COVID-19: 200% rise in demand for supplements in UAE pharmacies

Bala N.S., chief government officer, Aster Retail, Aster DM Healthcare, stated the uptick in gross sales began with the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We have now greater than 200 pharmacies throughout the UAE. And since April 2020, there was a 220 per cent improve in gross sales of dietary supplements like vitamin C and zinc in calendar yr 2020 versus 2019. The very best sellers are multivitamins, immunity merchandise, omega 3 equivalent to fish oil dietary supplements and kids’s gummies. Vitamin D demand has additionally elevated because of its perceived advantages in boosting immunity.”

“Whereas many of the gross sales are over-the-counter and don’t want a physician’s prescription, we see an growing pattern in medical doctors prescribing nutritional vitamins and dietary dietary supplements due to their advantages as supportive therapies in lots of persistent and acute illnesses.”

Roshan Abdul Hameed, retail head of Burjeel Pharmacy, VPS Healthcare’s Retail Pharmacy Community, stated: “Originally of the pandemic itself, extra folks started shopping for vitamin C and zinc as a part of their efforts to spice up immunity. When Covid-19 numbers peaked, the demand rose tremendously throughout our greater than 35 pharmacies. A minimum of there was a two-fold improve within the sale throughout these months. At current, the rise in gross sales of those merchandise in our pharmacies is 40 to 50 per cent in comparison with pre-pandemic occasions.”

Arun Kumar A., supervisor, pharmacies, Ahalia Medical Group, identified a doubling of demand in comparison with 2019.

“The native well being authorities have beneficial taking vitamin and zinc dietary supplements. The surge in demand began final yr and is growing each month. Initially, there have been simply 1 or 2 manufacturers, however now there are heaps accessible. In comparison with 2019, we noticed gross sales for vitamin dietary supplements rise by 40 per cent in 2020, and now it’s up by 50 per cent within the first 5 months of this yr at our over 30 pharmacies.”

All pharmacy teams have created separate counters and show areas to showcase these dietary supplements, which embrace a lot of mixtures like vitamin C with zinc, and each with vitamin D, vitamin E with selenium and omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin E and vitamin B advanced. Tablets can be found in numerous formulations: Chewable, effervescent, swallowable and sachets.

In a bid to deal with this extra demand, pharma corporations have additionally ramped up manufacturing within the nation. Dr Madgy Fahmy, CEO, LIFE Pharma, Dubai, stated: “As per the UAE management’s technique of selling native manufacturing, we’re capable of successfully address the rise within the demand for multivitamins. Within the early days of the pandemic, acquiring uncooked materials was a problem, however with the help of the authorities, we have been capable of get it. Since final July, we’ve been exporting these merchandise to different GCC international locations as a part of efforts by the Ministry of Well being and Prevention to help sister international locations.”