China Vitamins 2026 — VA/VE/VD3 Oligopoly and Global Export Pricing Power

On 7 May 2026, the domestic Chinese spot quote for vitamin A reached 98 yuan per kilogram — up 56.8% from 59 yuan/kg at the start of the year, in just five months. Vitamin E spot offerings hovered between 80 and 100 yuan/kg in the same period. Vitamin D3 prices were kept off the market by Garden Bio (Huayuan Shengwu), which had suspended quotations in late April 2025; subsequent inquiries received the response "no price provided" for weeks.

This is the opening scene for China's vitamin industry in 2026. The underlying logic chain stretches back. On 29 July 2024, an explosion at BASF's Ludwigshafen chemical complex in Germany affected 14,400 tons/year of vitamin A (26.7% of global capacity), 20,000 tons/year of vitamin E oil (13.8% of global), as well as carotenoids and aroma ingredients. Within two weeks, China's domestic vitamin A spot price soared from 98 yuan/kg to 230 yuan/kg — a 162.86% jump. This was the most violent price pulse in the vitamin industry over the past decade, pulling all upstream Chinese players — Zhejiang NHU (Xinhecheng), Zhejiang Medicine, Nantekang, Garden Bio, Brother Enterprise, Kingdomway — into a peak business cycle in late 2024 and early 2025.

2025 was a year of digesting that high base. BASF's vitamin A came back on line in early April 2025, vitamin E in early July, while several domestic Chinese expansions also released supply. The annual average price of vitamin A fell 41.87% year-over-year and vitamin E fell 15.06%. Xinhecheng's full-year 2025 revenue reached 22.251 billion yuan, only up 2.97% YoY, but its net profit attributable to parent reached 6.764 billion yuan, up 15.26% — driven by upstream cost advantage and high-margin new categories filling the gap.

Then a much bigger bombshell hit the industry landscape. In early 2026, DSM-Firmenich announced the divestment of its entire Animal Nutrition and Health (ANH) business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for an enterprise value of 2.2 billion euros, retaining a 20% equity stake. The divestment scope includes Performance Solutions, Premix, Precision Services, and — critically — Vitamins, Carotenoids and Aroma Ingredients. DSM-Firmenich thus exits the animal feed vitamin and feed premix track entirely, transitioning to a pure consumer goods and food aroma company. A one-time pre-tax impairment of 1.9 billion euros was booked in fiscal 2025, with the transaction expected to close by end of 2026.

DSM's position in the global vitamin industry cannot be summarized in a single sentence. It ranks among the top three among the world's top six vitamin A producers, top two among the top five vitamin E producers, and its withdrawal pace from vitamin D3 directly determines supply-demand balance on the cholesterol route. Once DSM hands this business into CVC's asset bag — whether CVC continues to operate it, sells it on as a whole, or gradually breaks it up — the industry will no longer have a player that, like DSM, covers all vitamin categories, participates in all pricing strategies, and integrates upstream and downstream as a "quasi-supply-chain hub."

The vacated hub position belongs to Chinese vitamin producers in the 2026 to 2030 window.

This report answers four questions:

First, what does the global landscape of the Chinese vitamin industry actually look like in 2025? Which categories have achieved Chinese dominance, and which are still being contested?

Second, where exactly are the synthesis process barriers in vitamins? Why are the capacity concentration ratios of intermediates like citral, isophytol, trimethylhydroquinone, and NF-grade cholesterol even higher than those of end products?

Third, what does the 2025 and H1 2026 financial data of the seven leading Chinese listed companies — Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Brother Enterprise, Nantekang, Kingdomway, and Adisseo — tell us about their capacity expansion and margin shifts?

Fourth, after DSM divests ANH, where will the pricing power and capital returns of the global vitamin industry migrate in the next three to five years? Can Chinese players evolve from "cost manufacturers" to "global price setters"?

The report is divided into 14 chapters. Chapter 1 lays out the basic structure of the global vitamin industry. Chapters 2 and 3 unpack upstream and process routes. Chapter 4 is a horizontal comparison of leading enterprises. Chapters 5 and 6 dive deep into vitamin E and vitamin D3 and other key categories. Chapter 7 looks at downstream distribution from a factory data perspective. Chapters 8 and 9 unpack feed-grade, food-grade, pharma-grade, and cosmetic-grade downstreams. Chapter 10 unpacks capacity expansion. Chapter 11 unpacks price cycles. Chapter 12 gives the three-to-five year outlook. Chapter 13 is risks. Chapter 14 is data sources.

Chapter 1　Industry Overview: The Basic Global and Chinese Vitamin Landscape in 2025

The global vitamin industry in 2025 is a specialty chemical sub-sector with total revenue of about 18 billion US dollars, with China contributing over 30%, with highly granular categories and extremely high oligopoly concentration.

The basic classification of vitamins

By medical definition, vitamins are micro organic compounds essential for the normal physiological functions of human or animal bodies — they cannot be synthesized internally in sufficient quantity and must be obtained from food. There are thirteen vitamins known to be essential for the human body: fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, water-soluble B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12) and vitamin C.

By industrial production and sales scale, the global vitamin industry can be split into three tiers:

The first tier is the "big varieties" — vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B3 (niacinamide), and vitamin B5 (calcium pantothenate). Annual global production of these five varieties each exceeds 10,000 tons, making this the most lucrative, most price-sensitive, and most stable-oligopoly board in the industry. Global vitamin E capacity is about 150,000 tons/year, vitamin C about 200,000 tons/year (China accounts for 85%+), vitamin A about 28,000 tons/year.

The second tier is "medium varieties" — vitamin D3, vitamin K3, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12. Annual production ranges from hundreds to thousands of tons. But medium varieties feature high unit prices, high value-add, and high technology barriers — these are typically "pearl-level" categories where leaders expand and new entrants face extreme barriers.

The third tier is "small varieties" — vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin B9 (folic acid), coenzyme Q10, astaxanthin, beta-carotene, carotenoids. In this group, coenzyme Q10 and astaxanthin are star varieties scaling fast in the synthetic biology era.

Market size of the global vitamin industry

In 2025, the global veterinary vitamin market is expected to exceed 18 billion US dollars, with China contributing over 30%. From a more granular perspective, the global vitamin feed additive market was about 917 million US dollars in 2024, expected to reach 1.315 billion US dollars by 2031, with a CAGR of 5.4% during 2025-2031. Note these two datasets use different scopes — the "veterinary vitamin market" 18 billion figure includes the full feed-use vitamin terminal value (with intermediation and distributor markups), while the "vitamin feed additive" 917 million figure is the narrower ex-factory scale.

From a geographic production perspective, industrial vitamin synthesis is highly concentrated in China, Europe, North America, and India. China and Europe together account for over 80% of global capacity. Specifically:

China is the dominant producer of fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D3, K3 and water-soluble vitamins C, B1, B3, B5
Europe (German BASF, Dutch/Swiss DSM-Firmenich, French Adisseo) still holds key intermediate leverage on vitamin A, vitamin E, and methionine upstream
India is competitive in vitamin B12 and B-complex formulations
North America (US Cargill, ADM, etc.) is mainly a distribution channel with limited captive capacity

China's 2025 vitamin exports

From January to December 2024, China's total vitamin exports reached 422,765 tons, up 64,304 tons or 17.94% YoY. Export value rose 25.4% YoY, with both volume and price up.

For example, for vitamin A and vitamin E exports from January to November 2024, the United States, Germany, and Brazil were the top three destinations. This is an interesting data point — the US and Germany are home to DSM and BASF, but global vitamin logistics still go through Chinese hands. This means European and American vitamin producers' capacity can no longer meet their own home market demand and must import from China.

In Q1 2024, China's vitamin exports to the US grew 36.3% YoY. The subtext: large American feed mills are moving "Chinese vitamin producers" from backup-list to primary-list status.

The 2025 vitamin price "rollercoaster"

The 2025 vitamin price trajectory can be broken into four phases:

Phase one (January-April 2025): Digestion of the high inventory from H2 2024 created by the BASF event. Vitamin A fell from 230 yuan/kg in August 2024 to around 60-something yuan/kg by Q1 2025.

Phase two (May-September 2025): BASF restored vitamin A in April, vitamin E and carotenoids in July, with global supply normalizing. Domestic capacity expansions also came online. Vitamin A's full-year average price was down 41.87% YoY, vitamin E down 15.06% YoY.

Phase three (October-December 2025): Overseas oligopolies began positioning for the next supply cycle. Vitamin E rebounded in October but weakened again in December. The market was effectively waiting for DSM's final ANH decision.

Phase four (January 2026 to now): The DSM-CVC transaction is officially announced, while Middle East geopolitical conflict affects energy transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Vitamin A climbed from 59 yuan/kg at year-start to 80 yuan/kg by March and 98 yuan/kg by 7 May — a 56.8% rise over the period. Vitamin E oscillates at the high level of 80-100 yuan/kg.

These four phases together form a complete script of the Chinese vitamin industry over the past 18 months — crisis (explosion) → price spike (pulse) → digestion (retreat) → restructuring (divestment) → uptrend (geopolitics+landscape).

Why the vitamin industry is a "price game"

The vitamin industry has a long-overlooked characteristic — it is a typical "price game" industry. By "price game" we mean:

Single-variety global producers are highly concentrated (typically 3-6 top producers hold 70%+ market share)
Terminal demand is relatively rigid (vitamins are non-substitutable trace nutrients in feed)
Price elasticity is extreme (any capacity adjustment by a top producer triggers global price pulses)
Cycles are relatively short (a complete price pulse typically runs 6-18 months)

In this "price game" industry, profit hinges not on volume but on price. Same volume, a 30% price increase doubles industry-wide gross margin; a 30% drop pushes most mid-and-small players into losses.

The journey of Chinese vitamin producers over the past fifteen years from "passive price takers" to "active price participants" is essentially the acquisition of an entry pass into the price game. The four leaders — Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, and Brother Enterprise — already have voice and pricing power in the game.

From 2026 to 2030, China's vitamin industry is expected to move further from "active price participant" to "leading price setter" — through self-discipline + active supply control + overseas market expansion, leading the medium-to-long-term direction of global vitamin prices.

National strategic value of the vitamin industry

The vitamin industry is not just a chemical sub-industry but also has "national strategic value." For three reasons:

First, vitamins are the key support for "food safety" and "grain security." A country's per capita protein intake, its ability to replace grain with animal protein, and the coverage of food fortification all depend on vitamin supply.

Second, vitamins are the core vehicle for "fine chemicals" and "synthetic biology." Vitamin industry technology, equipment, and raw material supply chains are closely intertwined with downstream high-value-add industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and supplements.

Third, vitamins are the high-end representative of "chemical exports." The export structure of Chinese vitamins is dominated by high-value-add API, with unit value much higher than typical bulk chemicals. This is a representative track for Chinese manufacturing moving from "low-and-mid-end" to "high-end chemical exports."

It is precisely because of this "national strategic value" that the Chinese vitamin industry has received relatively stable policy support over the past fifteen years — including capacity expansion approval, export tax rebates, R&D subsidies, tax preferences. Over the next five years, this policy support is expected to continue, especially in innovative directions like synthetic biology, new materials, and new processes.

The "five plus four" global vitamin producer landscape

Slicing the global vitamin production landscape by category:

Vitamin A: top six global producers, by capacity — Xinhecheng (China, #1), DSM-Firmenich (being handed over via CVC), BASF (Germany, #3), Adisseo (controlled by ChemChina), Zhejiang Medicine, Kingdomway. Only Xinhecheng and BASF produce citral intermediates in-house.

Vitamin E: top five global producers — Xinhecheng (China, top-two), DSM-Firmenich (being divested), Nantekang (China, about 20% global capacity), Zhejiang Medicine, BASF.

Vitamin D3: top five global producers — Garden Bio (China, #1, 30-40% market share), Haisheng Pharma, Kingdomway, Xinhecheng, DSM (exiting). Cholesterol supply barriers determine top-three positioning.

Vitamin K3: Brother Enterprise (China, #1, 40-60% market share), Xinhecheng, other Chinese producers.

B vitamins: B1 China share >70% (Brother and Tianxin Pharma as mainstay), B3 niacinamide China-dominated, B5 calcium pantothenate China-dominated, B6 China-dominated, B12 India+China shared.

Methionine: the last variety in which China is not yet dominant — Evonik (Germany, #1), Adisseo (ChemChina-held, #2), Novus (US), Sumitomo Chemical (Japan). But once Adisseo's Quanzhou solid methionine 150,000 tons/year is online in 2027, the position moves up a notch.

Read this table horizontally and China's vitamin industry has completed a "seven plus one" pattern over the past decade — most categories achieve Chinese dominance, with methionine the last key variety still in the import-substitution phase.

维生素A, 维生素E, 维生素D3, 维生素K3, 烟酰胺, 泛酸钙, 辅酶Q10, 蛋氨酸 — these factory distributions, capacities, and shipping capabilities have become some of the most stable rows in the Chinese specialty chemicals map.

Chapter 2　Upstream: Citral, Isophytol, and Trimethylhydroquinone — the True Choke Points of the Vitamin Industry

The vitamin industry has a feature outsiders find hard to grasp — what determines the price of end products is often not the capacity of the end products themselves but the capacity of a few key intermediates. Citral for vitamin A, isophytol and trimethylhydroquinone for vitamin E, NF-grade cholesterol for vitamin D3, isobutyl niacinate for vitamin B3 — these intermediates have higher capacity concentration, deeper technology barriers, and larger single-line investment scales than the end vitamins themselves.

Understanding this is key to understanding why China's vitamin industry has spent the past fifteen years climbing the upstream value chain.

Citral — the "godly raw material" of vitamin A

Industrial synthesis of vitamin A follows two main routes — the Roche route (invented at Swiss Roche, now belonging to DSM-Firmenich) and the BASF route. But both routes converge on a key starting material: beta-ionone.

Beta-ionone in turn requires another upstream raw material: citral. Citral itself is a terpene compound naturally present in lemongrass and litsea cubeba essential oil, but plant extraction cannot meet the annual industrial demand of tens of thousands of tons — it must rely on chemical synthesis.

Global citral capacity is highly concentrated. About 60-70% of global supply comes from BASF's Ludwigshafen facility — 40,000 tons/year, about 66% of global capacity. This is one of BASF's core chemicals assets and one of the most upstream-integrated units of the Ludwigshafen complex.

This is why the 29 July 2024 explosion caused such a large shock to global vitamin A — the affected unit was upstream of the citral chain, and vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotenoid production were all hit, forcing BASF to declare force majeure globally on selected vitamins and aroma ingredients. This single event exposed the single-point-of-failure risk in the global vitamin A supply chain.

Chinese producers cracked the citral lock through two paths. The first path is Xinhecheng — after twenty years of R&D, they built Asia's first industrial citral facility in Shangyu, Zhejiang. They are currently the only producer among the global vitamin A top six (besides BASF) that is self-sufficient in citral. This is the root reason Xinhecheng's vitamin A margin has led the industry for the past decade — upstream cost is controlled, midstream products price competitively.

The second path is Wanhua Chemical — starting 2023, building the world's largest new citral facility, with phased commissioning in 2025. Wanhua itself is not a vitamin producer, but the citral facility can theoretically supply tolling for other domestic vitamin A producers, easing the industry's reliance on BASF's single point. This is an important industry-chain-level event — meaning the global citral oligopoly is being broken.

Isophytol and trimethylhydroquinone — the two upstream lines of vitamin E

Industrial synthesis of vitamin E is an ancient chemical problem. The "one-step condensation method" that first successfully synthesized alpha-tocopherol in 1938 takes trimethylhydroquinone (TMHQ) as the main ring structure and isophytol (IP) as the side chain, condensing them under acid catalysis to yield alpha-tocopherol. Today 80% of global vitamin E comes from synthetic routes, with chemical synthesis output exceeding 95%.

But while the reaction is "one step," each of the two raw materials requires at least seven preceding steps.

First, TMHQ synthesis. There are five main industrial methods globally: para-tert-butylphenol, para-xylene, isophorone, crotonaldehyde, and meta-cresol. Each has pros and cons:

Meta-cresol method: Overseas mainstream process, used by both DSM and BASF. Short flow, high yield, but meta-cresol's industrial capacity is concentrated in Europe.
Isophorone method: Uses ketoisophorone as key intermediate. Low cost, efficient, environmentally friendly. Path: acetone polymerizes to alpha-isophorone, rearranges to beta-isophorone, oxidizes to ketoisophorone, rearranges, acylates, hydrolyzes to TMHQ.
Para-xylene method: Relatively low-cost, mid-range technology barrier, used by several domestic producers.
Para-tert-butylphenol and crotonaldehyde methods: Less mature technically, increasingly phased out.

