The anti-aging market in China is expected to exceed 25.57 billion yuan. Which raw materials will take the lead in this anti-aging trend?
Aging refers to a gradual and irreversible biological process that occurs as one gets older. Aging is an inevitable part of the life cycle of living organisms, but the speed and manifestation of aging can vary depending on individual differences and environmental factors.
The global oral anti-aging market has witnessed significant growth over the past few years, mainly driven by population aging, enhanced consumer health awareness, and technological advancements in nutritional supplements. According to the WISEGUY "Global Anti-Aging Market Research Report", the global anti-aging product market size will reach 266.6 billion US dollars in 2024, and the market is expected to grow rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of 8% in the future.
The growth of the Chinese market has been particularly remarkable. In 2024, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Enhancing Elderly Care", which for the first time clearly set the goal of developing anti-aging industries and proposed 26 measures, creating a favorable policy environment for the oral anti-aging industry. According to Euromonitor's prediction, the Chinese anti-aging market will exceed 25.57 billion yuan in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 10%.
Source：pixabay
The signs of aging and consumers' preferences for anti-aging products
In 2013, Lopez-Otin et al. published a review article titled "Hallmarks of Aging" in Cell, proposing the "nine major signs of aging" for the first time; in 2023, the same research team expanded the criteria of aging to 12 based on the previous ones; on April 17, 2025, the research team published a review paper titled "From geroscience to precision geromedicine: Understanding and managing aging" in Cell. This review, based on the 12 major signs of aging previously proposed, expanded the aging indicators to 14.
The fourteen major indicators are: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic changes, loss of protein homeostasis, dysfunction of autophagy, dysregulation of nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, changes in extracellular matrix, depletion of stem cells, alterations in intercellular communication, chronic inflammation, dysbiosis of the microbiota, and psychological-social isolation.
In 2024, NBJ conducted a survey among supplement users regarding aging. The issues that consumers were most concerned about were: loss of mobility (28%), Alzheimer's or dementia (23%), vision loss (23%), loss of independence (19%), emotional or mental health problems (19%), muscle/skeletal loss (19%), hair loss (16%), insomnia (16%), etc.
This indicates that, compared to the subtle aging changes that are difficult to detect at the cellular and molecular levels, consumers are more concerned about the aging signs that are directly manifested in appearance and daily life functions. Wrinkled and dry skin, decline in physical strength and energy, memory loss... These "visible" signs of aging are more likely to cause anxiety among consumers.
The "2025 Oral Anti-Aging Consumer Trend Insights" report reveals that skin issues are a fundamental need for consumers in the anti-aging process. 65% of the surveyed consumers are concerned about "skin sagging/ increased wrinkles". Next is the internal health functions of the body. More than half of the consumers hope that oral anti-aging products can solve problems such as "physical decline/fatigue" and "impaired immunity". Among them, female consumers will focus on "beauty anti-aging", while male consumers pay more attention to "health anti-aging" for improving internal functions.
The notable anti-aging ingredients
1）NAD+forebody：NMN
NMN has become a highly regarded "anti-aging star ingredient" in recent years. On January 17, 2025, the Health Commission of China once again accepted the application for NMN as a new food additive variety. However, in 2022, this application was rejected. The reason might be that the US FDA classified NMN as a drug under research and no longer allowed it to be sold as a dietary supplement. This resumption of the application may be related to the lawsuit initiated by the Natural Products Association (NPA) against the FDA in 2024. The industry hopes to push NMN back into the food market.
Globally, Japan was the first country to approve NMN as a food ingredient. In July 2020, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan included NMN in the "List of Health Food Ingredients - Components Not Considered as Drugs". In 2021, the Canadian Natural Health Products Database listed NMN as a natural health product ingredient.
Although NMN has not yet been included in the list of raw materials that can be used in food or health supplements in our country, its popularity remains high. Some enterprises have adopted alternative strategies through cross-border channels and other means to expand their presence, which indirectly reflects the industry's attention to NMN.
NMN, also known as "nicotinamide mononucleotide", is a bioactive nucleotide with a molecular weight of 334.22. It has two configurations, namely α and β, among which β-NMN is its active form. NMN is also one of the precursors of the important coenzyme NAD+ in the body. In the human body, NMN can be found in placental tissues, blood, urine and other body fluids. Additionally, NMN is also present in various foods, such as cabbage, tomatoes, mushrooms, oranges, shrimp and beef, etc. Multiple animal experiments and preliminary human studies have shown that NMN may be involved in regulating NAD+ levels, thereby influencing cellular metabolism and mitochondrial function.
