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Consumption Features

Consumer Demands for Health Food

1) Culture Element

According to statistics, people with higher intellectual level, larger possibility for them to buy health products as gifts.

But in the term of the absolute figure, people below junior college are major consumer group.

Table 1: Demand for Health Products of People with Different Educational Level

Currently, the consumption object has enlarged to adultescent and women from the elder and children based in the past time; the choices extended to long-term health products consumption from only for disease healing products; the purpose also broadened to many needs as anti-caducity, strengthen body and benefit intelligent from just guarding against and curing disease or illness.

There are two kind of motivation for people to buy health products, that is, self-used and present others as a gift. According to the actual market situation, the amount of presenting others is far from higher than that of self-used. In addition, This phenomenon shows clearly in holiday or vacation. Major buyers are youth, while the older are the mainly group who take it. As a result, health products consumption is a kind of means to deliver and communicate feelings each other.

2) Age Element

There are great differences for people to buy health Products among different age stages. The survey shows that purchasing power go down as the age of persons go up. The most part of buyer are youth under 35, which cover 78.13%. The middle-and-senior persons who buy those products only take 8.80%. This phenomenon can be reasonably excused by the custom of respecting the aged, and it is also worthy for us to pay attention to is that the middle-and-senior persons in their health care consumption except medical treatment shows not so strong. Meanwhile, you may see that the buying percentage is only 13.07% in the middle aged, for they have more social burden and stress for the elder and younger.

Table2: Purchasing Percentage in Different Age Level

4) Price Element

The price of health products is connected directly with family’s income. Although the salary has increased greatly in recent years, 80.8% of the investigated considered the price of those products is still on the high side. Besides, there are 17.7% regarded it as in the middle, and only 0.53% would like to accept the present price. From this point, we can also see that why purchasing power down with the age up. Due to more employment opportunity and higher salary, people who no more than 35 become main buyer. People aged within 35-45 get more lay-off worker, comparably irregular salary and hard to re-employment, so their purchasing power isn’t so high. Retired person is mainly above 45, who living on their retirement pension, and has smallest possobitility to buy high-priced health products. Obviously, health products should popular in each of family, the price must to be down.

Table 4: Survey for Consumer’s Attitude to Price

5) Function Element
People are especially care about the efficacy of health products. From the survey, function is the first factor for people to choose proper health products. However, people dissatisfied the efficacy of healthy products in general, and 58.4% regard it not ideal, just 15.2% think it good efficient, the rest’s attitude is unclear.

Table 5: Survey of Major Factor Effecting Consumer

6) Advertising Effects

People begin to know a product largely from advertising. Among them, Tv advertising is a major channel. Next, it will be newspapers and printed leaflets. At the same time, people’s idea about health care is mainly from advertising and newspapers.

Table 5: Survey of Approach People being Informed

7) Brand Element
When the function of health products is similar, most of consumers will try to attempt different brands, which shows that most of people lack of faithfulness to a certain brand. At the same time, consumers would more like to choose those products with higher popularity.

8) The Influence by Major Social Affairs
Some major social affairs can greatly promote the marketing of health care products. The requirements of consumer in their health protection has been increased largely since SARS in 2003 and Bird Flu. In 2005, and their consciousness for healthy have increased enormously.

9) Main Consumer Groups of Health Care Products

a. The Aged
The Aged is a group who need for health products urgently. Because the body function may trouble them at any time in this living stage, the elder should take health products for disease guarding, rather than treatment. The ultimate aim for the elder in taking health products can be reduced to “for longevity”.

b. Middle-aged Women
in 2004, the gross sales of cosmetics up to RMB 180 billion(US$ 22.5 billion) in China, and it is equal to RMB 350( US$ 44)for each women spending in cosmetics. As for women aged within 30-50, they spend more than RMB 1,000(US$125) in cosmetic every year, not including the cost they pay in beauty parlor and plastic. The money of city women pay on their face is 20 times as that of health products, and this figure is out of line.
The reason for this phenomenon is that health products may care your body from inner organ to appearance, and cannot show the real effect in a short time; but cosmetics aimed at skin and have comparably quicker effect. It’s a long way for health products keep its deserved place. However, it will be a large potential market once health products got accepted by women group.

c. Middle-aged Men
There is a “black area” in health products in China, which refers to men’s health products aimed at 30-55 age level. Except Yilishe and Huiren Shenbo, most of those products couldn’t survive 2 years. Because men in this age level super unconcern about their body health and extra disbelieve the function of health products.
Due to their special need for money, position, house, car and sex, the body health has been put behind. Although they have most consumption potential, 90% needs for health products is just for “increasing sexual function”.

d. Children Group
Educational situation of China bring children into crucial competition early. They will be expected to enter into key junior high school, and then into key senior high school, up to key university. So their parents will pay more attention to their height and intellect.
In choosing health products, parents will choose those products that can help to increase height and intellect. The popularity of Wangbuliao, Naoqingsong is that its correct orientation of “increasing children’s intellect”; Children Calcium Tablet and Lvli Capsule sell well is due to the great expectation of parents for their children have a ideally height.

All in all, Children’s health products are aimed for “increasing height and intellect”, if a product have nothing with the two function, its market potential will be limited.