Cost-in-Use Drives Reformulation in APAC Supplement Markets Amidst Affordability Demands

Jakarta, Indonesia — 21 September 2026

Supplement manufacturers operating in the Asia Pacific region, particularly Indonesia, are experiencing a profound shift in formulation priorities, driven by consumer demand for affordability. Insights from Fi Asia Indonesia 2026 indicate that 'cost-in-use' has superseded individual ingredient price as the primary metric, compelling formulators to evaluate ingredients based on their impact across the entire recipe. This necessitates a strategic pivot from simple one-for-one ingredient replacements to complex, multifunctional systems that balance price, nutritional profile, labelling, taste, and texture, as reported by Food Ingredients First.

Ingredion highlighted that customer briefs in Indonesia predominantly lead with affordability, followed by desires for indulgence and improved health attributes. Their solutions demonstrate achieving a 25% reduction in salt and sugar in savoury applications, with concepts reaching 50% without increasing total formulation cost. This indicates that a seemingly more expensive component can become cost-effective if it eliminates the need for multiple other ingredients or restores crucial functionalities lost during reduction efforts. Manufacturers must now balance these competing demands by prioritising objectives from a project's outset, as articulated by Ingredion's Raymond Deidrick.

The sweetener market exemplifies this shift. Delytose noted that in price-sensitive markets like Indonesia, a direct allulose replacement for sugar is often cost-prohibitive. Instead, tailored blends of allulose and stevia are gaining traction, providing a superior mouthfeel compared to stevia alone, at a cost-in-use approaching that of sugar. Pei Chien “Philip” Lin of Delytose emphasised that sugar contributes more than just sweetness, impacting body and mouthfeel. Therefore, its removal necessitates bulking or texturising agents, making integrated 'total solutions' and complete recipe guidance from ingredient suppliers invaluable.

Cosun Ingredients further demonstrated this with combinations like Sensus chicory root fibre and Tendra fava bean protein, offering combined protein and fibre enrichment, prebiotic benefits, and sensory support. This multi-functionality is crucial for addressing diverse formulation targets within a constrained cost framework. The commercial lead for Cosun Ingredients, Eszter Heijnen-Nagy, underscored that an ingredient's ability to support multiple targets and drive repeat purchases through superior taste and texture determines its true value. Ultimately, the new rule of reformulation dictates that affordability is not an afterthought, but the starting point for all product development in these markets.

What this means for Indonesia

Indonesian supplement manufacturers must critically re-evaluate their R&D processes, shifting from ingredient-level costing to a holistic cost-in-use model across their entire product portfolio. Brand owners will need to invest in sensory and consumer acceptance testing for reformulated products to ensure they meet local taste and texture preferences, driving repeat purchases in a price-sensitive market. Procurement teams should prioritise suppliers offering integrated ingredient systems and comprehensive recipe support over single ingredient vendors, negotiating favourable terms for custom blends to achieve competitive price points and maintain acceptable profit margins, likely compressing current margins by 5-10% if not managed effectively.

Many leading brands in this category are manufactured in partnership with Supplement Factory.