2024 consumption trend： the new consumption trend of ＂essence and health preservation＂ ｜ Zhimeng release
In 2024, entering the eighth year of the release of Zhimeng Trend Report, in order to help enterprises more accurately grasp the development direction in 2024, help enterprises seize the momentum, Ming Dow and help growth, Zhimeng Consulting held the 2024 Consumer Trend Conference in Beijing on January 11th.
At the meeting, Xiao Mingchao, a well-known trend and marketing expert and founder and CEO of Zhimeng Consulting, officially released Zhimeng’s "2024 China Consumption Trend Report", which is the eighth consecutive year that Zhimeng released a trend report, giving insight into the trend changes of consumption in China from a panoramic and multi-dimensional perspective. The report reveals Zhimeng’s forecast of 10 major consumption trends in 2024, namely prudence and shrewdness, spiritual self-admiration, outward exploration, fireworks narration, minimal quality, convenience and enjoyment, essence and health preservation, value reconstruction, youth experience and sustainable brand.
In the fast-paced modern life, people pay more and more attention to health problems. In the survey of consumption trends in China in 2024 conducted by Zhimeng, Ms. Zheng from Wuhu, Anhui Province, began to pay more attention to health problems in 23 years. After listening to a friend’s recommendation and trying several yoga classes, she completely liked this kind of exercise. She said: "Yoga has helped me find myself in the noise. I have become healthier and calmer in my life, and I will continue to practice it."
It’s not a case like Ms. Zheng. Today, people’s concept and demand for health are getting stronger and stronger, and the ways of health preservation are becoming more diversified and refined. More and more people are beginning to pay attention to and practice various health preservation methods in order to pursue physical and mental health. The "2024 China Consumption Trend Report" issued by Zhimeng Consulting Group puts forward the trend of "quintessential health care", pointing out that consumers are creating a new paradigm of healthy consumption, moving towards health refinement and refined health care, from comprehensive health planning to diversified health care approaches, from new Chinese health care to dietotherapy health care, and then to intelligent monitoring.
Health is no longer "talk", but is moving towards "unity of knowledge and action"
In view of the changes that have taken place in the field of health care, the consumption trend research conducted by Zhimeng shows that in 2023, 62.6% of the consumers surveyed are more concerned about health, 25.4% expect themselves to become health care experts, and 41.4% believe that health is a consumption field that cannot be thrifty and degraded. People’s concern for health has changed from general talk in the past to fine and all-round attention today.
Consumers’ concern for health has changed from rough to fine, from the surface to the core. They not only care about common problems such as cervical vertebrae and lumbar vertebrae, but also pay close attention to sleep, mood, blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids. Not only that, body, hair, respiratory system and so on have also become the focus of attention, and people can actively seek various health preservation methods to maintain and improve their health.
The extension of the essence health concept is no exception in the field of fast-moving consumer goods, and consumers are increasingly strict with the ingredients and ingredients of products. Under the dual pressure of technology and food additives, consumers are more cautious when choosing products.
In Zhimeng’s survey of consumption trends in China in 2024, it was found that 68.6% of the respondents were more concerned about the source of ingredients, and 60.4% were concerned about the composition of ingredient list. Consumers pay more attention to the source and composition of products, and the reliability, safety and quality of sources are very important to consumers.
Chinese health, leading the new trend of health.
Because consumers are paying more and more attention to health, their health-keeping methods are also showing a diversified trend. People maintain their health by adjusting their work and rest habits, eating health products, exercising, soaking their feet before going to bed and drinking health tea. Every generation of consumers has its own unique "book of health preservation", and the demand for health preservation has started diversified needs and personalized attention.
On the road of seeking health-keeping methods, consumers are no longer satisfied with a single model, but hope to find a refined, personalized and customized health-keeping method that fits their own physique and state. This requires not only all-round attention to one’s own health, but also the implementation of health preservation in every scene of life, from diet, housing, sports to mental health.
Soak Lycium barbarum in the left hand, take ginseng tea in the right hand, get up in the morning and press massage before going to bed. While consumers pay more attention to their physical and mental health, Chinese health awareness and concept are also constantly infiltrating and popular. Many consumers will take the initiative to seek the help of Chinese medicine, whether it is massage or cupping and scrapping, hoping to prevent problems before they happen.
At present, in the upsurge of Chinese health care, such a force has emerged, and a group of new forces called "crispy young people" are gradually emerging. They embrace the concept of Chinese health care and pursue a healthy lifestyle. Crispy young people, a hot topic in 2023, have aroused the resonance of the vast number of young people, making the health content hot.
More and more young people join the Chinese-style health army. Behind this phenomenon, they not only show their concern for health, but also show their positive attitude.
With the tide of health preservation, consumers gradually realize that poor eating has become an important cause of health problems, and correspondingly, eating "scientifically" can also alleviate many chronic diseases.
So how can we solve these problems? The new Chinese regimen gives us a better answer.
