Unexpected effect of the sugar tax
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polski
Will the so-called sugar tax introduced from 1 January 2021 be a boost for the dietary supplements segment? This may be the case, as already from May 2020 some manufacturers of sweetened beverages are notifying the marketing of beverages and syrups as… dietary supplements.
Dietary supplements excluded from sugar tax
The so-called sugar tax is effective in Poland since 1 January 2021 and covers most beverages with added sugar or sweeteners. Its introduction resulted in an increase in the prices of many products. However, the tax does not cover dietary supplements, medical devices or special-purpose food. According to mycompanypolska.pl portal, the manufacturers of sweetened beverages have been notifying the introduction of beverages and syrups with the status of dietary supplements since May last year. As an example, the Excellence company was given, which since May has notified several dozen dietary supplements (from 1 May 2020 to 4 February 2020, the company notified GIS of 60 dietary supplements in syrup form). Other examples include Maspex, Hoop or Fortuna.
The increase in the number of total new dietary supplement introductions in 2020 is also confirmed by data from the register of the Chief Sanitary Inspector. In 2019, about 14 000 new dietary supplements (in various forms including syrup, tablets, capsules, powder) were notified, while in 2020 this number reached 20 000.
Increase in value of dietary supplements market in recent years
According to the PMR report: “Dietary supplements market in Poland 2020″, the value of the dietary supplements market has been growing relatively fast in recent years (pharmacy and non-pharmacy sales, including dietary foods for special purposes, but the dynamics have been somewhat slowed down by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The largest categories in terms of sales value in Poland in 2019 were probiotics, magnesium (including magnesium with potassium and vitamin B6), bone and joint preparations and multivitamin preparations.
The increase in the number of notifications of products with the status of dietary supplements in the form of juices and syrups, e.g. enriched with vitamins, will primarily affect the growth of the value of the dietary supplement market in the non-pharmacy channel, mainly in grocery stores. On the other hand, this may negatively affect the already damaged image of dietary supplements in the pharmacy channel, which some people may additionally associate with “untrusted” products.