The NMN 10000 Supreme MSNS developed by Meiji Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has a purity of over 95% and is beneficial for maintaining human cell health and energy metabolism. It may have anti-aging effects.
Source: Lotte
2) Longevity Vitamin: Ergothioneine
According to the information from the official platform of the National Health Commission, mevalonic acid received new food raw material acceptance announcements on July 9th and July 18th, 2025. The two acceptances were only separated by less than 10 days. This reflects the high attention from the market to mevalonic acid and also demonstrates its potential in the field of health.
Ergothioneine (EGT) is a naturally occurring amino acid that exists in both thiol and thione forms of isomeric structures. The thione isomer predominates at physiological pH, giving ergothioneine an exceptionally strong antioxidant property.
The structure formulas of the two isomeric forms of ergothioneine
The anti-aging mechanisms of ergothioneine mainly include: 1) Through the transporter OCTN1, it directly reaches the mitochondria and the cell nucleus, eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the source and protecting cells from oxidative damage; 2) Maintaining genomic stability and repairing DNA in cells exposed to ultraviolet radiation; 3) Influencing epigenetic modifications, by affecting the redox state within the cells, it indirectly influences the methylation of DNA and RNA as well as the modification of histones; 4) Regulating the Sirtuin pathway, EGT interacts with the Sirtuin pathway to regulate aging.
According to data from Market Watch, it is projected that the market size of ergothioneine will reach 171.9 million US dollars by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 36.2% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2028.
The ergothioneine supplement launched by Japan's LS Corporation is a product designed to address memory decline in middle-aged and elderly people.
Source: Consumer Affairs Department
3) Skin Anti-Aging: Collagen Protein
Thanks to the market's education and development, collagen is currently a highly recognized "anti-aging ingredient" among consumers. In the survey on the understanding of mainstream anti-aging ingredients, collagen (78.2%), vitamin C (74.8%), and vitamin E (68%) are the top three ingredients that consumers recognize for oral anti-aging products. Among the top 5 anti-aging ingredient perceptions in different age groups, collagen is undoubtedly the "star ingredient".
Source: Kuren Data
Collagen is one of the most widely distributed and abundant proteins in mammals. It is widely present in tissues such as skin, bones, joints, and hair, and helps with organ development, wound and tissue healing, maintaining the health of connective tissues and skin. In terms of anti-aging of the skin, studies have found that collagen can stimulate collagen synthesis or reduce degradation, maintaining skin elasticity, and slowing down skin aging.
So far, 28 types of collagen have been identified. Among them, three types of collagen account for 80% to 90% of the total collagen in the human body, namely type I collagen, type II collagen and type III collagen. In terms of marketization, type I and type III collagen are widely used in skin care products and the oral beauty industry that uses food as makeup, and they are the main force in skin anti-aging; type II collagen is mostly used in products that support bone and joint health due to its functions such as immune regulation, cartilage repair, and joint lubrication.
Regenacol oral beauty supplement contains bovine colostrum, vitamin C, bovine collagen peptides and lycopene. Lycopene can increase the level of procollagen (the precursor of collagen), which helps to reduce skin aging and protect the skin from the damage caused by ultraviolet rays.
4) Brain Anti-Aging: Phosphatidylserine (PS)
In addition to focusing on changes in appearance, the aging of the nervous system, particularly the brain, has also gradually become an important research direction. Brain aging is typically characterized by decreased synaptic plasticity, reduced efficiency of neural network conduction, and decreased secretion of neurotransmitters. Clinically, it mainly manifests as cognitive decline such as memory loss, slower information processing speed, and decreased ability to control attention.
Phosphatidylserine (PS) is an important membrane phospholipid found in bacteria, yeast, plants, and mammalian cells. It is also the main acidic phospholipid in the brain. Under normal circumstances, PS is located in the cytoplasmic lobes of the plasma membrane, the endoplasmic reticulum lumen, the Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, and endosomes, maintaining the normal functions of organelles. PS is regarded as one of the most important brain nutrients and has regulatory effects on various neurotransmitter systems (including acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine). Studies have shown that PS helps improve the function of nerve cells, enhance the efficiency of nerve conduction, and thus plays a positive role in delaying age-related cognitive decline.
Brief summary
With the intensification of the aging population trend, the anti-aging market in China is experiencing rapid expansion. However, some of the currently highly regarded anti-aging ingredients still face challenges such as a weak clinical evidence base and an imperfect regulatory mechanism. Against this backdrop, how to promote the development of clinical research, improve the assessment system for the safety and efficacy of the ingredients, and achieve productization within the compliance framework, have become key issues for enterprises to consider when planning for the future market.
