Immunity-boosting products gain in popularity

Young people buying high-quality healthcare, cosmetic goods to avoid work fatigue and keep COVID-19 blues at bay

Liver-rejuvenating tablets, multivitamins, grape seeds, collagen, lutein and lycopene tablets are all familiar fare to Li Yunxi, a product manager at a Beijing-based internet company, who took them all recently after working late into the wee hours.

After ingesting all the tablets, the 27-year-old woman fought off drowsiness and carefully applied eye cream from La Mer, priced at 1,800 yuan ($278) for 15 milliliters, around her tired eyes before finally hitting the hay.

"Taking healthcare and cosmetics products seemed to be the easiest way for me to maintain my health and beauty. When I have to stay up late to work, they make me feel that it is an effective remedy," she said.

Li is part of a growing group of young Chinese consumers－most of whom were born between 1991 and 1995 and are now staring the 30-year-old milestone in the face－willing to spend a lot of money on healthcare products, including supplements and vitamins, anti-aging cosmetics and electronic healthcare gadgets.

The new consumption frenzy is a trend featuring younger consumers who are opting for high-quality goods and are not afraid to pry open their wallets wide.

While working hard at their jobs, these young consumers consider such products as essentials and believe they prevent illness and premature aging, thereby spawning a huge market in China.

China will become the second-largest market for healthcare products with sales revenue expected to hit 330 billion yuan this year. Consumers born after 1990 have become the main consumption driver over the past three years, according to market consultancy CBN Data.

A report issued by the Sootoo Institute said 21.9 percent of people born after 1990 in China use healthcare products over long periods. Half use such products occasionally. Those who never take healthcare products only account for 3.9 percent of the demographic.

"The anxiety of maintaining good health among consumers born after 1990 is stronger than other age groups because they are mostly only children in their families. As this group of young people gradually take on life and work burdens, they feel a greater sense of crisis," said Cheng Yanbo, an independent internet and gaming analyst.

Currently in China, people born in the 1990s exceed 188 million in number, accounting for 14.1 percent of the country's population.

Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China, said: "Another driving factor is that young people are increasingly facing healthcare problems, even serious diseases like cancer, with more pressure from life and work. Such pressure forces them to care more about their health. Also, widening social media channels increase their anxiety and make them more aware of their health."

Chronic conditions such as insomnia and obesity are becoming more common among younger Chinese used to staring at handsets late into the night.

A report from the British Medical Journal said the prevalence of diabetes in China has reached 2 percent among people aged 18 to 29, and stands at 6.3 percent among those aged 30 to 39.

Yu added that after the COVID-19 pandemic, young consumers increasingly realize that improving health should be a priority.

"It was the pandemic that made me pay more attention to health, especially my immune system, on a daily basis," said Qi Tian, 30, a software engineer in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"It is also COVID-19 that allowed traditional Chinese medicine to take center stage," he said.

Instead of taking pills or tablets, Qi added that he prefers products that are convenient and tasty. For example, he now drinks a cup of vitamin C every day, which comes in different fruity flavors. He also drinks water with red dates, mulberry or other flavors during work breaks to boost energy levels.