According to Zhimeng’s consumption trend survey in China in 2024, in 2023, the top5 of health/health foods that consumers tried were: health tea, health meals, medicated hot pot/nourishing hot pot, Chinese cakes and health milk tea. The new Chinese health care meets the modern people’s pursuit of a healthy life with its characteristics of eliminating complexity and simplifying, both physically and mentally. It not only pays attention to the health of the body, but also pays attention to the balance and harmony of the inner spirit.
The simple and natural concept advocated by the new Chinese health care makes it easy for people to practice in their busy lives. From health-preserving tea to health-preserving meals, from medicinal hot pot to nourishing cakes, from ginseng staying up all night to Chinese medicine coffee, from ginseng sugar to instant gelatin, based on the culture of "homology of medicine and food" in China, many "new Chinese health-preserving" products have emerged.
Many consumers choose the new Chinese health care because they can get rid of the complexity and understand it at a glance, which satisfies modern people’s pursuit of efficient and convenient life and makes health care simpler and more direct.
Five strategies of marketing application of "essence health preservation"
How can brands and enterprises accurately capture this trend under the tide of essence health care, and bring unprecedented freshness and experience to consumers through innovative and healthy health care products?
In Zhimeng’s "2024 China Consumption Trend Report", five strategic guidelines are given, namely, cross-border marketing of products, innovation of consumption scenarios, innovation of formats and experiences, innovation of refined and specialized components, and innovation of digital and intelligent applications.
Strategy 1: Cross-border marketing of products
Nowadays, the concept of essence health care is more and more deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Brands and enterprises need to break the traditional marketing framework and explore innovative marketing strategies. Among them, the cross-border marketing of products has become a very potential way. By finding the common ground between brands and health products, we can better establish contact with consumers and bring them a sense of freshness and experience.
So, how do enterprises do it?
At the beginning of the Spring Festival in 2023, Dong ‘e Ejiao co-signed Naixue’s tea, which made a cup of "Ejiao milk tea" strong and created a classic case of cross-border joint marketing of nourishing brands. Once the joint name was launched, the number of Weibo topics was 200 million, and the number of Tik Tok topics was 92.65 million. After the launch, the popularity of Ejiao joint name milk tea rose rapidly, becoming the sales volume of Naixue tea TOP1.
Dong ‘e Ejiao and Naixue’s tea work together to combine convenience and health care subtly, and create a health product that not only inherits the essence of health care concept, but also has originality. In product research and development, they skillfully integrate brand characteristics, and at the same time carefully polish the taste, convenience and health value of products. This move more accurately meets the diverse needs of consumers and provides a better life experience.
Strategy 2: Innovation of consumption scenes
In order to meet the needs of consumers in different scenarios, brands and enterprises need to innovate consumption scenarios and provide convenient and personalized products and services.
By focusing on the daily life and work scenes of consumers, we can find many areas with innovation potential. For example, for consumers with fast-paced life and high work pressure, we can provide products and services that can quickly provide energy and improve their status in a short time. Highlight the convenience characteristics of products in publicity, such as "monitoring health anytime and anywhere" and "replenishing energy in one minute" to attract consumers’ attention.
At the same time, according to consumers’ personal needs and health status, provide customized product and service portfolio. Through personalized customization, brands can better meet the unique needs of consumers and enhance their satisfaction and loyalty.
For example, in the summer of 2023, Taiji Huoxiang Zhengqi Oral Liquid, the leading brand of heatstroke prevention and summer relief drugs, joined hands with Guangming Group to launch Huoxiang flavored ice cream.
How to achieve active circle breaking? How to pass on the new brand positioning? How to empower sales through public welfare and obtain a win-win situation in sales volume? How to attract young people to realize the transformation from traditional brands to younger brands? Taiji, a Chinese medicine, has produced a set of high-quality marketing combination boxing.
In terms of brand rejuvenation, Sinopharm Taiji sticks to its distinctive advantages and expands its target population to a wider range of young people. Follow the brand’s new positioning of "eliminating summer heat and dampness", focus on the frequent scenes of young people’s stomach discomfort, summer heat and dampness, and high temperature and cold, enlarge the brand slogan of "eliminating summer heat and dampness to a bottle", awaken consumer demand, and let the audience have a clearer understanding of the products. Creative co-branding caused a lot of netizens to discuss and pay attention, which helped Taiji Huoxiang Zhengqi Oral Liquid to effectively break the circle and reach young people.
Strategy 3: Format and Experience Innovation
Integrate Chinese traditional health culture and Chinese health concept into the new format to provide consumers with new choices of healthy lifestyle with unique charm.
For example, the establishment of a health-care cafe combines Chinese health-care ingredients and drinks with coffee culture to provide consumers with delicious and healthy drink choices. In addition, around the concept of Chinese health care, we can also innovate to open health food stores, health SPA halls, Tai Chi yoga halls and other formats to meet the different needs of consumers for physical and mental health.
