Guosheng Securities: The health supplement sub-sector shines, suggesting attention to preferred OEMs and quality brand manufacturers

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Guosheng Securities released a research report stating that the total sales of nutritional health products during the 618 shopping festival reached 14.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 55%. The order volume from instant retail channels such as Meituan increased by more than 2 times year-on-year. Amid the health consumption wave, the growth rate of nutritional health products is expected to maintain high-speed growth, with e-commerce and new retail channels potentially providing more opportunities for brands to enter the market. High-growth segments such as anti-aging and liver protection performed exceptionally well. The firm recommends focusing on: 1) selecting the OEM segment, where the competitive landscape is clearer and the concentration trend is more certain; 2) selecting quality brand manufacturers that emphasize content creation, e-commerce operations, product innovation, and brand strength. Guosheng Securities' main viewpoints are as follows: Overview of Health Products during 618: Nutritional health maintains high-speed growth, with emerging channels like instant retail performing brilliantly According to Star Map data, during the 2025 618 period (May 13 - June 18), the total sales of nutritional health products across the internet reached 14.3 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 55% compared to the total sales of 9.2 billion yuan during the 2024 618 period (Tmall May 20, 20:00 - June 18, 23:59; JD May 31, 20:00 - June 18, 23:59; other platforms based on their announced 618 start times until June 18, 23:59). Instant retail channels also successfully entered the market, with Meituan joining the 618 event in late May. Data from Meituan's self-operated pharmacy shows that the order volume of nourishing health products increased by more than 2 times year-on-year, performing impressively. The firm believes that amid the health consumption wave, the growth rate of nutritional health products will continue to maintain high-speed growth, with e-commerce and new retail channels potentially providing more opportunities for brands to enter the market. By Category: Traditional categories steadily expand, with high growth in anti-aging and liver protection According to JD's medicine purchase data, the top categories in the 2025 "JD Medicine Purchase 618 Free Order" event included infant and child nutritional products (vitamins/DHA/fish liver oil), special medical foods, fish oil, and glucosamine. According to Early Data, in May 2025, the sales growth rates for anti-aging and wrinkle reduction were the fastest among the two major effects on e-commerce platforms, while traditional categories such as bone health, immune enhancement, and liver care maintained steady single-digit growth year-on-year. The firm believes that basic nutritional categories with strong efficacy will continue to benefit from trends such as aging and increased penetration rates among populations, while anti-aging and liver protection represent high-growth segments under the trend of diversified demand. By Brand: Tmall and JD maintain leadership, while emerging brands break through with cost-effectiveness and niche segments According to Star Map data, during the 2025 618 period, the top 5 brands on the Tmall platform were Swisse, BYHEALTH, WanYiLan, WHC, and JinKaiser, while the top 5 brands on the JD platform were Swisse, BYHEALTH, JiuZhiTang, Centrum, and BaiAoLangDe. Compared to the 2024 618 period, the leading positions of Swisse and BYHEALTH on Tmall and JD platforms remained unchanged, with the leaders still possessing higher brand strength and first-mover advantages; WHC and JinKaiser, two fish oil brands, newly ranked on the Tmall platform. The firm believes that consumer awareness of health products is significantly improving, with increasing awareness of raw materials, purity, and concentration, leading to a pursuit of higher product quality; JiuZhiTang, Centrum, and BaiAoLangDe newly ranked on the JD platform During the 618 period in 2025, the top five brands on the Douyin platform were Notland, Five Female Doctors, WanYiLan, BaiQiTang, and Swisse. The channel landscape on Douyin still maintains significant differences from other platforms. The bank believes that emerging brands in this sector mainly achieve overtaking through two models: cost-performance advantages and segmented high-growth tracks. Notland has a rich category matrix and outstanding cost-performance; Five Female Doctors and WanYiLan excel in the collagen drink and probiotic segments, respectively