OTC Drug and Dietary Supplement Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the OTC drug and dietary supplement market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global OTC drug and dietary supplement market reached a value of nearly $310.96 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $310.96 billion in 2023 to $438.25 billion in 2028 at a rate of 7.1%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2028 and reach $632.1 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rise in pharma research and development (R&D) expenditure, rising healthcare expenditure, growing fitness industry and growing use of telemedicine services. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were lack of awareness.

Going forward, increase in health consciousness, increasing demand for dietary supplements, rising government initiatives, increasing aging population worldwide and expansion of the e-commerce industry will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the OTC drug and dietary supplement market in the future include side effects and safety concerns.

The OTC drug and dietary supplement market is segmented by category into vitamin and dietary supplements, cough and cold dosage forms, analgesics, gastrointestinal dosage forms, skin and other categories. The vitamin and dietary supplement market was the largest segment of the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by category, accounting for 38.5% or $119.71 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the vitamin and dietary supplement segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by category, at a CAGR of 8.2% during 2023-2028.

The OTC drug and dietary supplement market is segmented by dosage form into tablets, hard capsules, powders, ointments, soft capsules, liquids and other dosage forms. The tablets market was the largest segment of the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by dosage form, accounting for 33.2% or $103.26 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the soft capsules segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by dosage form, at a CAGR of 8.3% during 2023-2028.

The OTC drug and dietary supplement market is segmented by distribution channel into pharmacies, grocery stores, vitamin and health food stores and online pharmacies. The pharmacies market was the largest segment of the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for pharmacies % or $144.13 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the online pharmacies segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 8.5% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market, accounting for 42.7% or $132.84 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market will be Asia-Pacific and Africa where growth will be at CAGRs of 9.9% and 9.3% respectively. These will be followed by the Middle East and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 8.7% and 7.9% respectively.

The global OTC drug and dietary supplement market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up 21.5% of the total market in 2023. Nestlé S.A. was the largest competitor with a 4.5% share of the market, followed by Procter & Gamble Co. with 3.4%, Haleon plc with 2.9%, Abbott Laboratories with 2.4%, Sanofi S.A. with 1.8%, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc with 1.7%, Bayer AG with 1.6%, Church & Dwight Co. Inc. with 1.2%, Nature’s Bounty Co. with 1% and Perrigo Company plc with 0.9%.

The top opportunities in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by category will arise in the vitamin and dietary supplements segment, which will gain $57.73 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by dosage form will arise in the tablets segment, which will gain $46.76 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the pharmacies segment, which will gain $60.26 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The OTC drug and dietary supplement market size will gain the most in the USA at $32.63 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the OTC drug and dietary supplement market include expansion of production capabilities in dietary supplements and OTC drugs, new over-the-counter option for opioid overdose reversal, launch of natural herb-based supplement for nursing mothers, introduction of OTC drug line for pain and allergy relief, innovation in women's health pharmaceuticals.

Player-adopted strategies in the OTC drug and dietary supplement market include focuses on focus on expanding its business expertise through new product solutions, strengthening its business operations through strategic partnerships, and strengthening its business capabilities through the launch of new products.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the OTC drug and dietary supplement companies to focus on production expansion for market leadership, focus on expanding access to opioid overdose reversal solutions, focus on developing natural herb-based supplements for nursing mothers, focus on expanding otc drug lines for pain and allergy relief, focus on innovating with otc oral contraceptives, focus on vitamin and dietary supplements segment, focus on online pharmacies, focus on expanding presence in emerging markets, focus on competitive pricing strategies, embrace digital marketing channels, educate consumers through content marketing and focus on targeting aging population effectively.