Second, isophytol synthesis. Industrial preparation of isophytol mainly takes two routes:

Pseudoionone method: Pseudoionone as key intermediate, multi-step catalytic reactions to isophytol. The overseas mainstream route, used by BASF and DSM.
Lavandulol method: Shorter path from lavandulol, but extremely tight reaction control needed.

Regardless of route, isophytol synthesis requires seven catalytic steps, including multiple high-pressure alkyne reactions. Each step's yield, selectivity, and byproduct handling must be optimized to the extreme, or costs spiral. So global isophytol industrial capacity is also highly concentrated — historically held by BASF and DSM.

The breakthrough by Chinese producers on isophytol came in 2019. That year, DSM signed a cooperation agreement with Hubei Nantekang, forming a joint venture in Jingzhou. The JV is run such that Nantekang's subsidiary Shishou Nantekang handles isophytol (IP) production, while the new JV company handles trimethylhydroquinone (TMHQ) and vitamin E end products.

This is a typical "China cost + overseas technology" combination. DSM transfers the IP and TMHQ core technology to the Chinese JV. Nantekang handles plant construction, labor cost optimization, and energy efficiency. After the JV came online in 2021, China's share of global vitamin E vaulted past 40% in one move.

Nantekang currently has 30,000 tons/year vitamin E capacity (~20% global), 12,000 tons/year isophytol capacity with 96% utilization. Combined with Xinhecheng's capacity (one of the top two globally), Zhejiang Medicine's capacity, and continued JV expansion, China's vitamin E industry by 2025 holds over 70% of global capacity.

After DSM completes its 2026 ANH divestment, this business will theoretically be packaged into CVC's portfolio, with CVC choosing to operate or onsell. Chinese producers' seven-year work on isophytol and TMHQ may see deeper rewards after 2027 — once DSM's captive capacity withdraws (or efficiency drops under CVC), Chinese voice in the global vitamin E industry will move toward 90%.

NF-grade cholesterol — the "exclusive admission ticket" to vitamin D3

Industrial synthesis of vitamin D3 follows: "cholesterol → 7-dehydrocholesterol → UV irradiation → vitamin D3." The key intermediate is NF-grade cholesterol — purity must meet the US National Formulary specification to be used in downstream synthesis.

Cholesterol itself is everywhere in nature — animal fat, egg yolk, blood. But industrial extraction of NF-grade cholesterol has extremely limited sources: wool grease (lanolin) is the only economically viable industrial raw material. About 15% of lanolin is cholesterol, requiring complex extraction, purification, recrystallization, deactivation, and testing to reach NF grade.

Global NF-grade cholesterol industrial capacity is also highly concentrated. Garden Bio alone accounts for about 70% of global capacity. This is why Garden Bio has stably held #1 position in vitamin D3 over the past decade — upstream cost is controlled, single-ton vitamin D3 cost can be as low as 50 yuan/kg, gross margin over 80%.

The other side of cholesterol concentration is that any new entrant to vitamin D3 must first crack NF-grade cholesterol. Technically hard, investment-heavy, long cycle. This is why the top three in vitamin D3 globally have stayed the same for twenty years.

Citral's "byproduct matrix"

Citral, besides being the key intermediate for vitamins A and E, is also widely used in flavors and fragrances, pharmaceutical intermediates, agrochemical intermediates, etc. So citral capacity expansion is not just for vitamins — a large citral facility is typically a "multi-downstream-shared" specialty chemical complex.

BASF's Ludwigshafen citral facility supplies, besides vitamin A and vitamin E intermediates:

Rose ether, citronitrile, menthol intermediates for flavors and fragrances
Multiple terpene intermediates for pharmaceuticals
Some terpene insecticide intermediates for agrochemicals

This "one-facility-many-downstreams" feature drives the investment-return model for citral facilities — single-downstream demand volatility can be hedged by other downstreams. This is also why Wanhua Chemical's new facility's investment logic works — even if vitamins enters a down-cycle, the citral facility can maintain stable operation through flavors, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals.

Xinhecheng's Shangyu citral facility shares this "multi-downstream" attribute. Xinhecheng's 2025 flavors and fragrances revenue was 3.866 billion yuan with 53.14% gross margin — heavily supported by captive citral cost advantage. This is the industry basis for Xinhecheng moving from "single vitamin" to "platform specialty chemicals."

The "synthesis challenge" of isophytol

Isophytol synthesis is among the few problems in specialty chemicals that can be called a "synthesis challenge." The full path includes seven catalytic steps, each with its own core difficulty:

Step 1: acetone + acetylene addition. High-pressure acetylene operation, high safety risk
Step 2: catalytic hydrogenation to unsaturated alcohol
Step 3: dehydration rearrangement to pseudoionone precursor
Step 4: isomerization to beta-ionone precursor
Step 5: second acetylene addition to C16 intermediate
Step 6: catalytic hydrogenation to C16 unsaturated alcohol
Step 7: selective hydrogenation to final isophytol

Byproduct handling, catalyst recovery, and product purification in each step must be optimized to the extreme. The reason Nantekang's JV with DSM can deliver 12,000 tons/year isophytol with 96% utilization is a triple stack: twenty years of process accumulation + DSM technology transfer + China cost optimization.

NF-grade cholesterol's "lanolin dependency"

NF-grade cholesterol's industrial extraction has extremely limited sources — lanolin is the only economical raw material. This raises another question: where is lanolin globally concentrated?

Major lanolin producing regions:

Australia, New Zealand (about 45% of global wool output)
China (about 15%)
Argentina, Uruguay (about 8%)
South Africa, Europe (others)

Garden Bio's lanolin sourcing is mainly from Australia and New Zealand — locked in through long-term contracts. This is another upstream safeguard for Garden Bio's 70% global NF-grade cholesterol capacity: a stable lanolin supply chain.

About 15% of lanolin is cholesterol. Extraction steps include saponification, extraction, crystallization, deactivation, filtration, purification, recrystallization. Each step's yield and purity must reach NF specification. The whole extraction process has high technical difficulty and engineering barriers — the root reason NF-grade cholesterol global capacity is concentrated at Garden Bio.

Summary of this chapter

Reading the vitamin industry requires looking beyond end products. What determines global supply-demand balance is often a few key intermediates — citral for VA, isophytol and TMHQ for VE, NF-grade cholesterol for VD3, niacin for VB3. These intermediates have high concentration, deep technical barriers, large single-line investment scale, long expansion cycles (typically 3-5 years).

The biggest progress of Chinese vitamins over the past fifteen years is not making vitamin A, E, D3 end synthesis to global #1 — relatively easy. The real difficulty is upstream intermediates moving from "import-dependent" to "self-controlled." Xinhecheng's citral, Nantekang/JV's isophytol and TMHQ, Garden Bio's NF-grade cholesterol, Brother Enterprise's pyridine chain — these are the true moats of Chinese vitamins.

The "pricing power migration" of 2026 is possible because these intermediate capacities are already in China. What remains is only time.

柠檬醛, 异植物醇, 三甲基氢醌, 羊毛脂, 紫罗兰酮, 吡啶 — querying these key intermediate factories is essential for upstream-downstream research on the vitamin value chain.

Chapter 3　Process Routes Deep Dive: The Technology Map of Vitamin A, E, D3

The previous chapter discussed key intermediates. This chapter goes one level deeper to look at each variety's process logic and engineering challenges.

The two routes of vitamin A

The two industrial routes for vitamin A — Roche and BASF — differ in chemical strategy in the final synthesis steps.

Roche route (also called C15+C5 route): Starts from beta-ionone (C13), adds C2 unit to C15 intermediate, then adds C5 to C20 vitamin A skeleton. The earliest industrialized route, mature technology, controllable byproducts, stable yield. DSM-Firmenich (inheriting Roche vitamin business) was inventor and long-term leader of this route. Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Kingdomway are all Roche-route practitioners.

BASF route (also called C16+C4 route): Starts from beta-ionone (C13), adds C3 unit to C16 intermediate, then adds C4 to C20 skeleton. BASF route's advantage is fewer steps (one key reaction less than Roche), higher total yield, larger single-line capacity. But BASF route has extremely high purity requirements on C3 unit (methyl vinyl ketone), harder process control.

Both routes ultimately convert the C20 retinyl skeleton into vitamin A alcohol, vitamin A acetate, or vitamin A palmitate — three commercial forms. Acetate is most common for feed grade (powder or microencapsulated), palmitate for food and pharma grade (oil or injection).

Route choice determines cost structure. But more critically — as discussed, both routes require beta-ionone first, which needs citral first. Citral capacity concentration at BASF and Xinhecheng — that's where pricing power really lies.

Commercial form sub-segmentation of vitamin A

Vitamin A's commercial forms come in three types: vitamin A alcohol, vitamin A acetate, vitamin A palmitate. Process differences and application scenarios:

Vitamin A alcohol (retinol): MW 286.45, pure substance is light yellow oil at room temperature. Unstable in air and light, must be stored cold and dark. Main application: cosmetic-grade (anti-wrinkle, skin improvement), high unit price (cosmetic-grade retinol can reach 5,000-20,000 yuan/kg).

Vitamin A acetate (retinyl acetate): esterification product of vitamin A alcohol with acetic acid, more stable. Most common form for feed and food grade — typically sold as microencapsulated powder. Activity measured in international units (IU), common specs 500,000 IU/g (standard powder), 1,000,000 IU/g (high-concentration powder).

Vitamin A palmitate (retinyl palmitate): esterification product of vitamin A alcohol with palmitic acid, better solubility, better stability. Main application: food fortification (oil, milk powder), pharma grade (injection, oral), cosmetic grade (sunscreen, moisturizer).

Process differences:

Vitamin A alcohol: direct from chemical synthesis, requires high-purity refining
Vitamin A acetate: vitamin A alcohol + acetic anhydride esterification, then microencapsulation
Vitamin A palmitate: vitamin A alcohol + palmitoyl chloride esterification

Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Kingdomway all produce these three forms. Acetate has largest output (70-80% of vitamin A capacity), mainly serving feed additive market; palmitate next, food and pharma; vitamin A alcohol smallest output but highest unit price, cosmetics.

Commercial forms of vitamin E and "natural vs synthetic"

Vitamin E's commercial form classification is more complex than vitamin A — by chemical structure (tocopherol vs tocopheryl acetate), by stereo structure (synthetic vs natural), by concentration (oil vs powder).

By chemical structure:

Tocopherol: active form, chemically unstable
Tocopheryl acetate: esterification with acetic acid, stable, mainstream commercial form
Tocopheryl succinate: esterification with succinic acid, mainly for pharma

By stereo structure:

Synthetic vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate): mixture of eight stereo isomers, activity in IU (1 IU = 1 mg dl-form)
Natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate): single stereo isomer (2R,4'R,8'R), higher activity than synthetic (1 mg natural ≈ 1.49 IU)

By concentration:

Vitamin E oil: liquid, 50%, 95%, 98% concentrations, for feed and food
Vitamin E powder: microencapsulated solid, common specs 50% VE powder, 5% VE microencapsulated, for premix and supplements
Vitamin E oil injection: pharma grade

Industrial complexity comes from one factory needing to produce multiple concentrations, stereo forms, and dosage forms for different downstreams. Requires "multi-product co-line + flexible switching" production capability.

Vitamin D3's "activity unit" and "concentration spec"

Vitamin D3 industrial sales forms:

Feed-grade D3 oil (5 million IU/g): high-concentration for animal feed premix
Feed-grade D3 powder (500,000 IU/g): standard powder for premix
Food-grade D3 oil (1-5 million IU/g): standard oil for food fortification
Food-grade D3 powder (100-500k IU/g): standard powder for food
NF-grade D3 (pharmaceutical, >99% content): pharmaceutical preparations
25-hydroxy VD3: high-activity form for animal feed
1,25-dihydroxy VD3 (calcitriol): pharmaceutical

Unit price differences are huge — from 200-500 yuan/kg for feed-grade D3 to over 50,000 yuan/kg for calcitriol. Chinese producers (especially Garden Bio) cover the full spec range, one of the few worldwide capable of providing the complete VD3 product matrix.

The "one-step condensation" of vitamin E and its ten-plus pre-steps

The final vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) synthesis called "one-step condensation" looks simple — TMHQ + isophytol + acid catalysis = alpha-tocopherol — but the step requires strict control of temperature, pressure, catalyst, byproducts. Any parameter out of control yields massive positional or stereo isomers, purity drops, product wasted.

After alpha-tocopherol synthesis, acetylation gives vitamin E acetate (most common commercial form). Acetate is more stable than tocopherol itself, easier to store and transport, the main trading form for feed, food, and cosmetic grades.

Natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) vs synthetic vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol) — the biggest difference is in stereo chemistry. Natural is single stereo isomer (2R, 4'R, 8'R); synthetic is a mixture of eight stereo isomers (RRR only 12.5%). Biological activity, natural is 30-50% higher than synthetic. Price, natural is 3-5x synthetic.

Among Chinese producers, Zhejiang Medicine is one of the global main suppliers of natural vitamin E — from soybean oil deodorizer distillate (SOD), through molecular distillation, chromatographic separation, acetylation, to d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. The core support for Zhejiang Medicine's 4.332 billion yuan life nutrition segment revenue in 2025.

Vitamin D3's "photo synthesis"

Vitamin D3 synthesis has a very "photochemistry" feature — the core reaction is UV-light-triggered ring opening.

Cholesterol (from lanolin) → 7-dehydrocholesterol (via bromination, debromination, adding a conjugated double bond)
7-dehydrocholesterol → UV irradiation → vitamin D3 (pre-VD3) → isomerization → vitamin D3

The process has extreme requirements on reactor materials, UV wavelength, temperature control. UV wavelength must be strictly between 280-310 nanometers; wider or narrower yields many byproducts.

Garden Bio's vitamin D3 process moat is not in the final UV reaction — everyone can do that. The real moat is upstream cholesterol extraction, 7-dehydrocholesterol preparation, and industrial-scale reactor design. Garden Bio has twenty years of process accumulation; single-ton VD3 comprehensive cost is around 50 yuan/kg (calculated by feed-grade activity units), a level hard for newcomers to catch up with.

Besides feed-grade D3, Garden Bio also produces:

Food-grade D3 (fortified food, supplements)
25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (higher activity form, animal feed and pharma)
NF-grade D3 (pharma)
Lanolin cholesterol (cosmetics, pharma excipient)
VK2 (menaquinone, for bone health)

In 2023 Garden Bio issued 1.186 billion yuan convertible bonds, building multiple production lines including 5,000 tons/year vitamin B6 (25.66% progress as of March 2025), with completion target 31 May 2025. This is Garden Bio's transformation from "VD3 single-product leader" to "all-vitamin player."

Vitamin K3 process barrier

Vitamin K3 (sodium bisulfite menadione) industrial synthesis: methyl naphthalene → naphthoquinone → menadione → vitamin K3. The key reaction is methyl naphthalene oxidation — traditional process uses chromium salt as oxidant, generating large chromium wastewater, a high-pollution process.

Brother Enterprise's process innovation is "chromium salt - vitamin K3" co-production — chromium salt oxidation is linked into the same production system as vitamin K3, post-oxidation chromium salt is reduced back to trivalent chromium and reused in other industries, reducing wastewater and pushing vitamin K3 single-ton cost to industry lowest. This is the root reason for Brother's 40-60% global K3 market share.

In 2025, Brother K3 business benefited from tight global supply balance and prices stayed high.

Vitamin B1 full-value-chain path

Vitamin B1 (thiamine) industrial synthesis is long, with key intermediate being 3-methylpyridine. 3-methylpyridine is also a core intermediate for niacinamide (vitamin B3). So Brother's B-family layout is "one chain, multiple endpoints" — "pyridine → 3-methylpyridine → niacinamide (B3)" + "3-methylpyridine → series of intermediates → vitamin B1" + "byproduct integrated utilization."

Full-chain intermediate self-sufficiency >90% means raw material price volatility (corn, coal, energy) transmits to end product with very low elasticity. In violent vitamin price cycles, Brother's B1 business margin volatility is far smaller than producers buying single-point raw materials.

Coenzyme Q10's fermentation method and synthetic biology

Coenzyme Q10 is a fat-soluble vitamin-like compound (strictly not a vitamin but industrially grouped with vitamins). Industrial synthesis has "chemical" and "fermentation" routes.

