It has been almost a year since the COVID-19 pandemic hit India and taking a look back at how Indians reacted brings forth some unbelievable statistics. Indians had to sift through some ridiculous COVID-19 prevention and cure tips to finally find hope, in the absence of a vaccine throughout 2020, in multivitamins. The logic was simple, better immunity helps the body fight the COVID-19 virus better.
So what Indians decided to do was next to natural. Besides stockpiling sanitizers and face masks, Indians also picked up multivitamins. And going by the data, a lot of it. All for a good cause - build immunity.
Over 500 crore pills sold in 2020
Data released by the research wing of AlI India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), consisting of over 8.5 lakh chemists across India, AIOCD-AWACS shows that Indian consumers bought over 500 million pills of Vitamin C, Zinc and multivitamins last year.
The Vitamin C supplement witnessed 110 percent growth in sales. Abbott healthcare's Limcee and Koye Pharma's Celin were top-selling brands. Indians also bought Zinc supplements, contributing a 93 percent spike in 2020 as compared to 2019. A total of 54 crore Zincovit pills were sold in 2020 as compared to 28 crore in 2019. The overall multivitamin and minerals category grew 20 percent in sales by units to 300 crore pills in 2020 as compared to 248 crore pills the previous year. In total, Indians bought a total of over 500 crore pills of Vitamin C, Zinc and multivitamins in 2020.
"The categories have seen a jump due to the outbreak of Covid. The concept of stronger immunity has gained importance last year, and for the first time, the sales of health supplements such as zinc, Vit C and D3 has posted record sales," Rajiv Singhal, general secretary, AIOCD, was quoted as saying.
