INDUSTRY EXPERTS SHARE INSIGHTS ON THE SUCCESS OF THE DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS SECTOR

Revealing the dietary supplement boom in UAE

INTEREST IN PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE HAS MADE PEOPLE AWARE OF THE NUMEROUS BENEFITS OF VITAMINS AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS. THE DRIVE TO LEAD HEALTHY LIVES HAS LED TO A RISE IN THE MANUFACTURE AND DEMAND OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS AND THEIR SALES HAVE SURGED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. INDUSTRY EXPERTS SPOKE TO THE ZONE AND SHARED INSIGHTS ON THE THRIVING MARKET OF THESE ELIXIRS.

“As one of the largest online supplement retailers in Dubai & Middle East, we had to keep pace with the rapid developments that the world is witnessing, especially in the field of manufacturing nutritional supplements. By leveraging this demand, we have made strides and achieved several milestones. Today we have a total of two hundred and fifty branches in the Middle East and Africa. With the increase in consumer awareness, nutritional supplements have become extremely important, and we have provided for this increasing demand by providing best quality products that fulfill the consumer’s hopes of obtaining internationally approved products at competitive prices. We have been catering to all segments, from supplements for different age groups to athletes. There is a diversity in our range of products that are manufactured strictly according to the highest international standards.”

Mahmoud Ahmed General Director, Dr. Nutrition

“Although the Covid-19 Pandemic brought a lot of negatives with it, the benefits it carried is the fact that it encouraged people to eat healthy and nutritious food, and also pushed them towards including supplements as part of their day-to-day diet. Our diet is supposed to be full of nutrients necessary for the well-being of our bodies, but unfortunately, as a result of consumption of fast food, junk food, and processed food, which are extremely poor in terms of nutrients, in addition to harmful habits such as smoking and drinking, we have in a lot of ways made the intake of nutrients through our food insignificant. Therefore, the consumption of multivitamins is necessary to compensate for all the missing nutrients in order to make the immune system strong enough to fight diseases better, and help vaccines yield better results.”

Hiba El-Kurjie

Bariatric Services Manager & Senior Dietician, Al Garhoud Private Hospital

“Certainly, there has been a sudden rise in demand for dietary supplements in the recent past. Although there could be a lot of reasons for this increase, the most likely one would be the fact that nowadays people are well aware of not only healthy living and recreational exercises, but are also informed about what supplements need to be taken while doing a certain exercise, or what supplements should be taken to balance nutrients and minerals in the body, or what kind of supplements would contribute towards good sleep and so on. The reason why there is such an increase in awareness and knowledge is because of the advancements in technology. Everyone now has easy access to knowledge in this era. This knowledge, especially in the field of healthcare, has made people more aware of the benefits of leading a healthy life and how it can be maintained.”

Mosa’ab Al Dabbagh

Marketing Manager, Smart Pharma

“I would imagine there is a rise in demand for dietary supplements simply because there is an increase in the rate of gaining weight and rate of obesity during the last year, especially due to the pandemic. We have also witnessed a rise in anxiety and stress levels due to different factors. When it comes to dietary supplements, we need also proceed with caution as many of them are not proven to work and many of them have side effects. Hence, you know it’s always better not to just buy them over the counter, you must check with a general practitioner or with a family physician when it comes to using such things because they may interact with other supplements or other medications that we are taking and could have side effects in the long run.”

Nadine Andari

Clinical Dietitian, Novomed

“For over 43 years, Forever Living Products has been creating Health and Wellness and Personal Care products with a goal to bring more health and vitality to more people around the world. Quality and safety are our top priority and to ensure this, we have invested millions of dollars into owning our own aloe fields and manufacturing facilities. When we heard about the threat of the global pandemic, our facilities quickly jumped into action by securing raw materials so that we could respond with a continual supply of products to support our Forever Business Owners (FBOs). The increase in people’s concern for their health and wellness naturally created an increase in sales for the Forever products intended to support the immune system. We are committed to sustaining the demand for safe and effective products, not just at this time, but always.”

Gary Shreeve

Executive Vice President, Global Operations, Forever Living Products International, LLC