Recently, a sleep aid beverage with L-theanine in purple bottle called Scream has caused widespread public concern on social media. L-theanine, as an ingredient, has been found to improve sleep quality and mitigate stress.  People humorously comment that just one bottle of Scream can bring you a 12-hours sweet sleep. As of 11 Oct, 2024,  more than 10,000 posts are related to “What we should eat to deal with insomnia” on Xiaohongshu, one of China’s most popular social media platforms. It reflects the fact that an array of people in China are suffering from sleeping disorders, such as insomnia, waking up easily, dizziness, continuous light sleep and dreaming. The reasons behind this mainly lie in enormous pressure from work and fast-paced life, over-flowing information in the Internet era, and personal emotional factors.

China’s Sleep Market Overview

Due to the situations stated above, demand for better rest is seen on the rise, which propels the emergence of various products, ranging from sleep aid supplements, homeware, AI technologies, to food and drinks. As the sleep aid products have made their presence in the market, the so-called sleep economy has been taking shape. According to market research firm iiMedia Research, in 2023, China's sleep economy market totaled nearly 496 billion yuan, up 8.6% year-on-year. With the reach and variety of sleep-aid products growing, the market is projected to increase to an estimated size of 658.7 billion yuan by 2027, and 1 trillion yuan by 2030.

However, amid the huge potential in the sleep economy, it is essential to keep an eye on some notable problems. Chinese customers have already seen shortcomings in current sleep aid products, including hyper promotion, the shortage of industry regulations, and sluggish innovation. The data from iiMedia Research in May 2024 showed that 73.0% consumers had expressed reservations about sleep-inducing products and 46.6% doubted their actual effects. 

Chinese Food Enterprises Catch the Trend

Chinese food brands covering numerous sectors, such as health food and tonics, have caught the trend and found their ways into consumers’ healthy lives.

In the Chinese market, there are three main types of ingredients commonly used in sleep aid foods: melatonin; the combined use of Y-aminobutyric acid (referred to as GABA) and L-theanine; herbal medicine, such as spine date seed and chamomile.

When it comes to sleep aid supplements, melatonin is one of the most common products for people with sleep disorders. Since China approved the use of melatonin in health food in the 1980s, several health enterprises like Beijing TRT Group and By-health have started R&D for melatonin .

Melatonin products of By-health and Beijing TRT Group

GABA and L-theanine, which can help mitigate nervous tension, are added into various foods and drinks, including beverages, milk, and gummies. Junlebao Dairy Group released sugar free protein beverages with GABA in Sep 2019. Wahaha rolled out night milk containing GABA in 2020.

Sleep aid drinks of Junlebao and Wahaha

Herbal plants are commonly deemed as a natural sedative to improve sleep quality. Inspired by the concept of Chinese food and medicine homology, Xinhuo, a Yili’s milk powder brand, integrated sour jujube kernel, Poria cocos and other herbs into milk powder to help with sleep. Another example is “Dream Water” launched by Wantwant. The drink mainly contains L-theanine, German chamomile flower extract and y-aminobutyric acid, which are expected to relieve stress and fatigue.

the sleep aid drink of Wantwant and Milk Powder of Yili

However, most products mentioned above either have been pulled off shelves or failed to meet the estimated sales, principally due to consumers’ unformed consuming habits and low acceptance of healthcare foods. Meanwhile, the fact that long-term use of melatonin products will lead to a decrease in the secretion of melatonin makes consumers worry about the side-effect and then hesitate to buy it.

The Prospect of Sleep Aid Food

Against the backdrop of a considerable sleep market and diverse demands, how can food enterprises catch the opportunity to serve consumers?  

Ingredients Innovation Plays an Essential Role

Innovation could inject vitality into sleep industry where the raw material holds the key to the innovation. GABA and melatonin are the most popular elements around the world. At the same time, the emergence of new ingredients makes enterprises possible to develop innovative products. Chinese herbs, plant extracts and composite materials are most popular among them.

As the Chinese style of regimen gained popularity, Chinese medicinal herbs have turned into a staple material in sleep aid foods. According to State Administration for Market Regulation, health foods with spina date seed as main material accounted for 81.5% in sleep-aid health foods.

In addition, more plant extracts serve as new materials in sleep aid foods. In March, the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment solicited public opinions on Proanthocyanidin, a raw material that can promote the sleep quality of middle-aged women, which usually applied to dairy products, jelly and beverages. Besides, the U.S widely uses some plant extracts with sedative and sleep-promoting effects, such as chamomile, elderberry, ashwagandha and other ingredients,

The U.S also pay more attention to using composite materials to strengthen working results through synergy effects. PLT Health Solutions has proposed an innovative ingredient, called Serezin Restorative Sleep+Pain Relief, which is a blend of Boswellia serrata and ginger extracts. It can effectively reduce pain, promote sleep, and has a positive impact on emotional well-being.

Product Diversity is Another Influential Factor

Brands have been seeking for new forms of sleep aid foods. Consequently, more and more daily food and drinks with the effect of sleep-promoting are emerging, such as dairy beverages, tea, coco, coffee, pudding, cookies, gummy, chocolate, etc., significantly enriching the type of sleep-aid products.

Cocoa, decaf coffee, and pudding products with GABA

For example, OLLY, a subsidiary of Unilever, has rolled out a Maximum Strength Sleep gummy to help consumers fall asleep quickly and improve their sleep quality. Alice Mushrooms has launched a Chocolate containing natural sleep aid ingredients such as Ganoderma lucidum, chamomile, theanine, and South African eggplant.

Sleep gummy of OLLY and chocolate of Alice Mushrooms

Dsclaimer: All images used in the article are from the Internet.