Vitamin products may threat Korea’s traditional immune booster ginseng

Orthomol Immun [Source : Dong-A Pharmaceutical]

Korean pharmaceutical companies are driving demand for vitamin products in the local dietary supplement market with differentiated branding and celebrity marketing, making vitamin products to gradually replace red ginseng, the country’s long-time K-immune support.

Sales of German vitamin Orthomol Immun exclusively sold by Dong-A Pharmaceutical are expected to reach 62 billion won ($48.6 million) this year, more than twice from last year’s sales. The Korean pharmaceutical company officially launched the brand in 2020 after limited distribution to tax free shops from early 2017.

Dong-A Pharmaceutical has successfully established the food supplement in Korea with a premium branding strategy. To target well-heeled consumers, it has operated a brand pop-up store in the women’s fashion hall of the main branch of Lotte Department Store. Innovative branding activities allowed Orthomol Immun to settle down in the local functional food and dietary supplement market, which was once dominated by red ginseng, the company said on Sunday.

Son Heung-min with vitamin C product Lemona [Source : Kyungnam Pharm]

Sales of Kyungnam Pharm’s vitamin C product Lemona are also on the rise. The brand has recruited globally popular soccer player Son Heung-min as an advertising model this year. Lemona sales are expected to increase by 13 percent on year this year.

Every year, the company leverages celebrity marketing. K-pop groups BTS and TWICE were contracted for the brand in 2020 and 2021, respectively. This year the company launched ‘Lemona Son Heung-min Edition,’ which contains a limited-edition photo card of Son Heung-min.

As vitamin hit products continue to grow, the share of vitamins in the food supplement market is also increasing. According to industry data, the share of multivitamin products in the entire food supplement purchases is expected to increase this year with 8.8 percent, up from 8.1 percent last year. In contrast, red ginseng and probiotics purchases are losing their market portion.

Chong Kun Dang Health, known for its probiotics brand, is planning to launch a vitamin product called ‘I’m Vita’ next year.