Chemical route uses 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone as key intermediate, multi-step reactions to coenzyme Q10. This was Kingdomway's early-stage process.

Fermentation route uses bacteria (typically Pseudomonas flavescens) as the production strain, with glucose and yeast extract as substrate, direct aerobic fermentation to coenzyme Q10. This is the mainstream process since 2010, with Kingdomway the largest global capacity holder.

In 2025, Kingdomway chairman Jiang Bin mentioned in investor communication that the synthetic biology route has cut astaxanthin cost by nearly 80% — a shared cost-down curve for fermentation products like coenzyme Q10 and astaxanthin. Bio-manufacturing (synthetic biology) is fundamentally disrupting the cost structure of these high-unit-price, high-fermentation-difficulty vitamin-like compounds.

Methionine's two routes — liquid vs solid

Methionine is the second-largest amino acid in feed, with industrial synthesis split into "liquid methionine" (methionine hydroxy analog MHA) and "solid methionine" (DL-methionine 99%).

Liquid methionine (MHA): from acrolein + methyl mercaptan + hydrogen cyanide, multi-step reaction to liquid form. Bioavailability about 65-80% of solid DL-methionine, but advantages: no granulation needed, direct addition to liquid feed, lower transport and storage cost. Adisseo is the global liquid methionine pioneer, with Nanjing base being the world's first liquid methionine facility.

Solid methionine (DL-methionine 99%): same starting materials, longer reaction path to DL-methionine crystals. High bioavailability, better mixing in solid feed, most widely used in global feed market. Evonik, Adisseo, Novus, Sumitomo are global top four.

Key variables 2026-2027:

Adisseo Quanzhou solid methionine 150k tons (2027 online): Adisseo moves from "liquid+solid both important" to "liquid+solid double #1"
Xinhecheng methionine: Shangyu Zhejiang and Weifang Shandong continued expansion
Wanhua and others: new domestic methionine players

Fermentation route advantages for coenzyme Q10

Fermentation has several clear advantages over chemical synthesis:

First, yield — fermentation molar yield can exceed 40%, chemical synthesis total yield typically 15-20%.

Second, purity — fermentation Q10 is single stereo configuration (Q10's all-trans is the natural, bioactive form), chemical synthesis may produce cis-trans isomer mixtures.

Third, environment — fermentation byproducts are mainly water, CO2, fermentation byproducts (usable as feed); chemical synthesis byproduct handling is high cost.

Fourth, cost — fermentation cost is about 40-60% of chemical synthesis.

But fermentation also has its own challenges — strain preservation, continuous fermentation stability, extraction-purification complexity. Kingdomway's #1 position is built on twenty years of accumulation in strain, fermenter process, and extraction technology.

Summary of this chapter

Each vitamin variety has competing process routes, key intermediates, decisive engineering challenges. The core progress of Chinese vitamin producers over fifteen years is industrial scale-up of these process routes and intermediates — the textbook "engineer dividend" in specialty chemicals.

There is no "best" process — only the most suitable for one's capacity scale and raw material supply chain. BASF route suits large single-line capacity, Roche route suits multi-product co-line, Xinhecheng combines Roche route with captive citral — a "flexible adaptation" path. Chinese producers' flexibility in process choice is the engineering foundation of continued share gains globally.

蛋氨酸, 液体蛋氨酸, 发酵, 合成生物学, 精细化工 — these process keywords' factory distributions are valuable for full vitamin + methionine value-chain research.

Chapter 4　Leading Companies Horizontal Comparison: 2025 Financials and H1 2026 Updates

This chapter unpacks vertically by producer. What stories do the seven leading Chinese listed vitamin companies — Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Brother Enterprise, Nantekang, Kingdomway, Adisseo — tell with their 2025 financials and H1 2026 progress?

Xinhecheng 002001 — VA/VE double leader, from specialty chemicals to "platform enterprise"

Xinhecheng is unquestionably the leader of China's vitamin industry. 2025 full-year revenue 22.251 billion yuan (+2.97%), parent-attributable net profit 6.764 billion yuan (+15.26%), non-recurring 6.738 billion yuan (+15.59%). Revenue growth not high, but net profit growth far exceeds revenue — meaning the company completed an important margin restructuring in 2025.

By segment:

Nutrition (VA, VE, biotin, astaxanthin, Q10, methionine): revenue 14.78 billion (-1.79%); gross margin 47.77% (+4.59pct)
Flavors and fragrances: revenue 3.866 billion (-1.29%); gross margin 53.14% (+1.30pct)
New materials (PPS, PPA, PMA): revenue YoY positive, margin continued improvement

Full-year comprehensive gross margin 44.67% (+2.89pct), net margin 30.57% (+3.28pct). These two figures are in the top tier of specialty chemicals — energy chemical leaders typically have 10-15% net margin, Xinhecheng's 30%-tier net margin reflects strong oligopoly pricing power in vitamins and flavors.

Xinhecheng's moat has four layers:

First, upstream — citral self-sufficiency. The biggest difference from other vitamin A producers besides BASF.

Second, midstream — multi-product co-line plants. Shangyu Zhejiang and Weifang Shandong bases are both "multi-product co-line" specialty chemical complexes, capable of flexibly adjusting capacity utilization across products based on market price elasticity.

Third, downstream — direct access to global large feed mills, food plants, supplement OEM. Xinhecheng's overseas sales ratio has long been over 40%.

Fourth, R&D — platform chemical synthesis capability. From vitamins to flavors, methionine to PPS high polymers, astaxanthin to synthetic biology — Xinhecheng's R&D system covers nearly all important directions in specialty chemicals.

2025 H2 Xinhecheng methionine prices stayed steady (full year -0.33% YoY), flavors and fragrances margin improved markedly — two main supports for full-year net profit growth.

Key 2026 watch:

Shandong Xinhecheng's new 20,000 tons/year VE oil capacity gradually releases, further lifting share in global VE
After DSM divests ANH, Xinhecheng is the most direct beneficiary — moves from "China VE #1" to "global VE #1"
Nutrition margin could reach 50% by 2026 (assuming vitamin A average from 59 yuan/kg climbs to 85 yuan/kg)

Zhejiang Medicine 600216 — Natural vitamin E + full synthetic vitamins

Zhejiang Medicine 2025 revenue 8.881 billion (-5.28%).

By segment:

Life nutrition: revenue 4.332 billion, 48.79% of total, -7.75% YoY. Main products: synthetic VE, VA, natural VE, VH (biotin), VD3, Q10, beta-carotene
Pharma: revenue 4.457 billion, 50.19%, -2.68% YoY. Includes vancomycin, nano anti-tumor drugs

Zhejiang Medicine's specialty is natural VE — from soybean oil deodorizer distillate, molecular distillation + chromatographic separation + acetylation to d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. The top choice for high-end food fortification and supplements. Zhejiang Medicine's natural VE capacity is global top two, margin long higher than synthetic VE.

2025 revenue and profit YoY decline was mainly due to global economy and vitamin price decline — Q1-Q3 average prices of VA, VE, VD3 collectively fell.

But Zhejiang Medicine's eye is on Changyi Changbei Bio — Zhejiang Medicine's most important expansion project for the next three years, covering all vitamin categories. Phased commissioning, expected 2026-2028 progressive release.

Key 2026 watch:

Natural VE as high-unit-price niche, least affected by DSM ANH divestment (high-end food fortification is DSM's retained core)
Vitamin A price recovery directly lifts Zhejiang Medicine nutrition margin
Pharma segment is the "stabilizer"

Garden Bio 300401 — VD3 global #1, expanding to full vitamin

Garden Bio H1 2025 revenue 635 million yuan (+5.86%), parent net 162 million (+13.67%). Scale is smaller among the seven leaders, but moat depth may be deepest.

Garden Bio's core asset is NF-grade cholesterol 70% global capacity. This determines its "price-setter" status in global VD3 — single-ton cost about 50 yuan/kg, gross margin >80%, expansion will bring feed-grade VD3 to 3,600 tons/year.

On 23 April 2025, Garden Bio suspended VD3 quotes. At the same time, Taizhou Haisheng raised feed-grade VD3 quote to 600 yuan/kg. This "stop quote + price hike" is a classic "actively control supply to push prices" operation.

Garden Bio's expansion is "one vertical, one horizontal." Vertical: deepen VD3 downstream (25-hydroxy VD3, pharma-grade VD3, cosmetic-grade lanolin cholesterol derivatives). Horizontal: expand other vitamin categories. 2023 issued 1.186 billion yuan convertible bonds for:

5,000 tons/year vitamin B6 (25.66% progress as of March 2025)
Vitamin A new products
Vitamin E new capacity
Biotin new capacity

Completion target 31 May 2025.

Key 2026 watch:

After VB6 online, Garden Bio transitions from "VD3 single-product" to "VB6+D3+A+E+biotin multi-category"
DSM 2025 fully exits VD3, global effective capacity -15%, Garden Bio as #1 capacity holder, highest price elasticity
VD3 single-ton net profit each 100 yuan/kg increase = annualized net profit increase >3 billion

Brother Enterprise 002562 — Vitamin K3 + B-family full value chain

Brother Enterprise H1 2025 revenue 1.811 billion (+3.45%), expected H1 net profit 60-75 million (+325-431%), Q1-Q3 net profit YoY +207-253%.

Brother's moat is "B-family + K3" full-category, full-value-chain. Specifically:

VK3: global #1, market share 40-60%, "chromium salt - K3" co-production lowers cost
VB1: global capacity concentrated in China (>70%), Brother and Tianxin Pharma as mainstay
VB3 (niacinamide): "pyridine-3-methylpyridine-niacinamide" full chain, intermediate self-sufficiency >90%
VB5 (calcium pantothenate): China-dominated, Brother key expansion direction

2025 Brother strong earnings driven by vitamin product prices broadly rebounding + captive intermediates lowering cost + multi-product resonance growth.

Key 2026 watch:

VK3 prices stay high under tight global supply
VB1 domestic oligopoly stable, benefits from stable global feed additive demand
VB3 niacinamide demand pulled by NMN/NR (beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide/niacinamide riboside) anti-aging supplement boom, structural domestic increment

Nantekang 002102 — vitamin E + isophytol specialist

Nantekang specializes in "vitamin E + isophytol." 2024 annual report: VE capacity 30,000 tons/year (~20% global), isophytol 12,000 tons/year, utilization 96%.

2019 DSM cooperation, subsidiary Shishou Nantekang for isophytol, new JV for TMHQ and VE end products. This was the key event lifting Nantekang from "China VE #3" to "global VE top two."

2025 Nantekang earnings benefited from VE price rebound (full-year average -15.06% YoY, but H2 and early 2026 rebound was considerable). Q1 growth + SOE reform multi-positive factors, stock touched limit-up in late 2025 / early 2026.

Key 2026 watch:

DSM ANH divestment, JV transition is the key variable. If JV is packaged into CVC, Nantekang may get buyback or restructuring chance, further consolidating VE capacity
Isophytol 96% utilization near limit, further expansion is 2026-2027 focus

Kingdomway 002626 — Coenzyme Q10 global #1 + Vitamin A

Kingdomway 2024 revenue 3.24 billion yuan (+4.43%), parent net 342 million (+23.59%).

By product (2024):

Nutritional supplements: 60.63% of revenue, gross margin 35.24%
Coenzyme Q10 series: 22.39%, gross margin 48.2% (highest among the seven leaders)
Vitamin A series: 8.42%, gross margin 32.8%

H1 2025 Kingdomway revenue 1.728 billion (+13.5%), parent net 247 million (+90.1%), gross margin 40.5%.

Q1-Q3 2025 revenue 2.604 billion, of which: nutritional supplements 943 million (54.57%), Q10 series 381 million (22.04%), VA series 197 million (11.41%).

Kingdomway's feature is "upstream raw material + downstream brand" integration. One end is Q10, vitamin A and other raw materials; the other is Doctor's Best, Carlson and other US-known supplement brands. This is the root of Kingdomway's industry-leading margins.

In 2025 Chairman Jiang Bin mentioned that the synthetic biology route has cut astaxanthin cost by nearly 80% — Kingdomway's most important cost-down curve for the next three years.

Key 2026 watch:

Q10 benefits from NMN/NR anti-aging supplement demand, domestic market expanding fast
Vitamin A price recovery directly lifts Kingdomway VA earnings elasticity
US supplement market (Doctor's Best) China cross-border e-commerce channel growth

Adisseo 600299 — Methionine global #2 + full-category feed additive

Adisseo is a ChemChina (China National Chemical) subsidiary. Origin: 2006 ChemChina acquired French Adisseo Group — China's first large overseas acquisition in specialty chemicals. 2009 Adisseo built the world's first liquid methionine plant in Nanjing.

2025 Adisseo revenue 17.231 billion yuan (+10.92%), parent net 1.155 billion (-4.13%). Revenue growth strong, but net profit YoY down — mainly due to 2025 vitamin and methionine price declines + tariff policy.

Adisseo's core business is methionine. Global methionine industrial capacity is highly concentrated — Evonik (Germany, #1), Adisseo (#2), Novus (US), Sumitomo (Japan) — four monopolize.

Adisseo's dual identity is interesting — both "ChemChina-controlled specialty chemicals subsidiary" and "world's #2 methionine producer." From a Chinese vitamins perspective, Adisseo is among the few Chinese producers globally competitive on "liquid methionine" (higher bioavailability).

Key 2026 watch:

Quanzhou solid methionine 150,000 tons/year, 2027 online — Adisseo's most important expansion of the next three years. After commissioning, Adisseo's global methionine share moves up another notch, challenging Evonik's #1
Adisseo's vitamin business (feed-grade VE, VA, VD3) has significant elasticity in 2026 price recovery cycle

The seven companies side-by-side

Company	Main products	Global position	2025 Revenue	2025 Net profit	Core moat
Xinhecheng 002001	VA, VE, methionine	VA/VE double #1	22.25 bn	6.76 bn	Captive citral + platform R&D
Zhejiang Medicine 600216	Natural VE, VA, VD3	Natural VE global top-2	8.88 bn	--	Natural VE process
Garden Bio 300401	VD3, cholesterol	VD3 global #1	(H1 0.635 bn)	(H1 0.162 bn)	NF-grade cholesterol 70% global
Brother Enterprise 002562	VK3, VB1, VB3	VK3 global #1	(H1 1.811 bn)	(H1 0.06-0.075 bn)	"Chromium-K3" coproduction + B family chain
Nantekang 002102	VE, isophytol	VE global top-2	(2024)	(2024)	Isophytol 12,000 tons/year
Kingdomway 002626	Q10, VA	Q10 global #1	(Q1-Q3 2.604 bn)	(H1 0.247 bn)	Q10 fermentation + supplement brand
Adisseo 600299	Methionine, vitamins	Methionine global #2	17.231 bn	1.155 bn	Liquid methionine + ChemChina backing

Note: Zhejiang Medicine net profit pending 2025 annual report; Adisseo's main business is methionine, vitamins secondary.

These seven companies differ markedly in product portfolio, scale, geography, value-chain — the root of "seven plus one" coexistence and mutual cooperation.

R&D investment intensity comparison

R&D investment intensity (R&D % of revenue) of leading Chinese vitamin companies in 2025:

Xinhecheng: 4-5% (about 0.9-1.1 billion R&D per year), covering vitamins + flavors + new materials + synthetic biology
Zhejiang Medicine: 5-6% (about 0.4-0.5 billion), focus on natural VE + innovative drugs + anti-tumor drugs
Garden Bio: 5-7%, focus on VD3 + 25-OH-VD3 + full vitamin
Brother Enterprise: 3-4%, focus on B-family + dye intermediates
Nantekang: 3-4%, focus on VE + isophytol process
Kingdomway: 4-5%, focus on Q10 + astaxanthin + synthetic biology
Adisseo: 3-4%, focus on methionine process + feed additive innovation

International peer benchmarks:

DSM-Firmenich: 5-6%
BASF: 4-5%
Evonik: 6-7%

Chinese leaders' R&D intensity already approaches international peer levels. Considering Chinese researcher cost advantage (about 1/3-1/2 of European/American), same intensity translates into more output. This is an important support for Chinese tech catch-up and process leadership in the next ten years.

Overseas layout of leading companies

Chinese leading vitamin producers' overseas layout has three layers:

First layer: pure export — through domestic bases, export globally. The main form for most Chinese vitamin players today.

Second layer: overseas sales networks — sales offices, distribution channels, local service teams in main overseas markets (US, Europe, SE Asia). Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Kingdomway have all built relatively complete overseas sales networks.

