Economic Growth Potential in Natural Health and Cosmetic Products

ECONOMIC GROWTH POTENTIAL IN NATURAL HEALTH AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS

Medicinal plants also play a great role in food supplements for health care as well as in personal care of the mankind alongside the therapeutically active substances, thus medicinal plant based nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industry is a promising sector with enormous economic growth potential. The United States leads the market, followed by countries of Western Europe and Japan. In 1999, the global health food products market was US$ 6.8 billion, almost thrice the value in 1987. The global demand for herbal extract in food products grew to US$ 3 billion in 1999 from US$ 0.76 million in 1997, almost 4.5 fold rise in demand (Table below). There are reports that Asia and Pacific Latin America, Africa and Middle East are set to provide the fastest growth for food-based (nutraceutical) industry. The United States, Japan and major European countries are the largest global producers and consumers of neutraceuticals, owing to higher level of consumer income.

Globally, the market for plant-based cosmeceuticals has been estimated to US$ 22 billions, and the fastest growing sector in this market is antiaging products. The developed countries like the United States, Japan, Australia and Europe are the most dominant market for cosmeceuticals, and China, Malaysia, Russia and Latin America have a strong potential for long-term growth. In the United States, the market for cosmeceuticals was estimated at US$ 2.5 billion, where the market for medicinal plant ingredients used in cosmetics and toiletries stood at US$ 345 million in 1998, forecasted to increase 7.9% annually to reach US$ 503 million by 2005 and 760 million by 2008.

Table : Medicinal plant extracts demand in cosmetics from 1989 to 1998