Supplement Market Overview
Brazilians have become great users of supplements for healthy and aesthetic purposes. The supplements can be shakes, protein bars and others, since the components they're comprised of are legal. This article covers the importing procedures for this booming industry in Brazil.
In the quest for the ideal body or to obtain other aesthetic benefits, such as anti-aging, some people over-consume products that have been marketed as food supplements, which have become a craze among gym goers.
SUPPLEMENTS BOOM IN BRAZIL
In 2012 the consumption of supplements grew 23% in Brazil, to approximately 4 million people users of supplements and responsible for moving 760 million BRL for this market. The increase in their consumption was so impressive that, from 2010 to 2013, the growth rate for this sector had reached averages 100% higher than the ones achieved by conventional food.
Supplements that promise to increase muscles in a short time are also conquering space in this business. From 2009 to 2012 the number of supplements stores and natural products rose a lot:
- Supplements stores – 3,000
- Natural Products stores – 4,000
- Drugstores and Pharmacies – 77,000
- Academies – 20 000
The growth in the number of supplements stores in Brazil is impressive, just in the Amazonas – thanks to the Manaus Free Trade Zone – the number of stores has more than quintupled in the last three years. Even with this huge growth in consumption and with the popularization of this type of products, only 2% of the population in Brazil consumes supplements. If compared to the 57% of United States, this economic sector has planty room to explore.
Price Still a Barrier
The mainly reason for the low number of consumers is purely economic: supplements are pricey. The price of this products is still inaccessible to the general public. Monthly, a person can spend between 120 to 180 BRL on with their usage. That's why many Brazilians find it easier to import them individually through web sites and virtual stores than buying them from legal and registered stores in Brazil.
Health versus Looking Good
The market boom for supplements could be a problem for Brazilian authorities since some components of their formulas can seriously damage people's health. Each country controls these products in a specific way and, in many cases, food supplements entered the market before they were evaluated for safety, quality or efficacy. Consumers should be vigilant and find out whether these supplements have been evaluated by the health authorities of the country where they're bought from.
Recently, the World Organization of Health (WHO) alerted many countries that it had identified adverse effects associated to the dimethylamylamine consumption. Also known as DMAA, the substance is a component of some food supplements usually used to help losing weight, increasing athletic performance and some drug abuse.
The substance has stimulating effects over the central nervous system and might cause dependency, along with other side effects – such as renal failure and heart insufficiency – and might cause death. Some countries have already prohibited the commercialization of DMAA products and Brazil is one of them.
Sanitary Rules for Supplements
WHO is not the only organization concerned with effects caused by supplements, the Brazilian government has also adopted some measures in order to avoid the commercialization of products harmful to health. Food presented in pharmaceutical formats (capsules, tablets or other formats intended to be ingested dose) may be marketed only after evaluated for safety use.
This products must also be registered with Anvisa before being released commercially. For private individuals the rules are different. Brazil allows the importation of food supplements by individuals for their own consumption, even if those products are not regularized by the sanitary agency. However, these supplements can not be imported for resale or trade purposes, or, contain substances subject to special control or proscribed in the country.
Forbidden Commercialization
Anvisa included DMAA in the Brazilian list of proscribed substances. The measure doesn't allow the importation of any products that has this substance in it's formula, even for the purchase and consumption by a private person. The food supplements made by DMAA are:
- Jack3D
- Oxy Elite Pro
- Lipo-6 Black
- And others.
These supplements contain ingredients that are not safe for consumption as food or contain substances with therapeutic properties that cannot be consumed without medical supervision.
Procedures for Importation
As was mentioned above, the rules for supplements in Brazil varies from commercial purposes and individual consumption, hence, the procedures for their importation is also different. To individuals the import process is easier, because it doesn't need an Anvisa register to purchase supplements if the product purchased were for individual consumption and not designated for commercialization.
For companies the process isn't that simple. Supplements are in the list of goods that are required to be registered with Anvisa prior, before they're commercialized. Companies interested in importing this type of good to Brazil must acquire an Import License in Siscomex and be subjected to Anvisa analysis before customs clear the product – a process called Anuência Prévia.