’s booming supplement market
With 51% of consumer spending in China being online, it is critical for brands to understand these digital marketplaces, ecosystems and channels, says Peter McMath, chief growth officer for WPIC Marketing + Technologies.
The first thing to understand about the booming Chinese marketplace, said McMath, is the channel mix.
“But it’s also a market where Facebook is blocked, Google is blocked, Amazon has no market share, and so there’s a set of unique platforms within the Alibaba, Jingdong, WeChat and Douyin ecosystem that are really owning the share of consumer attention and wallet, and that a brand needs to be able to activate and launch, and understand to ultimately win a consumer in that market.”
Chinese ministries team up to drive R&D of functional marine ingredients
Eight Chinese ministries, including the National Health Commission (NHC) and State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), have drafted a first-of-its-kind policy paper aimed at promoting the R&D of functional marine ingredients in health supplements, Traditional Chinese Medicine and pharmaceutical products.
One of the goals is to launch various innovative marine functional products and pharmaceuticals in the market and achieve an overall industrial added value of at least CNY130bn (US$19bn) by 2030.
The policy paper was unveiled during a press conference hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources last month.