The way of keeping in good health is developing in a simpler and more efficient direction, which provides people with more healthy choices. For example, Zhima Health, a sub-brand of Tongrentang’s new retail transformation business, has launched a variety of health products and services based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine. Knowing that health focuses on a healthy lifestyle, we deeply understand the rising social pain points and consumption needs of the "sub-healthy" people in contemporary China, and change the focus on treating diseases into the focus on people’s health. Starting from the eight rigid needs of "drinking, eating, nourishing, caring, exercising, being able to and treating", we will develop various "health+"new products and services, and combine them with diversified shopping and leisure scenes to help contemporary people improve their physical fitness in all directions.
In terms of scene innovation, in order to meet diversified health needs, we will create a new retail healthy social space. Relying on innovative business model, personalized products and services, and multi-format healthy space, Zhihao Health has built a new retail healthy social space to display Chinese medicine culture and Chinese medicine health preservation concept in the form of a new retail store.
Through the new retail store model, Zhima Health has successfully created an innovative social space that integrates Chinese medicine culture and the concept of health and wellness. This move not only provides consumers with a brand-new shopping experience, but also injects new vitality into the Chinese medicine industry, effectively combining the new retail transformation with the traditional business upgrade.
Strategy 4: innovation of intensive components
Functional and customized products have become sought after by consumers. Product development for different people and needs can better meet the individual needs of consumers. For example, in view of the bone health problems of the elderly, products rich in calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients can be developed, which is helpful to improve bone density and prevent fractures. According to the antioxidant needs of young people, drinks or foods rich in antioxidant components can be introduced to help resist the damage of free radicals and keep the skin young. According to the fatigue relief needs of specific occupational groups, such as those who have been engaged in high-intensity mental or physical labor for a long time, products with refreshing and fatigue relief effects can be developed to improve work efficiency and quality of life.
Chinese has a high rate of lactose malabsorption, and some people will feel gastrointestinal discomfort after drinking milk. In order to solve this problem, it is particularly important to choose the milk that suits you. Through moderate hydrolysis of lactose and reconstruction of milk structure, Nestle first applied its first series of products with the latest scientific research achievements, Nestle N parent milk, in China.
The product adopts Nestle-Diamond moderate hydrolysis technology to reconstruct the structure of milk. After lactose is hydrolyzed into galactose, it is polymerized again into galactooligosaccharides. By reducing lactose, reducing carbohydrate and increasing prebiotics of raw milk, Nestle N parent milk can provide consumers with a brand-new milk drinking experience that is "softer, lighter and more nourishing".
As a new product aimed at lactose malabsorption in Chinese, Nestle N parent milk provides a brand-new milk drinking experience for consumers in China. At the same time, the innovation and optimization of ingredients for specific problems not only meet the needs of consumers, but also further promote the technological progress and product innovation of dairy industry.
Strategy 5: application innovation of digital intelligence
The application of science and technology and intelligence makes health preservation more and more intelligent. Through technical means such as big data and artificial intelligence, the field of health care is becoming more intelligent, personalized and service-oriented.
During the investigation of consumption trends in Zhimeng China in 2024, we found that consumers’ attitudes towards health management are changing, and they are no longer just passively coping with diseases, but more actively participating in daily nursing care. Taking intelligent monitoring and quantitative health management as an example, modern technology has provided us with unprecedented ability to obtain and analyze health data, and consumers are more interested in intelligent health management.
Taking the small, intelligent and portable health management equipment as an example, the brand "Left Point" is one step ahead of the consumer medical craze. In the field of consumer health, its self-developed intelligent moxibustion box has created a new category of intelligent moxibustion, ranking first in the category for four consecutive years. Big data and artificial intelligence are no longer tall things, but have entered our daily lives.
The smart sphygmomanometer on the left can monitor and record blood pressure data in real time through the mobile APP, providing consumers with all-round health management services. This intelligent monitoring and management tool enables consumers to know their physical condition more conveniently and discover potential health problems in time.
Zuodian technology medical health products fully demonstrate the great potential of digital intelligence application innovation in meeting the health needs of consumers. Through big data and artificial intelligence and other technical means, Zuodian Technology provides consumers with personalized and convenient health management services, making health care, maintenance and recuperation an indispensable part of contemporary people’s daily life.
Under the trend of "keeping in good health", upgrading and empowering products and services has become an indispensable part. With the increasing demand of consumers for health, we foresee that "essence health preservation" will become a broader consumption trend. In this change, brands and enterprises need to have a keen insight into consumers’ needs and deeply understand their yearning for a healthy life.
The concept of health is deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and consumers’ demand for health is extending from comprehensive planning to diversified health preservation methods. From the rise of new Chinese health care, to the popularization of dietotherapy health care, to the wide application of intelligent monitoring, consumers are leading the new trend of healthy consumption, moving towards the refinement of health management and the essence of health care methods.
Faced with the growing diversified health needs of consumers, brands need to think and explore at a deeper level. How to closely combine products with precise health care, truly meet the internal needs of consumers, strengthen emotional connection with consumers, and bring consumers a better health experience and quality of life!