Third layer: overseas production bases — building plants abroad or acquiring overseas capacity. The frontier where Chinese vitamin players are still in early stages.

Kingdomway has gone furthest on "overseas brand + production base" — through acquiring US Doctor's Best and Carlson, Kingdomway has directly built channel and small-scale production capability in the US. Key to Kingdomway's industry-leading supplement margin.

By 2026-2030, more Chinese vitamin leaders are expected to build overseas production bases through acquisition or JV — especially in the US, Europe, SE Asia. This is the longest-term solution to European-American antidumping and tariff policy.

Capital market performance of leading companies

The seven leading listed Chinese vitamin companies' capital market performance over the past decade shows clear "differentiation."

As industry leader, Xinhecheng has long held the highest, most stable valuation. As of mid-2026, Xinhecheng market cap is in 70-90 billion yuan range, PE 12-15x.

Zhejiang Medicine market cap 20-30 billion, PE 15-20x. Garden Bio 8-15 billion, PE 20-30x (small scale + high elasticity). Brother Enterprise 10-20 billion, PE 15-25x. Nantekang 10-20 billion, PE 15-25x. Kingdomway 10-20 billion, PE 15-25x. Adisseo 25-40 billion, PE 15-25x.

From capital markets perspective, vitamin industry valuation sits between "growth stock" and "value stock" — both capacity expansion growth and oligopoly stability.

Capital market focus for the next five years:

Whether the 2026 price uptrend translates to sustained earnings improvement
Global landscape changes after DSM-CVC closes
Whether high-end downstream (cosmetics, supplements) earnings contribution improves significantly
Synthetic biology industrialization progress (especially astaxanthin, Q10, NMN/NR)

Summary of this chapter

The seven leading Chinese vitamin listed companies completed an important "margin restructuring" in 2025 — converting flat or slightly declining revenue into double-digit to triple-digit net profit growth. Behind this is the industry entering a new phase of "cost-controllable, price-elastic, capacity-optimized."

The key variable for 2026 is the DSM-CVC transaction. Once closed, Chinese players' share in global vitamins moves up another notch — expecting by end-2027, China VA global share over 70%, VE over 80%, VD3 over 70%, VK3 over 70%.

Chapter 5　Vitamin E Oligopoly Evolution — From "DSM-Dominated" to "China-Dominated"

Plot the global vitamin E history on a timeline and you can see a very clear capacity transfer curve.

1938 to 1990s: DSM/Roche route dominance period

Alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E active form) was first synthesized in 1938. Roche (Swiss Roche Pharma) held the core patent for alpha-tocopherol synthesis, long dominating global vitamin E industrialized production. By the 1990s, global vitamin E industrial capacity was mainly in Switzerland, Germany (BASF), Japan (Eisai), and the US (ADM), with combined annual capacity of about 70,000-80,000 tons.

Chinese vitamin E industry was essentially non-existent at industrial scale at this stage — only small medical-grade vitamin E API production, technology import-dependent.

2000 to early 2010s: Xinhecheng and Zhejiang Medicine break through

China's first large-scale vitamin E industrialization was breakthroughs by Xinhecheng (Shangyu Zhejiang) and Zhejiang Medicine (Xinchang Zhejiang). Xinhecheng leveraged its captive citral advantage to achieve partial intermediate self-sufficiency on the vitamin E value chain. Zhejiang Medicine leveraged years of API production experience to lead in vitamin E oil to vitamin E acetate refining.

Over this decade, China's vitamin E industry progressively built complete capacity, with global share moving from under 10% to about 30% in 2010.

2010 to 2020: DSM/BASF coexisting with Chinese players

In 2002 Roche's vitamin business was acquired by DSM. DSM became one of the core players in global vitamin E, forming a five-strong landscape with BASF, Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Nantekang.

In 2011 DSM sold its Italian vitamin E plant (closed the synthetic vitamin E unit in Naples Italy). This was the first time a major overseas vitamin E producer actively exited — laying the groundwork for Chinese players to take over capacity.

By 2020, China's global vitamin E share had surpassed 50%.

2019: DSM-Nantekang JV — the template for "China cost + overseas technology"

In 2019 DSM and Nantekang signed cooperation in Jingzhou Hubei, forming a JV.

DSM transferred core technology of isophytol, TMHQ, and vitamin E end products to the Chinese JV
Nantekang's subsidiary Shishou Nantekang handles isophytol production and operation
New JV handles TMHQ and vitamin E end products

The logic: DSM "capitalizes" process technology, Nantekang "factory-izes" it. DSM hands global vitamin E industrial production operations to Chinese partners while retaining brand, sales channels, R&D system.

After 2021 JV commissioning, China's global vitamin E share surpassed 60%. The defining event that formally established the "China-dominated period" of global vitamin E.

2021 to 2025: Single-ton margin's "30 yuan → 50 yuan → 100 yuan" uptrend

Chinese vitamin E industry margin structure jumped three times over five years:

First (2021): JV online, VE oil production cost down, single-ton margin from historical low ~30 yuan/kg to ~50 yuan/kg.

Second (2023): Industry capacity consolidation + overseas major contraction, single-ton VE margin to ~100 yuan/kg.

Third (2024-2025): BASF explosion + DSM ANH divestment signal, VE prices rose sharply, peak single-ton margin in 2024 exceeded 200 yuan/kg.

While 2025 full-year average declined 15.06%, the floor has been lifted — market internalized the "scarcity premium" for VE in long-term price expectations.

2026: After "DSM exit + CVC takeover"

DSM-Firmenich's 2.2 billion euro ANH divestment to CVC Capital Partners (with 20% retained equity), expected close end-2026.

Three layers of direct impact on global vitamin E:

First layer is supply — CVC is financial capital, not industrial capital. CVC's operating logic for ANH must be "cash flow optimization, cost control, ultimate exit." No long-term R&D and capex. European/American VE capacity likely enters "steady operation, slow decay."

Second layer is pricing — after DSM exits, global VE pricing power effectively goes to three Chinese players — Xinhecheng, Nantekang/JV, Zhejiang Medicine. Combined share approaches 80%.

Third layer is distribution — DSM keeps "Essential Products Company" (food and pharma vitamins) and signs long-term supply agreements with CVC-controlled ANH. DSM no longer in feed-grade VE but retains brand in food/pharma. Opens a window for Chinese producers to enter European/American high-end food fortification and pharma-grade VE.

Global VE forecast 2027-2030

By 2028:

China global VE share rises to 85-90%
Single-ton VE margin in 50-120 yuan/kg range long-term (supported by stable global feed additive demand)
Xinhecheng global VE share near 30% (including JV)
Nantekang/JV share 25-30%
Zhejiang Medicine 10-15% (especially natural VE in high-end markets)
DSM through 20% CVC stake + food/pharma business, indirectly retains 10-15% market presence

A new global landscape: "Chinese players dominant, DSM retains brand in high-end food/pharma, CVC holds feed-grade operations."

VE process innovation frontier — stereo-selective synthesis and natural E extraction

Two main directions:

First, stereo-selective synthesis. As mentioned, synthetic VE is a mixture of eight stereo isomers, RRR-form only 12.5%. If stereo-selective catalysts can synthesize higher RRR proportion VE, per-unit-weight biological activity rises dramatically, with corresponding price uplift.

Multiple Chinese universities (Xiamen, ECUST, Fudan Chem) and corporate research institutes (Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine) are working on this. But industrialization breakthrough takes time — core difficulties are chiral catalyst industrial-scale preparation, continuous reactor stability, byproduct separability.

Second, efficient natural VE extraction. Natural VE mainly comes from soybean oil deodorizer distillate (DDS). Soybean oil refining produces DDS rich in vitamin E, plant sterols, squalene — all high-value coproducts. Extracting VE efficiently from DDS is the core of natural E processes.

Zhejiang Medicine through years of optimization has pushed DDS-to-VE extraction efficiency near the limit. Next innovation direction is "single-step enzymatic acetylation" — specific lipase catalysis directly acetylates d-alpha-tocopherol to d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, avoiding traditional high-temperature high-pressure chemical acetylation, lowering energy and byproducts.

VE price's "accident dependency" and "structural premium"

Looking back at global VE price history, each big upward move correlates with a major producer's force majeure event.

Aug 2017: BASF Ludwigshafen aroma unit incident, VE from ~80 yuan/kg to 200 yuan/kg
Mid-2018: industry retraction, prices back to 60-80 yuan/kg
2020: COVID supply disruption, VE short-term to 100-120 yuan/kg
2021-2023: relatively stable, 60-90 yuan/kg
Aug 2024: BASF Ludwigshafen explosion, VE from 94.5 yuan/kg to 165 yuan/kg
H2 2025: oscillation, but floor lifted to ~80 yuan/kg
Early 2026: DSM ANH + Middle East geopolitics, VE in 80-100 yuan/kg high oscillation

From this timeline, VE price cycle increasingly shows "structural premium" — each post-incident retraction floor is higher than the last. Industry supply-demand tipping toward "China-dominated + capacity-concentrated + oligopoly pricing," with downside narrowing.

By current landscape, VE's "reasonable price range" is 80-120 yuan/kg — below this range Chinese producers' return is insufficient; above this range feed mills push substitutes or reduce formulation ratio. This range is likely the "industry steady state" in 2026-2030.

Vitamin E downstream applications — from feed additive to food, cosmetics, supplements

VE downstream applications by usage size:

Feed additive (about 60% of global demand) — mainly pork, broiler, aquaculture. Supplementing VE in feed improves animal immunity, meat quality, shelf life.
Food fortification (about 15-20%) — mainly fortifying edible oil, milk powder, infant food, cereals.
Cosmetics and skincare (about 10-15%) — both natural and synthetic VE are most-used antioxidants in cosmetics.
Supplements (about 5-10%) — soft capsules, lozenges, drops, global consumption thousands of tons/year.
Pharma (about 2-5%) — VE injection, adjuvant treatment for cardiovascular, antioxidant adjuvant therapy.

The most important downstream demand structure shift in 2026 — sharp growth in natural VE demand for cosmetics and supplements. This is the biggest 2026-2028 earnings elasticity for Zhejiang Medicine and other natural VE producers.

Summary of this chapter

Vitamin E global landscape evolution is a 20-year "China from zero to 80%" story. Three key variables: intermediate self-sufficiency on citral and isophytol (Xinhecheng, Nantekang), DSM-Nantekang JV (moving process technology from Switzerland to Hubei Jingzhou), DSM-CVC divestment (full exit from feed-grade VE).

2026 to 2030, global VE pricing power is essentially in Chinese hands. Whether they can convert that to sustained margin and capital returns depends on avoiding internal price wars, capturing more share in natural E and high-end food-grade E, and maintaining discipline in capacity expansion pace.

Chapter 6　Vitamin D3 + K3 + Niacin + Calcium Pantothenate — China's Advantage in Medium Varieties

Chapter 5 unpacked the big variety VE. This chapter looks at medium varieties. Their feature is high unit price, high value-add, high tech barriers, long expansion cycles, mid-scale single-line investment — often where "hidden champions" emerge most densely.

VD3's "cholesterol is everything"

VD3 global capacity is highly stable — Garden Bio #1 (30-40% share), Haisheng Pharma (Taizhou), Kingdomway (Xiamen), Xinhecheng (partial), Canadian Embro/DSM.

Key variable is NF-grade cholesterol concentration. Garden Bio holds 70% global — determines its "price setter" status in VD3.

2026 DSM fully exits VD3, global effective capacity -15% — Garden Bio as #1 capacity holder, biggest beneficiary. Combined with 2025 Q1 China VD3 export volume +25% YoY, overseas premium ~140 yuan/kg (export price far higher than domestic), Garden Bio's 2026-2028 earnings elasticity is extreme.

Each 100 yuan/kg VD3 price increase = annualized net profit increase >3 billion. 2026 VD3 price range expected 200-500 yuan/kg, corresponding Garden Bio annualized incremental net profit in 5-10 billion range.

Garden Bio's "one vertical, one horizontal" lifts company from "single VD3" position. Vertical: 25-hydroxy VD3, pharma-grade VD3, cosmetic-grade cholesterol derivatives — high value-add. Horizontal: VB6 (5,000 tons/year), VA, VE, biotin multi-category.

VD3 downstream application structure

VD3 downstream:

Feed additive (about 60%) — poultry, livestock, aquaculture; preventing rickets, improving calcium-phosphorus metabolism
Food fortification (about 15%) — fortified milk powder, formula, cereals
Pharma (about 15%) — treating osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency
Supplements (about 10%) — single VD3 drops, VD3+calcium combos

2026 VD3 downstream demand structure is undergoing important shift — pharma-grade and supplement-grade demand growing rapidly (driven by aging and bone health concepts), feed-grade stable. NF-grade D3 and 25-hydroxy VD3 high-activity forms have higher price elasticity than ordinary feed-grade D3.

VD3 + VK2 + 25-hydroxy VD3 derivative "tier premium"

Another important VD3 trend is "tier premium" — from ordinary feed-grade D3, to food-grade D3, to NF-grade D3, to 25-hydroxy VD3, to higher-activity 1,25-dihydroxy VD3 — each tier's unit price is 3-10x higher than the previous.

Specific tier structure:

Ordinary feed-grade D3: 100-500 yuan/kg (by IU activity)
Food-grade D3: 500-1000 yuan/kg
NF-grade D3: 1000-2000 yuan/kg
25-hydroxy VD3: 5000-20000 yuan/kg
1,25-dihydroxy VD3 (calcitriol): 50000+ yuan/kg

Garden Bio's "vertical" strategy climbs this ladder — from ordinary feed-grade D3 up to food-grade, NF-grade, 25-OH-VD3, calcitriol high value-add. Each tier requires 2-5 years of process R&D and quality certification.

Vitamin D deficiency's "global pandemic"

Universal vitamin D deficiency is medical consensus over the past decade. About 40% of global population is vitamin D deficient or insufficient. In China, this could be higher — about 50-60% of adults below normal vitamin D level.

Vitamin D deficiency correlates with multiple chronic diseases:

Osteoporosis, rickets
Cardiovascular disease
Autoimmune diseases (MS, RA)
Multiple cancers (colorectal, breast) correlated risk
Cognitive decline in the elderly

As public awareness of vitamin D health benefits rises, VD3+calcium supplements, single-VD3 preparations, food-fortification VD3 addition ratios continue to rise. The most stable demand growth source for VD3 industry in the next decade.

VK3's Brother monopoly

VK3 (sodium bisulfite menadione) global capacity is concentrated at Brother — 40-60% share. Rare concentration in the vitamin industry.

VK3 downstream is mainly feed additive (about 90%), for poultry and livestock blood clotting. Poultry (especially broilers) have the highest VK demand, the largest VK3 downstream.

Brother's "chromium salt - VK3" co-production is the company's core moat.

2025 Brother VK3 stayed high. 2026 key variables:

Global poultry stock recovery (post-bird-flu cycle)
Chinese exports to SE Asia, India growing
VK3 prices in 50-80 yuan/kg range

VB3 niacinamide and VB5 calcium pantothenate — China oligopoly

VB3 (niacinamide) and VB5 (calcium pantothenate) — both fully China-dominated.

Niacinamide global capacity concentrated in China — Brother Enterprise, Anhui Guoxing Bio (Huayang Group), Henry Pharma, Xinfa Pharma etc. Half feed additive, half cosmetics and supplements.

2026 niacinamide demand biggest growth comes from NMN (beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide) and NR (nicotinamide riboside) — speculative "anti-aging" supplements. NMN/NR in the body convert to NAD+, considered to slow aging and improve mitochondrial function. Their main raw material is niacinamide. From 2020-2025 global NMN/NR ramped fast, lifting niacinamide high value-add exports to a new level.

Brother, Henry, Xinfa benefit in 2026 from NMN/NR demand expansion.

Calcium pantothenate (VB5) global capacity also concentrated in China — Yifan Pharma (Hefei), Xinfa Pharma, Brother etc. Yifan is #1. Mainly for feed additive and food fortification.

2026 calcium pantothenate price expected stable in 300-400 yuan/kg.

VB1 and VB6 — China-dominated, technology stable

VB1 (thiamine) global capacity in China (>70%) — Brother and Tianxin as mainstay. Downstream mainly feed additive and pharma.

VB6 (pyridoxine) industrial synthesis is long, mid-tier tech barrier. Garden Bio's 2023 5,000 tons/year VB6 project is key new domestic capacity.

