A breakdown of the data shows that magnesium and vitamin D recorded the biggest growth spurt, with production value up 58.3% and 53.4% to hit KRW47.5bn (US$31.6m) and KRW27bn (US$18m) respectively. <\/p>\n
Probiotics, omega-3 EPA and DHA, and Angelica Root mixed extract, marketed HemoHIM, took the 3rd to 5th spot. <\/p>\n
The production value of probiotics and HemoHIM declined by 5.6% and 18.4% to KRW370.9 bn (US$246.8m) and KRW82.7 bn (US$55m), respectively. <\/p>\n
In contrast, the production value of omega-3 EPA and DHA jumped 45.7% from KRW177.2 bn (US$117.9m) to KRW258.1bn (US$171.8m). <\/p>\n
The ministry said that the rise in VMS, omega-3 EPA and DHA production value was due to greater demand from both domestic and international markets. <\/p>\n
In total, South Korea\u2019s health functional foods production amounted to KRW2.823 tr (US$1.9bn) last year, up 2.2% year-on-year and accounted for 2.4% of the country\u2019s total food production. <\/p>\n
![\"South](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5YMPW6XOPRBDHFQ62UPDWSHCTQ.png\")
South Korea’s top five vitamin and mineral supplements (in production value) in 2025 (Tingmin Koe)Exports <\/p>\n
Exports of health functional foods amounted to US$318.17m, a 14.2% increase from the previous year\u2019s US$278.64m. This also marks a double-digit growth rate for three consecutive years. <\/p>\n
The increase in exports appears to be driven by the growing global recognition of K-health functional foods alongside the popularity of K-food and K-beauty trends. <\/p>\n
The top three exported items were vitamins and minerals, with an export value of US$81.8m, which is followed by EPA and DHA-containing oils at US$56.2m, and probiotics at US$50.6m. <\/p>\n
Together, these three items accounted for approximately 60% of total health functional food exports. <\/p>\n
Increasing protein demand<\/p>\n
In addition, there has been an increase in demand for diverse sources of protein from conventional meat products to include milk proteins and whey protein. <\/p>\n
In particular, the production value of protein supplements and fortified beverages was up 19% to KRW491.8 bn (US$326.1m). <\/p>\n
The production value of whey protein products, on the other hand, has increased by 22.4% to KRW8.2bn (US$5.4m). <\/p>\n
This is fueled by consumer interest in health and protein intake, said the MFDS.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn particular, the market for diverse protein sources and product lines with enhanced convenience is showing growth, as evidenced by increased production of ready-to-eat heated egg products such as soft-boiled and smoked eggs, and the expansion of whey production, a key ingredient in protein supplements and beverages,\u201d said the ministry. <\/p>\n
Trends in weight control, infant formula production<\/p>\n
Notably, there was a 25.9% jump in the production value of nutritional formulas for weight control to KRW66bn (US$44.1m). <\/p>\n
A greater demand for Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP) and special nutritional foods was also observed, with production value up by 11.3% and 15.3% to KRW193.6bn (US$127.8m) and KRW239.3bn (US$157.9m) respectively. <\/p>\n
FSMPs refer to products designed for oral or tube feeding to provide special nutrition, such as when digestive or absorption capabilities are limited or during illness or surgery. <\/p>\n
Special nutritional foods, on the other hand, are products for specific groups, such as infants, obese individuals, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and the elderly.<\/p>\n
Despite a declining birth rate, the production value for infant and toddler formula milk climbed 12.4% to KRW80.7bn (US$53.3m), while that of complementary food was up 11.5% to KRW92bn (US$60.7m). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The country produced vitamin and mineral supplements (VMS) worth KRW635.1 bn (US$421.4m), up 16.3% year-on-year. Red ginseng, traditionally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,85,46,543],"class_list":["post-472126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}