I came
across an interesting study over the week, which further piqued my curiosity about
the modern state of fitness and health, as well as the future of the fitness industry.
The study entitled ‘Global
Creatine Market Outlook 2016 – 2021’ looks in detail at the current growing
market for creatine and creatine
supplements, with a particular focus on China where manufacturing, sale and
consumption is higher than anywhere else on the planet.
Creatine,
despite being available for a very long time, only really embedded itself in
the public conscience barely over a decade ago. Back then, the market was much
smaller and more targeted toward legacy bodybuilders who were looking to
supplement regular workouts. Today, creatine has a much more mainstream angle,
being sold as a supplement for a variety of active sports including swimming,
cycling, and even football. Creatine itself has also changed over the years,
becoming better in quality and recommended by many doctors and sporting
professionals.
This
has led to a massive rise in popularity and, over time, creatine has become a
highly sought-after solution for quicker results in terms of bulking and muscle
building. Part of the appeal of this market, according to the study, is the
relatively cheap costs of running an industrial chain (both upstream and downstream).
This coupled with a high worldwide demand, as well as a steadily growing
supply, has attracted investors and organisations of many different kinds. Production
value is also low, meaning hundreds of batches can be produced and run an
industrial chain for months.
A similar
study
from 2009, which analysed outlook up until 2019, suggests that much has changed in the few years between the studies. Namely, raw materials used in processing
creatine supplements are in much greater supply now, leading to a clear
increase in a range of global factors from the 2009 study to the 2016 study. Most
notably, both global demand and supply have skyrocketed, whilst labor and
production costs have also risen by a fraction year-on-year.
This a
good sign for the future of the industry. Such growth in global supply and
demand is usually accompanied by increases in production costs, usually owing
to prices being jacked up for essential compounds within the supplements.
However, with these costs still low even after a decade and a half, it signals
that increases in production have already occurred.
In my experience,
a good market opportunity is often accompanied by the rise of an associated industry.
We know that healthcare and fitness is one of the biggest in the world, but
creatine and creatine supplements fall somewhere in the middle, meaning it’s
hard to assign any kind or predictive value or outlook based on similar markets
alone. All we have now is face value, and the increasingly relaxed attitude
that currently surrounds creatine usage, as well as endorsements from various prominent
healthcare professionals, suggests further growth in years to come.
Overall,
I’m always interested in emerging markets, but the market for creatine is a
very special case. China usually serves as a desirable, high-volume market for products
such as these, so it’s no surprise that it’s been a success there. However, the
Western world is just as interested in health and fitness, and the market is already
very healthy here. Therefore, I think the predicted outlook in the study is
very possible, if not understating the potential strength of a global creatine market.
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