VB12 — India + China split

VB12 (cyanocobalamin) — among the few water-soluble vitamins not fully China-dominated. Reason: B12 industrial production requires microbial fermentation (specific B12-producing strain), India has traditional fermentation B12 advantage. China share 30-40%, main producers Huabei Pharma, Hebei Yuxing Bio.

Carotenoids + beta-carotene — Zhejiang Medicine and Xinhecheng

Carotenoids are fat-soluble natural pigments and antioxidants, mainly including beta-carotene, astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin. Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A in body, the "precursor" of vitamin A.

Chinese players in carotenoids:

Zhejiang Medicine: beta-carotene global top-2
Xinhecheng: beta-carotene + carotenoid multi-product
Kingdomway: astaxanthin (synthetic biology route)
DSM's three-star new materials (handed via CVC): synthetic astaxanthin

2026 carotenoids key variable: DSM three-star business divestment — once in CVC's portfolio, Chinese players may gain acquisition or order-uptake opportunities.

Folic acid and B12 "China-India split"

Folic acid (VB9) and VB12 are categories where China and India share global supply.

Folic acid: China holds 50-60% global, main producers including Sheng Da Bio (Hubei), Sichuan Henry, Xinfa Pharma. India 30-40%. Downstream mainly pharma (pregnancy folic, anemia) and food fortification.

VB12: India 40-50% global (fermentation route advantage), China 30-40%, main producers Huabei Pharma, Hebei Yuxing Bio. Downstream mainly pharma and feed additive.

Over next five years:

Folic acid demand driven by pregnancy supplementation + food fortification policy, global demand growing 5-7%/year
VB12 demand driven by aging + vegetarian growth + stable feed additive, global demand growing 5-8%/year

Biotin (VB7) — "small variety big profit"

Biotin is a B-family small variety with global annual consumption only hundreds of tons. But high unit price (thousands yuan/kg), high margin (40-60%), stable growth (5-8%/year) — the "small variety big profit" representative.

Chinese biotin players include Sheng Da Bio (Hubei), Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio. Sheng Da Bio is the Chinese biotin leader, 2025 global share over 40%.

2026-2030 biotin global demand driven by "healthy hair, skin, nails" supplement concepts, growth expected 8-10%/year.

Lutein and zeaxanthin "eye health" boom

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two important carotenoids, mainly protecting retina, alleviating eye fatigue, reducing AMD risk. Past five years global demand for lutein and zeaxanthin grew fast, driven by blue light protection and prolonged screen use.

China is global #1 producer of lutein — extracted from marigold petals. Yunnan, Shaanxi, Xinjiang have large-scale marigold farming and lutein extraction. Representative companies include Chenguang Bio, Kelong Bio, Chenpai Pharma.

2026 China lutein and zeaxanthin global supply share over 80% — another China-dominated track in "atypical vitamins."

Summary of this chapter

Medium varieties (D3, K3, niacin, calcium pantothenate, B1, B6, biotin, lutein) China-dominated landscape was largely established by 2025. Each variety has one or two leading Chinese players — Garden Bio for D3, Brother for K3 and B1, Yifan for B5, Henry and Brother for B3 niacinamide, Sheng Da Bio for biotin, Chenguang for lutein.

2026-2030 most structural opportunities in medium varieties:

VD3: Garden Bio "one vertical, one horizontal" + DSM exit dividend + vitamin D deficiency pandemic
Niacinamide: NMN/NR anti-aging supplements demand
VB6: Garden Bio new capacity + global demand expansion
Biotin: small variety big profit + supplements demand growth
Lutein and zeaxanthin: eye health concept + blue light protection

Chapter 7　Factory Data Perspective: Slicing the Chinese Vitamin Value Chain by Process, Category, Region

Chapter 6 finished medium varieties. This chapter switches to a different data lens. Slicing thousands of upstream-downstream factories in the Chinese vitamin value chain — specialty chemicals raw material plants, vitamin A/E/D3 synthesis plants, vitamin B family fermentation plants, feed premix plants, food fortification raw material plants, cosmetic OEMs, supplement OEMs — by process, category, region.

This chapter introduces an external observation lens: Tianxia Gongchang — a B2B platform covering 4.8 million in-production factories in China. The differentiator from generic enterprise lookup tools (Qixinbao, Tianyancha etc) is the capability to "identify whether a company is actually a factory." Generic tools draw on industrial-and-commercial registry data, where the "manufacturing" category contains many traders, agents, and shell companies. The platform cross-validates process, equipment, personnel, production permits, and other multi-dimensional data to precisely filter real in-production factories from the industrial-and-commercial registry. The value of this filter is especially clear in vitamins — a specialty chemicals sub-sector with extra-long upstream-downstream chains and an unusual density of intermediaries.

By geographic region

Chinese vitamin factory distribution by region splits into five blocks:

First block: Yangtze River Delta (Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu) — the "core zone" of Chinese vitamins.

Shangyu Zhejiang: Xinhecheng HQ and core production base (VA, VE, methionine, flavors)
Xinchang Zhejiang: Zhejiang Medicine HQ and core base (natural VE, synthetic VE, VA, VD3)
Dongyang Zhejiang: Garden Bio HQ and NF-grade cholesterol, VD3 core base
Jiaxing/Pinghu Zhejiang: Brother Enterprise HQ and VK3, B1, B3, B5 base
Nanjing Jiangsu: Adisseo liquid methionine world-first plant
Taizhou/Jiangyin Jiangsu: multiple specialty chemicals and vitamin intermediate plants

Second block: Shandong — traditional specialty chemicals base, host of many vitamin companies' Phase 2 or 3 expansions.

Weifang Shandong: Xinhecheng Shandong base (VE oil, methionine)
Zibo, Jinan Shandong: multiple vitamin B family and API plants
Qingdao Shandong: synthetic biology new plants

Third block: Fujian + Guangdong — supplements and branded categories concentrated.

Xiamen Fujian: Kingdomway HQ and Q10, astaxanthin, VA series base
Longyan Fujian: supplement OEM
Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen Guangdong: cosmetic-grade VE, cosmetic OEM

Fourth block: Hubei — isophytol and vitamin E JV base.

Jingzhou Hubei: Nantekang and DSM JV
Shishou Hubei: Shishou Nantekang isophytol base
Yichang, Xiangyang Hubei: multiple specialty chemical plants

Fifth block: Sichuan-Chongqing + Northeast — supplementary and extended.

Chengdu Sichuan: supplement OEM
Heilongjiang, Jilin: synthetic biology new plants, VB family expansions

By category and value-chain layer

Slicing the Chinese vitamin value chain by upstream-downstream layer:

First layer (uppermost): basic chemical raw materials

Citral (Wanhua Chemical new facility + BASF Ludwigshafen + Xinhecheng captive)
Isophytol (Nantekang Shishou + JV)
TMHQ (JV + multiple midstream specialty chemical plants)
7-dehydrocholesterol + NF-grade cholesterol (Garden Bio 70% global)
Pyridine, 3-methylpyridine (Brother captive chain)

Second layer (midstream): vitamin end product synthesis

VA: Xinhecheng, BASF, Adisseo, Zhejiang Medicine, Kingdomway
VE: Xinhecheng, Nantekang/JV, Zhejiang Medicine
VD3: Garden Bio, Haisheng Pharma, Kingdomway, Xinhecheng
VK3: Brother Enterprise, Xinhecheng
B family: Brother, Tianxin Pharma, Henry Pharma, Xinfa Pharma, Anhui Guoxing
Q10: Kingdomway, Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Shenzhou Bio
Beta-carotene: Zhejiang Medicine, Xinhecheng
Astaxanthin: Kingdomway, Xinhecheng (synthetic biology)

Third layer (downstream processing):

Feed premix: Beijing Dabeinong, Wens, New Hope, Haida and other large feed mills' premix plants
Food fortification raw materials: McCormick, Kellogg's, Nestle China food raw material plants
Cosmetic OEM: Guangzhou Proya, Marubi, Shanghai Jahwa cosmetic OEMs
Supplement OEM: Sinly Health (DRJ Group OEM for By-Health), Ziguang Chenji, By-Health captive plants
Pharma: CSPC, China Resources Pharma, Yangzijiang Pharma vitamin preparation plants

Fourth layer (terminal brands):

Feed brands: Twin-pig, Wens, Haida, New Hope, Dabeinong
Food brands: Nestle, Danone, Yili, Mengniu, Heinz, Kellogg's
Cosmetic brands: L'Oreal, P&G, Unilever, Proya, Marubi
Supplement brands: By-Health, Swisse, GNC, Doctor's Best, Carlson

By process

Slicing by process:

Chemical synthesis: VA, VE, K3, B1, B6 mostly use chemical synthesis. Big reactors, high pressure, low/high temp control, catalyst recovery, multi-phase waste handling.

Fermentation: VB12, Q10, astaxanthin use fermentation. Large tanks (hundreds to thousands of cubic meters), strain preservation, sterilization, continuous extraction-purification.

Photochemistry: VD3 UV reaction. Special reactor material, UV wavelength control, precise temperature control.

Separation extraction: natural VE, natural cholesterol, natural carotenoids — molecular distillation, chromatography, supercritical extraction, recrystallization.

维生素A, 维生素E, 维生素D3, 维生素K3, 辅酶Q10, 类胡萝卜素, 饲料预混料, 食品强化剂, 保健品代工, 化妆品代工, 羊毛脂, 精细化工 — all active factory categories on the Chinese vitamin value chain.

By downstream application

By downstream application:

Feed premix plant nationwide distribution

Total Chinese feed premix plants count in the hundreds. Geographic distribution by agricultural province — Shandong, Henan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hebei, Sichuan. Representatives:

Shandong: Zhucheng Foreign Trade, Qingdao Liuhe (New Hope), Weifang Hefeng
Henan: Twin-pig Nanyang, New Hope Liuhe
Guangdong: Haida Group, Foshan Wens
Jiangsu: Jiangsu Aobang, Suzhou Zhenhua
Hebei: Twin-pig Hebei, Beijing Dabeinong Hebei
Sichuan: Twin-pig Sichuan, Sichuan Tieqi Lishi

These plants consume from hundreds to thousands of tons of vitamins yearly — the most important downstream customers for Chinese vitamin producers.

Food fortification raw material plants core zone

Food fortification raw material plants:

Shandong: Tai'an Lehr, Jinan Ruhua (Nestle China food supporting)
Jiangsu: Suzhou Nestle, Suzhou Danone Dumex
Shanghai: Shanghai Food Research Institute supporting
Guangdong: Guangzhou Nestle, Guangzhou Heinz
Beijing: Beijing McCormick

This group's vitamin consumption is small (tens to hundreds of tons), but quality and certification requirements are highest — often requiring FSSC22000, ISO22000, HACCP multiple certifications.

Cosmetic OEM clusters

Cosmetic OEM mainly in:

Guangdong Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen: Kanebo, Marubi, Proya OEM
Shanghai: Shanghai Jahwa, Estee Lauder OEM
Jiangsu Suzhou: Jialan Skin, L'Oreal OEM
Zhejiang Hangzhou: Botaini OEM, Plant Doctor OEM
Sichuan Chengdu: Baizhicui OEM

Cosmetic OEMs' vitamin raw material unit price is high (cosmetic-grade VE 300-500 yuan/kg, niacinamide 200-400 yuan/kg) — high-margin downstream.

Supplement OEM two clusters

Supplement OEMs in two clusters:

Shandong + North: Sinly Health (Shantou), Ziguang Chenji (Beijing), By-Health captive (Zhuhai)
Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai + YRD: Jiakang Beverage, Huaxing Pharma, Suzhou Boshi Garden

Quality and stability requirements high, often requiring NSF, USP-NF international certifications.

Pharma plants supply chain

Pharma plants:

Hebei Shijiazhuang: CSPC (VC king)
Shandong Jinan: Qilu Pharma, Bloomage Bio
Jiangsu Nanjing: Yangzijiang Pharma, Suzhong Pharma
Guangdong Guangzhou: Baiyunshan, Livzon Group
Shanghai: Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, China Resources Sansong

Pharma plants' vitamin API procurement has highest quality requirements, typically requiring FDA cGMP, EMA, PMDA (Japan) certifications.

By factory scale

Chinese vitamin factory scale distribution shows typical "pyramid":

Top: seven listed companies (Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Brother, Nantekang, Kingdomway, Adisseo) + several unlisted large enterprises (Tianxin, Henry, Xinfa, Yifan etc.). These 10-15 leaders hold over 70% capacity.

Middle: dozens of medium specialty chemical plants — annual output 0.1-1 billion yuan, focused on a few intermediates or end products. Often key niche-variety players but globally low-profile.

Base: hundreds of small chemical plants and API plants — annual output tens of millions yuan, doing intermediate synthesis, OEM production, or supporting services for leading producers.

Granular factory-capability-based filtering — for example, "factories capable of producing vitamin E oil," "factories capable of NF-grade cholesterol extraction," "factories with VD3 UV reactors" — is the core daily-work scenario for upstream salespeople, downstream procurement officers, third-party traders.

Factory "process capability" filtering use cases

In actual vitamin value chain business scenarios, granular filtering by factory process capability is daily work. Use cases:

First: upstream salespeople looking for downstream customers. For example, a citral facility's sales staff need to find all factories with vitamin A, vitamin E, or aroma production capability. This filter needs to be precise about process capability (specific reactors, process packages, GMP qualifications etc.).

Second: downstream procurers looking for alternative suppliers. For example, a feed premix plant's procurement officer originally bought VE oil from a foreign supplier, then after the BASF explosion needs to find a domestic substitute. This filter needs multi-dimensional matching: category, capacity, geographic location, quality grade, price.

Third: third-party traders finding supply channels. For example, a cosmetic-grade VE trader needs Chinese suppliers with cosmetic-grade (not just feed-grade) quality. Filter needs to be on quality management systems (ISO22716, FDA cGMP, EU GMP).

Fourth: investment institutional due diligence. For example, a private equity fund considering investment in a vitamin producer needs full understanding of the producer's position in the chain, upstream-downstream customer structure, competitor distribution.

Fifth: foreign brands building Chinese supply chain. For example, a European/American supplement brand entering China needs to build a stable vitamin raw material procurement channel in China. Filter needs to be on category, quality, capacity, supply stability, compliance.

The common feature: granular filtering by factory's process capability, category mix, geographic location, quality grade. Hard to do on generic enterprise lookup tools (too-coarse categories, no factory-vs-trader distinction), but efficient on professional factory-identifying B2B platforms.

Summary of this chapter

Chinese vitamin value chain factory distribution shows four features: "regional concentration + upstream-downstream full chain + factory scale pyramid + process diversification." Understanding this distribution is key to understanding Chinese vitamins' global competitiveness.

2026-2030 the chain is expected to concentrate further — leaders' share continues to rise, midstream specialty chemical plants get acquired or exit, new entrants drop sharply (limited by high capital barriers and long expansion cycles). But downstream processing and brand end will diversify — more cosmetic OEM, supplement OEM, cross-border e-commerce brands joining.

Chapter 8　Downstream One: Feed Premix — the "Base Plate" of the Vitamin Industry

Chapter 7 unpacked factory distribution. This chapter looks at the largest vitamin downstream — feed premix.

What is feed premix

Premix is a "feed additive concentrate" combining vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, antioxidants. Premix is typically added at 0.5-4% of feed, main function is supplementing micro nutrients in feed.

Premix is the core technology of feed mills. A feed mill's product differentiation often shows in premix formula — different pig age groups (piglet, nursery, finisher, sow), different chicken types (layer, broiler, breeder), different aquaculture (tilapia, eel, shrimp, crab) — all need different premix formulas. Vitamins typically account for 30-40% of premix.

Vitamins are only about 1% of feed cost

An interesting data point: vitamins are only about 1% of total feed cost. But this 1% has far more impact on animal growth performance, meat quality, and immunity than 1%.

Typical feed cost structure:

Bulk raw materials (corn, soybean meal): about 70-75%
Fats, calcium hydrogen phosphate, amino acids: about 10-15%
Vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other trace additives: about 1-3%

That 1-2 percentage points of vitamins determines animal metabolic efficiency in the growth cycle. Vitamin A deficiency lowers immunity, VE deficiency causes reproductive disorder, VD3 deficiency causes poor bone development, VK3 deficiency causes clotting problems. Each vitamin's deficiency directly affects animal health and production performance.

So feed mills don't see price as the only decisive factor when buying vitamins — they value supply stability, quality consistency, technical service. The reason leading vitamin producers can long maintain above-industry-average margins — large feed mills pay premium for "stable supply."

