{"id":35899,"date":"2026-04-28T08:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askme.it\/insights\/italian-nutraceutical-market-eur-4-5-billion-and-a-pharmacy-channel-that-holds\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T17:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:55:07","slug":"italian-nutraceutical-market-eur-4-5-billion-and-a-pharmacy-channel-that-holds","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/insights\/italian-nutraceutical-market-eur-4-5-billion-and-a-pharmacy-channel-that-holds\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian nutraceutical market: EUR 4.5 billion and a pharmacy channel that holds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The annual assembly of Integratori & Salute, the trade association of Unione Italiana Food, held in October 2024 consolidated the picture: the Italian dietary supplements market reached EUR 4.5 billion in turnover in 2023, with approximately 299,000 tonnes sold. Italy is the leading European market by turnover with 26% of the EU total, ahead of Germany at 19% and France at 15%. Sales in the three tracked channels \u2014 pharmacy, para-pharmacy, and large-scale retail \u2014 reached EUR 4,091 million excluding VAT according to Federsalus 2024-2025 data. The contribution to Italian GDP calculated by the association was EUR 4,626 million, with generated VAT of EUR 554 million. Approximately 30 million Italian adults \u2014 73% of the adult population \u2014 used a supplement at least once in the past year.<\/p>\n

Beneath the aggregate numbers, the Italian nutraceutical sector in 2026 is undergoing structural transition along three parallel axes. The pharmacy channel maintains a dominant 78% share of value \u2014 approximately EUR 3.5 billion in 2023 \u2014 but grows less rapidly than the online channel. Pharmacy and para-pharmacy e-commerce surpassed one billion in 2024 (+16%) and online supplements grew 16.5%, reaching EUR 552 million. Amazon consolidated its position to 41% of online nutra sales, against approximately 46% for online pharmacies, and in 2024 opened the first physical para-pharmacy in Milan. The traditional supply chain, after thirty years of substantial stability, is experiencing the first real phase of structural competitive pressure.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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The Italian supply chain and national champions<\/h2>\n

The Italian nutraceutical sector is characterized by an unusual coexistence of medium-scale domestic players and global VMS multinationals. Aboca surpassed EUR 300 million in revenue in 2023, on a growth trajectory supported by the choice to position itself as a “phytocomplex” \u2014 the model of minimal transformation of the plant raw material \u2014 and by vertical integration between cultivation, production, and distribution. PharmaNutra closed 2024 with EUR 116.9 million in consolidated revenue, +14.7% year on year, with the Italian market at approximately EUR 75.5 million. Solgar, Jamieson, IBSA, Metagenics, Cebion and ESI dominate consumer categories in pharmacies with assortments consolidated over the past twenty years.<\/p>\n

On the multinational front, Haleon \u2014 the GSK and Pfizer spin-off active since 2022, brand Centrum \u2014 and Bayer with Supradyn are the two global VMS players with the most significant Italian presence, both in pharmacy and in large-scale retail. The coexistence of rooted domestic players and multinationals with significant marketing muscle distinctively characterizes the Italian sector compared to other European markets: in Germany and in the Nordic countries the share of local players is structurally lower, in France the regulation of claims has further consolidated domestic players. Italy holds an intermediate position that has allowed it, so far, to maintain a competitive but not excessively concentrated market.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Probiotics as a driver category<\/h2>\n

The single category that best represents the structural dynamic of Italian nutra is probiotics and lactic ferments: EUR 537.3 million in 2023 in the pharmacy channel, equal to 15.2% of the category, on a growth trajectory sustained above the sector average. Minerals and vitamins, particularly magnesium and potassium, follow as the second most dynamic segment with EUR 335.2 million and growth of 2.7% year on year. Specialization by functional benefit \u2014 immune support, stress management, intestinal microbiota, cardiovascular health \u2014 is the cross-cutting dynamic that has led the assortments of Italian pharmacies to quintuple over the past fifteen years.<\/p>\n

