Mintel defines the complementary medicine market as products available to the general public that may offer preventative solutions, relieve symptoms, or treat illnesses, and which use non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques, and are thus considered outside of the scope of ‘conventional’ medicine. This report focuses on two main sectors of complementary or alternative medicine: homeopathic remedies and herbal remedies.
Herbal remedies are made solely from parts of whole plants, e.g. leaves, bark or roots, in contrast to conventional modern medicines that extract and concentrate specific constituents. A large number of herbal remedies are available as supplements, and are not regulated as medicines. Homeopathic remedies are highly diluted doses of a substance, of animal, vegetable or mineral origin, which at higher dosage levels can cause symptoms similar to those of the disease to be treated, thus stimulating the body’s natural powers of defense and recovery.
Sales of complementary and alternative remedies (CAM) reached approximately $5 billion in 2005. Approximately 62% of U.S. adults are using some form of CAM for preventing and managing chronic disease, according to Med Ad News (October 2005). Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control state that 74.6% of Americans have used CAM, and that the average American spent $60 on various remedies in 2005.
Mintel’s proprietary research revealed that respondents generally feel that CAM is safer and has fewer side effects than pharmaceuticals (only 3% of respondents thought CAM had more side effects than conventional medicines). Women are more interested and use CAM remedies more frequently than men, along with self-employed respondents and those that live with a partner.
A number of factors are in place that suggest that the CAM market will experience continued and faster growth, especially due to an aging population, scientific findings that demonstrate the efficacy of some products, and interest in less invasive medicines.
In this report, Mintel clearly identifies the principal external factors driving or curtailing growth. Exclusive consumer research reveals the attitudes, needs and behavior of consumers, with analysis broken down both by demographic characteristics, and by segment.
Six years of specific sales data provide a factual and impartial presentation of the market as a whole. Mintel also evaluates the performance of individual sectors in the market, and provides information about the major companies and brands. Using the SPSS forecasting package, Mintel creates a five-year forecast of U.S. retail sales, revealing potential opportunities for growth and product development.
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