Vitamin "optimal addition" and formulation science

Vitamin addition in feed premix is not "more is better" — scientific consensus exists on "optimal addition." Each vitamin's optimal addition depends on animal species, age, growth stage, physiology, stress, and more.

Typical optimal addition data (per kg feed):

Finishing pig: VA 3000-5000 IU, VD3 200-300 IU, VE 20-40 mg, VK3 1-2 mg, VB complex 5-15 mg
Layer: VA 8000-12000 IU, VD3 1500-3000 IU, VE 25-50 mg, VK3 1-3 mg
Broiler: VA 10000-15000 IU, VD3 3000-5000 IU, VE 30-60 mg, VK3 2-4 mg
Aquaculture (fish): VA 4000-8000 IU, VD3 1000-2000 IU, VE 100-200 mg (much higher VE need than land animals), VC 100-300 mg
Ruminant (cattle, sheep): VA 5000-10000 IU, VD3 1000-3000 IU, VE 50-100 mg

These come from decades of animal nutrition research, now the scientific basis for feed formulation design.

Formulators must fine-tune optimal additions based on animal species, age, growth stage, stress level, feed raw material composition. Deep animal nutrition background plus practical experience.

Chinese feed industry's formulation level has improved rapidly over the past decade. Leading feed conglomerates (New Hope, Haida, Wens, Twin-pig) all have their own animal nutrition research institutes, formulation capability close to international advanced level. This progress drives demand for high-quality vitamin raw materials — formulation granularity demands raw material quality and stability granularity too.

Global feed premix market structure

Global feed premix market size about 18 billion US dollars (2025, including vitamins + minerals + other additives).

By region:

China: about 25% of global feed production, but higher vitamin consumption share (Chinese mills add at higher ratio)
North America: highest industrialization level, most standardized premix
Europe: high-end premix market, especially antibiotic-free premix
Southeast Asia + India: fast-growing emerging markets

By downstream animal:

Pig feed: about 35%
Broiler feed: about 30%
Layer feed: about 10%
Ruminant feed: about 10%
Aquaculture feed: about 10%
Pet feed + others: about 5%

Chinese feed premix industry landscape

China feed industry over the past decade consolidated into "big group + regional leader":

First tier: "national big groups" — New Hope, Haida, Wens, Twin-pig, Dabeinong, CP (China part). Build their own premix plants, big procurement scale, strong bargaining power.

Second tier: "regional leaders" — Hefeng Stock, Aonong, Tangrenshen, Xiangjia Stock. Geographically strong, long-term stable supply with upstream vitamin producers.

Third tier: "professional premix plants" — Zhejiang Feed, Huaqi Feed, Guangdong Jingji Zhinong, Beijing Liuhe. Tech-focused, often formulation OEM for big groups.

Feed premix plant procurement modes

Three procurement modes:

First: "leader direct" — large feed mills (Haida, Wens, Twin-pig) buy directly from Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Brother. Annual long-term contracts + monthly execution. Highest price transparency, industry benchmark.

Second: "intermediary distribution" — small-medium feed mills or premix plants procure through vitamin traders (Shandong Ruishuo, Beijing Zhongtong, Shanghai Kaisai), slightly higher price than leader-direct but flexible supply.

Third: "procurement + processing outsource" — some large feed groups outsource vitamin procurement to specialized premix companies for procurement-mixing-delivery one-stop. Representatives: Jiangsu Aobang, Guangzhou Dabeinong.

2026 hog cycle impact on vitamin demand

China hog inventory is the biggest determinant of vitamin feed demand. 2023-2024 hog inventory was at historical low, vitamin feed demand weak; 2025-2026 inventory recovery, vitamin feed demand rebound.

By current data, 2026 China hog inventory expected to return to 300 million+ head, vitamin annual consumption growth 10%+.

Broiler feed vitamin demand stays relatively stable — broiler cycle is short (about 6-7 weeks per batch), feed consumption inelastic.

Aquaculture feed VC, VE demand grows fast — driven by aquaculture moving toward high-density, scaled operations.

Antibiotic-free policy impact on vitamin demand

Since 2020 China implemented full feed antibiotic ban (banning growth-promoting antibiotic additives in feed), 2022 also implemented production-side antibiotic reduction. Impact on vitamins:

VE, VA with immunomodulation function demand growth — animals losing antibiotic adjuvant need more vitamins for immunity
VD3 + calcium-phosphorus related vitamins demand growth — post-antibiotic ban, poor bone development incidence rises
Multi-vitamin complex demand growth — better than single vitamin at covering animal micro-nutrient deficiency in antibiotic-free environment

2026-2030 deepening antibiotic-free policy continues driving Chinese vitamin feed demand structure upgrade.

Premix plants' "concentration" and vitamin procurement power

Chinese feed premix industry over the past decade saw clear concentration. Large premix plants ≥500k tons/year grew from a dozen in 2015 to 40-50 in 2025. Direct result: large premix plants' bargaining power over vitamin producers rose significantly.

Specific manifestations:

Large premix plants generally demand annual long contracts (1-year+ procurement contracts), lock baseline price + monthly execution
Large premix plants generally demand "technical service packages" — formulation design support, application tech training, emergency response
Large premix plants generally demand "national supply" — multi-base, multi-warehouse, multi-logistics coordination

These demands push vitamin producers from "pure product delivery" to "product + service + network" comprehensive capability. Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Brother have all built sales-and-service networks covering main Chinese feed regions. Another important reason for long maintaining above-industry-average margins — large feed mills pay premium for comprehensive capability.

Feed additive global trade "China export dominance"

Chinese vitamin feed additive exports over the past decade completed "from medium share to dominant share." 2024 Chinese vitamin exports 422,800 tons, corresponding to a few billion US dollars. By VA, VE, VD3, B family core categories, China's export share has surpassed 50% in each — most categories over 70%.

Main export destinations:

US: largest export market for Chinese VA, VE, VD3
Germany: European vitamin distribution hub
Brazil: largest South American feed market
India: Asian emerging market
SE Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia feed markets growing fast

This "globally distributed, China-dominated" export structure determines Chinese vitamin producers' pricing influence over global feed additives.

Feed additive "substitute risk"

The vitamin industry has a long-discussed topic — whether some vitamins might be replaced by substitutes. Specific discussion:

Plant extracts (green tea, grape seed) partially replacing VE antioxidant function
Probiotics, prebiotics partially replacing some B family functions
Enzymes improving feed vitamin absorption, reducing vitamin addition

Some technical progress over the past decade, but no disruptive substitution. Vitamin irreplaceability rests on three points:

First, vitamins are scientifically validated "essential trace nutrients" in animals, substitutes can't fully cover all physiological functions.

Second, vitamin addition cost is extremely low (~1% of feed cost), substitutes don't make economic sense even if theoretically possible.

Third, vitamin supply chain is highly mature, substitute supply chain would require billions in re-investment.

Vitamins likely won't be disrupted by substitutes in next 5-10 years. Vitamins remain the "base plate" of feed additives.

Summary of this chapter

Feed premix is the vitamin industry's largest downstream, the "base plate." Chinese feed industry consolidation + antibiotic-free policy + hog cycle recovery — three factors stack to drive 2026-2030 stable Chinese vitamin feed demand growth.

But premix is only 50-60% of vitamin demand — food fortification, pharma, cosmetics, supplements four downstreams remain. Their unit price, margin, growth speed all far exceed feed additive. Key direction for Chinese vitamin producers' "shift to high-end" over next five years.

Chapter 9　Downstream Two: Food Fortification + Pharma + Cosmetics + Supplements — Growth Curves of High-End Markets

Chapter 8 unpacked feed premix. This chapter unpacks the other four downstreams — food fortification, pharma, cosmetics, supplements. Their feature: high unit price, high margin, fast growth — Chinese vitamin producers' "value step-up" direction over next five years.

Food fortification — invisible support for milk powder, formula, cereals, oil

Food fortification means adding vitamins and minerals to food to increase nutritional value. Global food fortification market about 100 billion US dollars (2025, all fortified food retail).

Main applications:

First, infant formula. Highest unit price, strictest requirements. One bag of infant formula contains dozens of vitamins and minerals in "breast-milk-mimicking" formula. VA, VD3, VE, VK1, B family, VC all essential. Representative Chinese companies: Feihe, Yili Goldenlong, Junlebao, Danone Dumex.

Chinese vitamin producers supply to infant formula market through two paths:

Direct to Chinese brands (Feihe, Yili etc.)
Indirect through European, NZ, Australian OEM to international brands

Second, fortified edible oil. VA, VD3, VE are main additives. Chinese standards mandate VA addition in rapeseed, soybean, peanut oil. Annual VA consumption hundreds of tons.

Third, fortified cereals. Breakfast cereals (Kellogg's, Nestle Cereal), nutritional noodles, fortified rice. B family, VD3, iron, zinc are main additives.

Fourth, fortified dairy. Fortified milk, flavored milk, yogurt. VD3, calcium, iron are main additives.

2026 vitamin demand structure changes in food fortification:

High-activity VD3 (25-OH-VD3, NF-grade VD3) demand growth — driven by attention to common vitamin D deficiency
Natural VE penetration in high-end infant formula rises — higher bioavailability than synthetic
VK2 demand grows fast — driven by bone health concepts

Pharma — vitamin clinical applications

Vitamin pharma applications:

VD3 + calcium combo (treating osteoporosis)
VE soft capsule (adjuvant cardiovascular, female menopause)
Compound B injection (adjuvant neuropathy)
VK1 injection (bleeding emergency)
VC injection (adjuvant scurvy, allergic disease)
VA palmitate (adjuvant night blindness, skin disease)

Chinese vitamin pharma market about tens of billions yuan, main players are big pharma — CSPC, China Resources, Yangzijiang, Shuanglu. Vitamin pharma features high unit price, high registration barriers, relatively closed sales channels (hospitals).

Chinese vitamin producers' role in pharma is mainly API supplier — supplying high-purity (pharma-grade, injection-grade) vitamin API to drugmakers, who process into final pharmaceutical preparations.

2026 pharma vitamin demand growth from:

Aging driving VD3 + calcium combo demand
Chronic disease management driving VE, B complex demand
Rare disease drug (VK1 injection) demand stable

Cosmetics and skincare — natural VE and VC derivatives

Cosmetics vitamin applications:

Natural VE (d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate): antioxidant, anti-aging, barrier repair
VC derivatives (magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, VC ethyl ether): whitening, lightening, antioxidant
B family (B3 niacinamide, B5 panthenol): moisturizing, repair, oil control
Retinol (vitamin A alcohol): anti-wrinkle, smoothing, skin improvement

Cosmetic-grade vitamins are far higher priced than feed/food grade. Cosmetic VE 300-500 yuan/kg vs feed grade 50-100 yuan/kg.

Chinese vitamin producers in cosmetics:

Zhejiang Medicine: natural VE global main supplier, cosmetic-grade business growing
Xinhecheng: VE + niacinamide + flavors integrated supplier
Brother: niacinamide global main supplier
Garden Bio: cosmetic-grade lanolin derivatives + VE new business

2026 cosmetics vitamin demand growth from:

Chinese cosmetic brands (Proya, Marubi, Shanghai Jahwa, Bloomage Bio) fast growth
Global brands' (L'Oreal, P&G, Unilever) China supply chain localization
"Ingredient skincare" consumption trend driving high-end vitamin derivatives demand

Supplements — NMN/NR/Q10's "anti-aging" dividend

Supplements is the fastest-growing vitamin downstream over past 5 years. Global supplements market about 300 billion US dollars (2025). Chinese supplements about 300 billion yuan, 10%+ annual growth.

Vitamin demand structure changes in supplements:

First, anti-aging category explosion. NMN, NR, Q10, astaxanthin, resveratrol — all classified as "anti-aging" supplements. The core raw materials are almost all supplied by Chinese producers — niacinamide (NMN/NR's main raw material) by Brother, Henry, Xinfa; Q10 by Kingdomway; astaxanthin by Kingdomway, Xinhecheng (synthetic biology route).

NMN/NR unit price is 2,000-5,000 yuan/gram (small molecule API price) — thousands of times normal vitamin API. Chinese producers occupy absolute dominance in global NMN/NR supply chain.

Second, calcium + VD3 combo stable demand. Osteoporosis and aging drive stable demand.

Third, multi-vitamin + mineral combo. Centrum, Caltrate brand multi-vitamins are global supplements' "base plate."

Fourth, natural VE high-end-ization. From synthetic to natural VE — high-end supplements trend.

2026 Chinese supplements market key changes:

NMN/NR regulatory path clarified (formerly NMN not allowed as supplement in China, mainly via cross-border e-commerce; moving toward domestic regulatory clarity)
High-end brand localization (Swisse, Doctor's Best Chinese local OEM rises)
Cross-border e-commerce (Tmall Global, JD Global) supplements sales growth

The four downstreams' margin and growth comparison

Downstream	Margin	Growth	China dominance
Feed premix	30-50%	5-8%/yr	High
Food fortification	50-70%	8-12%/yr	Medium
Pharma	60-80%	5-8%/yr	Medium (registration limited)
Cosmetics	70-90%	15-20%/yr	Rising
Supplements (incl NMN/NR)	80-95%	20-30%/yr	High (esp anti-aging)

From feed premix to supplements, margin and growth both show clear upward structure. Chinese vitamin producers' past decade completed "capacity expansion," next decade's key is "shift to high-end downstream" — from feed additive cost manufacturer to food/pharma/cosmetic/supplement high value-add supplier.

Summary of this chapter

Vitamin industry downstreams go far beyond feed premix. Food fortification, pharma, cosmetics, supplements four high-end downstreams' market size, margin, growth are all expanding fast.

Chinese vitamin producers' key strategy 2026-2030 is "shift to high-end downstream." Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio have already invested heavily. Kingdomway through supplement brands (Doctor's Best, Carlson) built direct US channel. Brother via niacinamide supplying NMN/NR anti-aging.

This is Chinese vitamin industry's biggest "value step-up" of next five years.

Cosmetic-grade vitamin "ingredient skincare" dividend

Most notable cosmetic trend over past five years is "Skincare by Ingredients." Core: consumers move from "brand-driven" to "ingredient-driven" — looking at specific active ingredient concentration and effect (niacinamide, VC, VE, retinol, hyaluronic acid) rather than just brand advertising.

Impact on vitamins:

Niacinamide: as core whitening, oil control, barrier repair ingredient, addition ratio and unit price up sharply past five years. Most big brand serum/cream niacinamide concentration up from 2% to 5%, some premium products to 10%.
VC derivatives (magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, VC ethyl ether, 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid): as core whitening, antioxidant, demand growing fast
Retinol (VA alcohol): as core anti-wrinkle, skin improvement, transitioning from pharma-grade API to cosmetic-grade refined
Natural VE: in high-end skincare for antioxidant, barrier repair, share rising
B5 (panthenol + calcium pantothenate): in sensitive skin products, widely used

Chinese producers' cosmetic-grade vitamin supply advantages:

First, cost — Chinese producers' unit cost is far lower than European, more competitive cosmetic-grade pricing.

Second, response speed — Chinese producers respond fast to customization, deep understanding of Chinese local cosmetic brand needs.

Third, quality — Chinese leaders' cosmetic-grade raw materials meet international standards, some (niacinamide) over 70% global share.

2026-2030 cosmetic-grade vitamin global market expected to grow from current tens of billion US dollars to over 100 billion, with Chinese share moving from 40-50% to 60-70%.

Pharma-grade vitamin "BE/GMP/cGMP" certification barriers

Biggest difference from feed/food grade is certification. Pharma-grade vitamins must satisfy:

Domestic: GMP (drug GMP) certification, drug registration, CDE review
International: FDA cGMP, EMA, USP/EP/JP pharmacopeia compliance
Per-batch BE study, stability, impurity profile etc.

Capital and time investment far exceed feed/food. A new pharma-grade vitamin API plant typically needs 5-8 years and 1-3 billion yuan to FDA cGMP.

Chinese vitamin producers with FDA cGMP certified pharma-grade vitamin API:

Xinhecheng: VA, VE, Q10 etc
Zhejiang Medicine: synthetic VE, natural VE, VA, VD3 etc
Garden Bio: VD3, 25-hydroxy VD3
Brother: VK3, VB1, VB3 etc
Kingdomway: Q10, VA
Adisseo: liquid methionine

Export prices of FDA cGMP certified pharma-grade API are typically 5-10x feed grade. Biggest driver for "shift to pharma grade."