The driver of this specialization is twofold. On one hand, the maturation of the Italian consumer, who seeks targeted solutions to a specific need rather than generic multivitamins; on the other, the transformation of the role of the pharmacist, who has evolved from a prescription product dispenser into a functional health consultant. IQVIA ChannelDynamics and the AboutPharma surveys of 2024-2025 document growth of 7.2% in sales of cosmetics and supplements in pharmacies, with the consulting role of the pharmacist identified as the primary driver of the channel’s added value compared to large-scale retail.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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E-commerce is the most dynamic segment<\/h2>\n

The most significant structural data point of 2024-2025 is the e-commerce leap. The integrated online channel \u2014 online pharmacies plus online para-pharmacies plus marketplaces \u2014 surpassed EUR 1.09 billion in 2024 with growth of 16% year on year according to IQVIA. Online-specific supplements reached EUR 552 million with growth of 16.5%, on 38 million units sold. Projections for 2025 bring online supplements to EUR 631 million with growth of 13.7%, and the overall online channel to EUR 1.1 billion with +9%. The growth speed of online has tripled compared to that of the physical pharmacy channel, which is nonetheless growing in double digits in value.<\/p>\n

Within the online channel, the competitive picture has been redrawn. Online pharmacies \u2014 Amicafarmacia, ShopFarmacia, Farma\u00e8, EFarma, DocPeter \u2014 cover approximately 46% of the sector’s digital sales, Amazon has reached 41%. The historical advantage of online pharmacies \u2014 the residual consulting role, even if mediated by the digital channel, and the depth of vertical catalogue \u2014 is eroded by Amazon’s logistics and by the marketplace’s integration with Prime and Subscribe & Save programs. The opening of the physical Amazon para-pharmacy in Milan in 2024 is the signal that convergence operates in both directions: traditional online faces pressure, but digital-first is also testing physical presence for categories of high consulting value.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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What this means for 2026<\/h2>\n

For Italian nutraceutical companies in 2026, the picture imposes a dual agenda. The first is the defense and amplification of the pharmacy channel through a value proposition that is not replicable via Amazon: curated assortment, trained pharmaceutical consulting, integration with loyalty cards and with over-the-counter health services, cross-selling between dermocosmetics and supplements, digital presence of the individual point of sale. Apoteca Natura of the Aboca Group represents one of the most structured models in this direction: a network of over 1,300 pharmacies in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, B Corp certification, the MyApotecaNatura platform that integrates digital services with the physical point of sale.<\/p>\n

The second agenda is the direct online presence. Companies that rely exclusively on the indirect pharmacy channel lose visibility on consumption data and on direct engagement with the end consumer. D2C nutra models have shown evident economic limits \u2014 the case of Care\/of closed in June 2024 after the Bayer acquisition of USD 225 million in 2020 is the most discussed reference \u2014 but the operational lesson is not to abandon D2C, it is to structure it as a channel complementary to retail with realistic economics. The Italian nutra market in 2026 is not played on the choice between pharmacy and e-commerce. It is played on the ability to orchestrate the two channels in a unified model that the consumer perceives as coherent. The technological platforms that enable this exist. The process design, not yet, largely still to be done.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federsalus 2024: the Italian supplements market is worth EUR 4.5 billion in 2023, first in Europe with 26% of continental turnover. 78% of sales remain in pharmacies, but e-commerce grew 16% in 2024, surpassing one billion. Amazon opened a physical para-pharmacy in Milan. Consolidation has begun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35901,"menu_order":0,"template":"","insights_category":[968],"insights_tags":[934,933,977,979,978],"class_list":["post-35899","insights","type-insights","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","insights_category-ai-and-pharma","insights_tags-e-commerce","insights_tags-federsalus","insights_tags-nutraceuticals","insights_tags-pharmacy-channel","insights_tags-supplements"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights\/35899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/insights"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights\/35899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35900,"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights\/35899\/revisions\/35900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"insights_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights_category?post=35899"},{"taxonomy":"insights_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askme.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights_tags?post=35899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}