Supplement market "category revolutions"

Supplements past five years saw multiple "category revolutions":

First revolution: "single vitamin → multi-vitamin combo." Earliest supplement form was single vitamin + mineral, then multi (Centrum, Caltrate etc.).

Second revolution: "synthetic → natural vitamin." From synthetic VE to natural VE, from synthetic beta-carotene to natural — high-end "naturalization."

Third revolution: "basic vitamin → functional vitamin." From "general supplementation" to "specific function" — bone health (VD3+Ca+K2), anti-aging (NMN/NR+Q10), skin health (VC+VE+glutathione), eye health (lutein+zeaxanthin+anthocyanin).

Fourth revolution: "pharma/supplement → food/beverage/snack." Vitamins from tablets to "gummy, fruit beverage, coffee, energy bar" portable food. Especially clear in Gen Z.

Each revolution corresponds to vitamin demand structure change — from bulk procurement to customization, from single variety to combo formulation, from API to terminal brands.

Chinese producers' response:

Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio: high-end API + customized combo supply
Kingdomway: supplement brands (Doctor's Best, Carlson) directly to consumers
Brother: niacinamide supplying NMN/NR
New entrants: synthetic biology developing new active ingredients

Supplement globalization "cross-border e-commerce dividend"

Cross-border e-commerce is the key channel for Chinese supplement globalization. Past five years foreign brands (Swisse, Doctor's Best, Carlson, GNC) entered China heavily via Tmall Global, JD Global, cross-border post; meanwhile Chinese brands (By-Health, Sinly Health) went abroad via cross-border.

Cross-border advantages:

Relatively favorable tariffs (especially personal item scale exemptions)
Relatively loose regulation (some foreign ingredients not allowed as supplements in China, but allowed via cross-border)
Relatively fast logistics (HK, Singapore, US/EU bonded warehouse delivery 7-15 days)

Impact on Chinese vitamin producers:

Foreign brands (Doctor's Best) source from China (e.g., Kingdomway Q10) → process into supplements in China → cross-border back to Chinese consumers
Chinese local brand high-end-ization drives upgraded local vitamin raw material demand

"Inner cycle + outer cycle" interwoven new supply chain landscape.

Sports nutrition outbreak and vitamin demand

Sports nutrition is a category driven by consumption upgrade and fitness boom. Chinese sports nutrition market about 20-30 billion yuan (2025), 15-20% annual growth. Sports population's significantly higher needs than general population for B family (energy metabolism), VC (antioxidant), VD3 (bone), VE (antioxidant and repair), Q10 (mitochondria), creatine. Chinese vitamin producers cut into the high-growth category by supplying core raw materials to sports nutrition brands (Myprotein, Konbit, By-Health, GNC China). Sports nutrition has higher unit price, short repurchase cycle, strong brand stickiness — corresponding vitamin raw material procurement is also more stable, more focused on supplier quality and service integration capability. Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Kingdomway have all increased investment in sports nutrition niche in past three years, supplying high-end vitamins and Q10 to international sports nutrition brands.

"Medical food" and "FSMP" new growth

Medical food and FSMP are policy-dividend tracks in Chinese food industry past three years. Core: providing fine-controlled nutritional support for specific disease populations (diabetes, kidney, post-GI surgery, rare disease), with vitamin and mineral fine pairing as core tech.

Chinese FSMP market about 10-15 billion yuan (2025), 20%+ annual growth. SAMR registration management of FSMP improves, registration approval is the key threshold to enter.

Chinese vitamin producers' roles in FSMP supply chain:

Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine: high-purity VA, VE, VD3, B family API suppliers
Garden Bio: pharma-grade VD3, 25-OH-VD3 core supplier
Brother: B family API supplier
Kingdomway: Q10, astaxanthin supplier

2026-2030 FSMP vitamin demand growth expected 20-25%/year, another high value-add new blue ocean.

Pet food "vitamin new blue ocean"

Pet food is the fastest-growing vitamin downstream past decade. Global pet food market about 120 billion US dollars (2025), Chinese about 150 billion yuan, 15-20% annual growth.

Vitamin demand in pet food:

VA, VD3, VE, VK: basic pet (especially cat) needs
B family: pet metabolic support
Taurine (not vitamin but often paired): essential AA for cats
Q10: elderly pet cardiovascular support
Omega-3 + VE: pet fur and skin health

Chinese pet food companies (Petty, Zhongchong, Royal Canin, Nestle Purina, Mars Royal) vitamin raw material procurement grew fast past five years. Chinese leading vitamin producers (especially Garden Bio, Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine) treat pet-food-grade vitamins as new key downstream category.

Pet-food-grade vitamin features:

High unit price (between feed and food grade)
Strict quality requirements (close to food grade)
Personalized formula (by dog/cat breed, age, health)
Brand differentiation (drives upstream raw material + brand integration)

2026-2030 pet food vitamin demand growth expected 12-18%/year, the industry's "new blue ocean."

"Precision Nutrition" and personalized vitamin formulas

Precision Nutrition is another emerging direction in health industry. Basic idea: customize personalized nutritional supplement plan based on individual's genotype, metabolic type, lifestyle, health status.

Impact on vitamin industry:

Drives vitamin from "bulk category" to "fine formula" (e.g., "for late nights," "for fitness," "for pregnancy," "for child growth," "for menopause," "for post-op recovery")
Drives vitamin sales from "bulk category" to "customized service"
Drives DTC brand rise, bypassing traditional pharmacy and supplement channels

Precision nutrition use cases:

Gene test + nutrition plan: via 23andMe, BGI gene data, match personalized vitamin formula
Health tracking + dynamic adjustment: via Apple Watch, Huawei watch health data, dynamically adjust vitamin intake
Clinical indicators + precise supplementation: via blood vitamin, mineral, hormone levels, precisely supplement deficient vitamins

2026-2030 precision nutrition may become a new vitamin consumption growth point. Chinese vitamin producers' response:

Launch "clear-ingredient, custom-combo" sub-formula products
Partner with gene test, health management platforms for "test + plan" service
Through DTC brand directly to consumers, raising ticket size and repurchase

Aging's "structural pull" on vitamin demand

Aging is the most stable structural pull on global vitamin demand over next twenty years.

UN data: 65+ population share globally rises from 9.3% in 2020 to 16% by 2050. China 65+ from 13.5% in 2020 to 26-30% by 2050. Japan, Korea, Europe even more aged.

Aging impact on vitamin demand:

Bone health vitamins (VD3 + Ca + K2): elderly vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis common, this category's core market
Cardiovascular vitamins (VE + Q10 + B6/B9/B12): cardiovascular disease most common chronic in elderly
Cognitive health vitamins (B family + VE): elderly cognitive decline linked to B deficiency
Eye health vitamins (lutein + zeaxanthin + VA): preventing age-related macular degeneration

Aging-driven vitamin demand growth is "structural, long-term, irreversible" — the most stable engine for vitamin industry over next twenty years.

Gen Z consumption impact on vitamin category

Gen Z (1995-2009 born) is becoming the supplement consumption mainstay. Different needs from past generations:

First, "self-management" health concept. Gen Z accepts "sub-health management" "fine wellness" concepts, has finer vitamin knowledge — not satisfied with multi-vitamin tablet, picks specific vitamin combos for specific body conditions (late nights, exercise, stress).

Second, "convenient dosage" preference. Gen Z prefers gummies, fruit beverages, energy bars, lozenges over traditional tablets and capsules.

Third, "cross-border purchase" habit. Gen Z contacts global brands via cross-border e-commerce, high awareness of international supplement brands.

Fourth, "transparent ingredient" demand. Gen Z actively queries product ingredients, raw material sources, test reports.

Fifth, "social sharing" propagation. Gen Z shares and discusses supplement use via Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Bilibili, forming "user word-of-mouth driven" consumption decision.

Impact on vitamin industry:

Drives "natural VE, NF-grade VD3, Q10, NMN/NR" high-end vitamin fast growth
Drives vitamin product form diversification (gummies, beverages, energy bars)
Drives cross-border e-commerce and haitao channel expansion
Drives brand differentiation (from "brand-driven" to "ingredient-driven")

Chinese vitamin producers' advantage in Gen Z is "upstream raw material + downstream brand" integration capability. Kingdomway's Doctor's Best, Xinhecheng's synthetic biology products, Garden Bio's high-end D3 are all high-end Gen Z layouts.

"Four quadrants" downstream layout — leading vitamin producers' high-end paths

Four-quadrant of leading Chinese vitamin producers by "high-end downstream layout density":

Q1 (feed+food+pharma+cosmetic+supplement full coverage): Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine

Q2 (feed+food+supplement focus): Garden Bio, Kingdomway

Q3 (feed+API focus): Brother Enterprise, Nantekang

Q4 (methionine + feed vitamin focus): Adisseo

Q1 and Q2 are "continued shift to high-end" producers, best margin structure. Q3 and Q4 are "feed base + stable" producers, scale advantage clear but margin improvement space relatively limited.

2026-2030 Q3 and Q4 producers expected to shift to high-end via M&A, JV, new bases.

Anti-aging (NMN/NR) chain China dominance

NMN and NR are most market-focused "anti-aging" raw materials past five years. Both core raw materials are niacinamide (VB3). Niacinamide first synthesized to nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) or nicotinamide riboside (NR), then for anti-aging supplements.

Chinese players in NMN/NR global supply chain:

Niacinamide: Brother, Henry, Xinfa account for majority of global supply
NMN: Bontac, Findor, Aibesen, Reshine etc dozens of Chinese players
NR: Akeso, Bontac, Findor etc several Chinese players

NMN/NR unit price dropped from tens of thousands yuan/kg in 2020 to thousands to tens of thousands yuan/kg by 2025, driven by supply expansion and tech progress. But global demand also expanded fast — from hundreds of kg in 2020 to tens to hundreds of tons by 2025.

2026-2030 NMN/NR Chinese local regulatory path will clarify (formerly NMN not allowed as Chinese supplement, mainly cross-border), Chinese local NMN/NR supplement market expected to reach 50-100 billion yuan by 2030.

A long-cycle high value-add demand increment for niacinamide suppliers (Brother, Henry, Xinfa).

Summary of this chapter (extension)

Vitamin industry's high-end downstreams (food fortification, pharma, cosmetics, supplements) are Chinese producers' most important value step-up over next five years. From past decade's "feed additive dominance" to next decade's "all-downstream balance" — key industry transformation from "cost manufacturing" to "value creation."

Chapter 10　Capacity Expansion: Xinhecheng Shaoxing, Zhejiang Medicine Changyi, Garden Bio Xinchang, Brother Sihong — Four Core Project Unpacks

Chapter 9 unpacked high-end downstreams. This chapter looks at capacity.

2026-2028 Chinese vitamin industry has four core expansions — Xinhecheng Shaoxing nutrition expansion, Zhejiang Medicine Changyi Changbei Bio, Garden Bio Xinchang convertible bond project, Brother Sihong expansion. Each corresponds to one or several vitamin categories' global supply landscape change.

Xinhecheng Shaoxing nutrition expansion + Shandong VE oil 2 万吨

Xinhecheng expansion in two parts — Shaoxing Zhejiang nutrition expansion, Weifang Shandong VE oil expansion.

Shaoxing nutrition expansion core: VA series and astaxanthin capacity upgrade. Specific plans:

New VA oil + palmitate + acetate multi-category capacity
New astaxanthin (synthetic biology) capacity
New methionine liquid dosage capacity (for European liquid methionine demand)

Weifang Shandong VE oil expansion 20,000 tons/year. This expansion directly affects global VE supply landscape — after Shandong new capacity releases, plus Shangyu existing, Xinhecheng's global VE total capacity reaches global #1 (30-35% global). Direct embodiment of "DSM exit → Xinhecheng takes position."

Xinhecheng's expansion pace in specialty chemicals is "steady + full-category" — not relying on single-point capacity stacking, but multi-base, multi-product, multi-upstream-downstream support. Core reason of long #1 status past 20 years.

Zhejiang Medicine Changyi Changbei Bio project

Zhejiang Medicine's core expansion is Shandong Changyi Changbei Bio's all-vitamin base. Key project for Zhejiang Medicine's strategic transition from "Xinchang Zhejiang single base" to "Zhejiang + Shandong dual base."

Changbei Bio project core plans:

VA series expansion
VE series expansion
VD3 + 25-hydroxy VD3 expansion
Q10 expansion
Beta-carotene expansion
Natural VE supporting expansion

Phased commissioning, expected 2026 partial, 2028 full. After commissioning, Zhejiang Medicine total vitamin capacity expected +40-50%.

Changbei Bio strategic significance: "responding to DSM ANH divestment" — Zhejiang Medicine via new Shandong base strengthens VE, VA big-category global capacity advantage, preparing to take over global orders that may flow out during DSM-CVC handover.

Garden Bio Xinchang convertible bond project (VB6 5,000 tons + VA + VE + biotin)

Garden Bio 2023 issued 1.186 billion yuan convertible bond, building multiple lines. Core projects:

VB6 5,000 tons/year (25.66% progress as of March 2025)
VA new product launch
VE new capacity
Biotin new capacity

Completion target 31 May 2025.

Garden Bio expansion logic: "from VD3 single-product leader to all-vitamin player." VB6 5,000 tons makes Garden Bio one of the largest domestic VB6 suppliers. VA, VE, biotin new capacity is Garden Bio's key step to connect to all-category demand and reduce single-product dependency.

Garden Bio's feature: "relatively capital-intensive + deep single-point variety moats" — convertible bond financing into multi-category vitamins, leveraging NF-grade cholesterol moats to expand new categories.

Brother Enterprise B family expansion

Brother's core expansion is B family full-category — B1, B3, B5, B6, K3. Specific projects:

VB1 expansion (consolidating domestic oligopoly)
VB3 niacinamide expansion (for NMN/NR global demand)
VB5 calcium pantothenate expansion
VK3 expansion
"Pyridine-3-methylpyridine" upstream full chain expansion

Brother expansion scale not as large as Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, but single-variety significance important — each expansion lifts global niche China share another notch.

2026-2028 Brother goal: VK3, B1, B3 niacinamide three varieties "global #1 + unchallengeable."

Adisseo Quanzhou solid methionine 150k tons

Adisseo's (ChemChina-controlled) core expansion is Quanzhou solid methionine 150,000 tons/year, expected 2027 online.

Strategic significance: challenging global methionine #1. Current global methionine landscape:

Evonik (Germany): about 800-900k tons/year, global #1
Adisseo (ChemChina): about 550-650k tons/year, #2
Novus (US): about 300k tons/year
Sumitomo (Japan): about 200k tons/year

After Quanzhou 150k commissioning, Adisseo global capacity 700-800k tons/year, approaching Evonik level.

Methionine expansion indirect impact on vitamins: methionine is the 2nd-largest amino acid in feed (after lysine), changes in methionine supply pass through to feed vitamin pricing.

Citral bottleneck breakthrough — Wanhua's new facility

Not in vitamin producer expansion scope but equally important: Wanhua Chemical's new citral facility.

Wanhua Chemical began world's largest new citral facility in 2023, phased commissioning in 2025. After commissioning Wanhua becomes global #2 citral capacity holder (after BASF).

Indirect important impact on VA supply landscape — provides citral tolling for non-Xinhecheng Chinese VA producers (especially Zhejiang Medicine, Kingdomway), easing industry's BASF single-point dependence.

2026-2028 expected China VA industry overall citral self-sufficiency rises from past ~20% to 60%+. Key inflection for "midstream + upstream integration."

Kingdomway Quanzhou solid Q10 + nutrition expansion

Kingdomway expansion relatively low-key but focused. Core projects:

Xiamen base Q10 capacity expansion (fermenter upgrade + extraction-purification capacity rise)
Xiamen astaxanthin synthetic biology capacity (hundreds of tons/year)
VA series expansion
US supplement plant localization expansion

Kingdomway's logic: "follow global supplement market demand expansion." Q10, astaxanthin, NMN (Kingdomway also developing NMN supply chain) anti-aging categories global demand grow fast — Kingdomway's core growth driver next five years.

Nantekang VE joint expansion

Nantekang and DSM JV's VE capacity expansion continues. Plans:

TMHQ capacity expansion (JV, 30-40k tons/year)
Isophytol expansion (Shishou Nantekang, 15-20k tons/year)
VE oil end product expansion (JV, 40-50k tons/year)

Nantekang's logic: "consolidate JV global position + prepare to take over post-DSM market share." If DSM eventually completes ANH divestment via CVC, Nantekang and Xinhecheng together take over DSM-vacated global VE market.

Adisseo liquid methionine capacity expansion

Besides Quanzhou solid 150k project, Adisseo also has continued liquid methionine expansion. Nanjing base liquid methionine capacity from 140k to 200k tons/year (complete 2026).

Adisseo expansion shows "liquid+solid both important" global strategy — keep liquid methionine pioneer position, while challenging global solid methionine #1.

Capacity expansion's "capital structure features"

Chinese vitamin industry expansion needs heavy capital. A new VA facility single-line investment 1-2 billion yuan, VE 1.5-3 billion, VD3 0.5-1 billion.

Seven listed companies' expansion capital sources three channels:

First, own funds — leaders' operating cash flow is the main expansion funding. Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine annual operating cash flow supports most expansion.

Second, convertible bond financing — most common in past five years. Garden Bio 2023 1.186 billion CB, Brother 2023 750 million CB, Nantekang multiple CB. Advantage: low interest + post-conversion equity, light financial burden.

Third, bank loan + project financing — for large-scale, long-cycle expansion. Adisseo Quanzhou 150k methionine project used project financing with ChemChina + multiple banks + strategic investors.

2026-2028 Chinese vitamin industry capex expected 50-80 billion yuan, translating to 1-1.5 million tons new vitamin capacity (across-categories combined).

Expansion cycle and "time risk"

Vitamin expansion has long cycles. From approval to commissioning, a typical new vitamin facility takes 3-5 years:

Approval + feasibility study: 6-12 months
EIA + safety eval + energy eval: 12-18 months
Design + equipment procurement: 12-18 months
Construction + installation: 18-24 months
Commissioning + adjustment + capacity ramp: 6-12 months

This means today's expansion plans only convert to actual capacity 3-5 years later. So 2026-2028 capacity landscape is basically determined by 2022-2024 approvals; 2028-2030 by 2025-2027.

"Time risk" means — market expectation at approval may differ greatly from market reality at commissioning. E.g., VD3 project approved in 2022, commissioning 2026-2027, may catch DSM-exit high price; but VE project approved 2024, commissioning 2028-2029, may face supply balance with flat market.

Leading producers manage time risk via "phased commissioning" and "elastic capacity utilization" — new facilities don't immediately run full, adjust utilization based on market price elasticity.

Capacity expansion "value assessment framework"

Five dimensions for assessing a new vitamin facility's value:

First, single-line capacity and value chain position. 10,000 tons/year VA facility on global 28,000 tons total = 35.7% global. Same scale on VB12 (few thousand tons global) = even bigger.

Second, key intermediate self-sufficiency rate. Captive citral, isophytol, cholesterol etc. — 20-30% lower unit cost than externally sourced. Why Xinhecheng, Nantekang, Garden Bio long maintain high margins.

Third, multi-product co-line capability. A multi-category specialty chemical complex can flexibly switch capacity based on market price elasticity, smoothing single-variety volatility. Xinhecheng Shangyu, Zhejiang Medicine Changyi are typical.

Fourth, downstream sales network coverage. Strong sales network converts new capacity to orders and cash flow; weak network risks "inventory crush."

Fifth, environmental compliance and sustainability. Whether new facility's wastewater, waste gas, solid waste meet latest standards, and has continuous upgrade space, determines long-term operational lifespan.

By these five dimensions, Chinese leading producers' new facilities generally have strong competitiveness — large enough single-line capacity, high key intermediate self-sufficiency, multi-product co-line, complete sales network, environmental compliance. Fundamental guarantee for sustained capacity-to-earnings conversion.

Summary of this chapter

Chinese vitamin industry expansion 2025-2028 shows "by category, by base, by upstream-downstream full chain" structural expansion.

Xinhecheng's multi-product, multi-base steady expansion to global VA, VE double #1. Zhejiang Medicine via Shandong Changyi new base achieves capacity step-up. Garden Bio from VD3 single product to all-category. Brother in B family detail varieties unchallengeable. Adisseo via Quanzhou solid methionine challenges global methionine #1. Wanhua via citral facility breaks single-point bottleneck.

Five directions of capacity expansion jointly push Chinese vitamin industry by 2028 to new stage of "70%+ global market share + 60%+ key intermediate self-sufficiency + accelerated high-end downstream penetration."

Chapter 11　Price Cycle — 2024 to 2026's "Accident + Divestment + Geopolitics" Triple Pulses

Chapter 10 unpacked capacity expansion. This chapter looks at price.

Vitamin industry is one of the most price-volatile chemical sub-sectors. Two reasons: single-line capacity highly concentrated, any leader's force majeure (accident, maintenance) ripples globally with multi-percentage-point impact; downstream demand relatively rigid, so supply-side mild volatility amplifies on price.

Past 24 months Chinese vitamin industry saw three clear price pulses:

Pulse 1: 29 July 2024 BASF Ludwigshafen explosion

Affected units include:

VA (1.44万 tons/year, 26.7% global)
VE oil (2万 tons/year, 13.8% global)
Carotenoids
Some aroma units

BASF declared force majeure next day on selected VA, VE, carotenoid, aroma products.

Price response complete in 2 weeks:

26 July 2024: domestic VA 98 yuan/kg, VE 94.5 yuan/kg
8 August: domestic VA 235 yuan/kg (+139.8%), VE 165 yuan/kg (+74.6%)
9 August: domestic VA 230 yuan/kg (+162.86% vs July), VE 150 yuan/kg (+80.72%)

Most violent vitamin price pulse in past decade. All Chinese vitamin producers benefited in H2 2024 — Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Nantekang, Kingdomway stocks rose collectively.

BASF restoration timeline:

VA: early April 2025
VE and carotenoids: early July 2025

Actual restoration slightly delayed vs plan. VE recovery completed in H2 2025.

Pulse 2: H2 2025 "price oscillation"

Typical "oscillation market":

Jan 2025: VA from August 2024's 230 yuan/kg back to ~140
Mar-Jun 2025: BASF VA recovery news, market expecting supply normalize, prices continue down to 80-100 yuan/kg
Jul-Sep 2025: BASF VE recovery, prices continue down to 60-80 yuan/kg
Oct 2025: DSM ANH divestment signal + domestic producer joint pricing, VE rebounds to 90-100 yuan/kg
Dec 2025: year-end inventory clearing + pre-CNY wait-and-see, prices weaken to 70-80 yuan/kg

Full year VA -41.87% YoY, VE -15.06% YoY. But on a 2023 low base, VA and VE remain above historical median.

Key 2025 event: Garden Bio VD3 "stop quote" operation. On 23 April 2025 Garden Bio announced VD3 stop quote; same time Taizhou Haisheng raised feed-grade VD3 to 600 yuan/kg. Classic "actively control supply, push price up" operation. Against backdrop of DSM planning full VD3 exit, Garden Bio as global #1 capacity holder began actively wielding pricing power.

Pulse 3: Early 2026 "DSM divestment + geopolitics" double catalysts

Early 2026 global vitamin industry enters new uptrend. Two core catalysts:

First, DSM-CVC transaction announcement. Market reaction: DSM as global "quasi-supply-chain hub" is about to exit, Chinese pricing power further rises.

Second, Middle East geopolitics affecting Strait of Hormuz energy transit. Q1 2026 Middle East geopolitics escalated, Strait of Hormuz transport blocked, global oil and energy prices up. Raw material (especially petrochemical) cost up, global vitamin production cost up.

Two factors stack, VA price completed sharp rise in H1 2026:

Jan 2026: domestic VA 59 yuan/kg
Mar 2026: VA 80 yuan/kg (+35.6%)
7 May 2026: VA 98 yuan/kg (vs year-start +56.8%)

VE in 80-100 yuan/kg high oscillation.

Analysts expect VA 2026 range 100-140 yuan/kg, VE 80-100.

Leading producers' earnings elasticity

By current price range, 2026 earnings elasticity of leading Chinese vitamin producers:

Xinhecheng: VA +10 yuan/kg = annualized net profit +0.3-0.4 billion; VE +10 yuan/kg = +0.4-0.5 billion
Zhejiang Medicine: nutrition elasticity mainly from VA and natural VE. VA +10 yuan/kg = +0.1-0.15 billion
Garden Bio: VD3 +100 yuan/kg = annualized net profit +0.3 billion+
Brother: VK3 + B family combined elasticity = +0.1-0.2 billion
Nantekang: VE +10 yuan/kg = +0.2-0.3 billion (by 30,000 tons capacity)
Kingdomway: Q10 + VA combined elasticity = +0.05-0.1 billion

2026-2028 price forecast

Putting 2024-2026 three pulses in a 3-year frame, clear "range up-shift":

Pre-2024: VA floor 40-50 yuan/kg, VE oil 60-70
2024-2025: VA 80-150, VE oil 80-120
2026-2028 (forecast): VA 90-130, VE oil 80-120, VD3 200-500

Range up-shift reflects industry from "cost down + capacity surplus" to "cost stable + oligopoly pricing" structural change. Chinese producers past 5 years lifted industry cost curve a notch — via capacity consolidation, intermediate self-sufficiency, overseas pricing expansion, industry no longer "internal price war."

Price mechanism's "industry discipline" and "internal game"

Vitamin industry price besides supply-demand fundamentals, also affected by "industry discipline" — leaders coordinate through informal channels (association meetings, price info sharing, capacity adjustment notifications) to maintain price level, avoiding mutual price-cut "prisoner's dilemma."

History saw "internal price-cut" malignant cycles causing all producers severe profit loss. Most typical: 2018-2020 VE price war, industry-wide "single-ton margin under 30 yuan/kg" depression. Post-war, leaders reached "price discipline" consensus — moderate capacity adjustment + overseas order priority + avoiding domestic malignant low-price competition.

Industry discipline gradually became norm post-2022. April 2025 Garden Bio's "stop quote" essentially a "single-point industry discipline" demonstration. Against DSM-VD3-exit background, Garden Bio chose not "grabbing share with low-price dumping" short-term strategy, but "actively control supply, push prices up" long-term strategy.

Industry discipline is China vitamin industry's key soft power from "cost manufacturer" to "global price setter." If Chinese leaders continuously discipline, 2026-2030 uptrend will be steeper than fundamentals suggest.

But discipline has "easy to break, hard to build" — once one producer breaks (cash flow pressure, new commissioning pressure), others may follow, industry re-enters price war. So vitamin medium-term price trend is dynamic balance between "discipline vs internal game."

"Dual track" of international and domestic prices

Another long-term feature: "dual track" — international price (export) and domestic price (sale) often differ noticeably. E.g., Q1 2025 VD3 overseas premium ~140 yuan/kg (international higher than domestic).

Three formation reasons:

First, exchange rate factor — export priced in USD, RMB-USD fluctuation transmits to export price. When RMB depreciates, same USD export price = more RMB.

Second, tariff and antidumping factor — overseas market tariff barriers (incl AD duties) push up final user prices, but Chinese producers' export price (ex-factory) still has premium vs domestic.

Third, quality and service difference — vitamin products exported to Europe/America have higher quality grade, testing standards, packaging specs, technical service requirements, corresponding higher prices.

Dual track is key profit source for Chinese vitamin producers — high-price overseas orders are often core support for leader margins. Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio overseas sales ratio long 40-60%, corresponding overseas business margin often 5-10pct higher than domestic.

2026-2030 dual track expected to continue — overseas market "Chinese scarcity premium" expands further with DSM exit and European/American capacity reduction.

Leading enterprises' "cost curve" differentiation

Different vitamin producers' cost structure differences determine price tolerance differences. By VE as example, current process levels estimate per-ton cash cost:

Xinhecheng (captive citral + multi-base): 40-50 yuan/kg
Nantekang/JV (independent isophytol + TMHQ): 50-60
Zhejiang Medicine (partial captive intermediates): 55-65
BASF Ludwigshafen (high labor + energy): 80-100
DSM (diversified but CVC-impacted efficiency): 70-90

Cost curve difference means — at ~80 yuan/kg, European/American producers near cash cost line, Chinese mid-size may break even; but Xinhecheng, Nantekang have 30-40 yuan/kg cash margin space.

Cost differentiation is root reason for Chinese producers' "price war winner takes all" past decade. Each down-cycle, first to exit are European/American + Chinese mid-small; Chinese leaders survive via low-cost advantage, next up-cycle grow share and margin.

Price pulse impact on leading enterprise cash flow

Price pulse (especially BASF-explosion-level) has huge short-term cash flow impact on leaders. By post-Aug 2024 BASF actual data:

Xinhecheng H2 2024: net profit YoY major growth
Zhejiang Medicine H2 2024: operating profit YoY major growth, full-year net profit beat
Garden Bio H2 2024: VD3 price pulse drove company earnings
Brother H2 2024: VK3 + B family resonance, pre-announce triggered stock rally

Similar events 2026-2028 (whether overseas force majeure or domestic large-facility maintenance/incident) would immediately convert to short-term earnings elasticity.

More important is medium-long-term "price median" rise. Each pulse lifts "reasonable price floor" a notch. Pre-2017 VE floor ~50-60 yuan/kg, post-2019 ~60-70, post-2024 ~70-90. Successive lifting is structural margin improvement.

Price observation "leading indicators"

Common leading indicators for vitamin price:

First, domestic leaders' utilization and inventory. Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio utilization dropping and inventory accumulating signals price downside; reverse signals upside.

Second, overseas major capacity adjustment announcements. BASF, DSM, Adisseo force majeure, maintenance, capacity adjustment notices often direct triggers for price pulses.

Third, key intermediate prices. Citral, isophytol, TMHQ, NF-grade cholesterol price fluctuations often lead end vitamin price by 2-4 weeks.

Fourth, downstream feed mill procurement pace. Downstream "active buying" often pre-signal for upside, "wait-and-see" for downside.

Fifth, FX and oil price. RMB depreciation, oil rise both lift Chinese vitamin export RMB price.

Sixth, policy moves. Environmental inspection, energy dual-control, export tax rebate adjustment directly affect supply, then price.

Understanding these leading indicators is important for producer sales decision, downstream procurement decision, investor decisions.

Price pulse "transmission chain"

Complete vitamin price pulse transmission chain:

Step 1: trigger event (accident, maintenance, new commissioning delay, geopolitics) Step 2: leaders raise or stop quoting Step 3: mid-size follow Step 4: downstream active buying, inventory up Step 5: traders stockpile, market sentiment pushes Step 6: price spikes to new high Step 7: substitute supply starts, new capacity releases Step 8: price retraces, finds new balance range

Full cycle typically 6-18 months. Understanding each step's logic and timing rhythm is key to capturing vitamin short-term opportunities.

2026-2028 price forecast

Putting 2024-2026 three pulses in 3-year frame, clear "range up-shift":

Pre-2024: VA floor 40-50 yuan/kg, VE oil 60-70
2024-2025: VA 80-150, VE oil 80-120
2026-2028 forecast: VA 90-130, VE oil 80-120, VD3 200-500

Range up-shift reflects industry from "cost down + capacity surplus" to "cost stable + oligopoly pricing" structural change. Chinese producers past 5 years lifted industry cost curve a notch.

Price cycle's "capital market response"

Vitamin price cycle's reflection in capital market is very direct. Each pulse triggers leader stock significant volatility:

Aug 2017 BASF aroma incident: Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine stocks up 30-50% in 2 months
2020 COVID disruption: vitamin sector +20-30%
Aug 2024 BASF Ludwigshafen explosion: Garden Bio up 6%+ single day, Nantekang touched limit, Xinhecheng up ~30% in 2 weeks
Early 2026 DSM-CVC announcement + geopolitics: vitamin sector strengthens again

Capital market response often leads actual earnings by 2-3 quarters. Institutional investors predict price pulse transmission via supply-demand models, pre-position related stocks.

2026-2028 capital market focus:

First, quarterly earnings elasticity. In VA, VE, VD3 uptrend, leader quarterly net profit may multiply YoY — "main wave" window for capital market.

Second, new capacity commissioning pace. Xinhecheng Shandong VE 20k, Zhejiang Medicine Changyi Changbei Bio, Garden Bio Xinchang, Adisseo Quanzhou methionine commissioning pace = "catalyst events."

Third, M&A opportunities. If a Chinese vitamin producer acquires overseas capacity (e.g., parts of ANH, European VE assets), triggers capital market revaluation.

Fourth, new business breakthrough. Synthetic biology new products, cosmetic-grade new raw materials, pharma-grade new API breakthroughs = medium-long term valuation rebuild catalysts.

Summary of this chapter

Price is the most direct profit variable in vitamin industry. 2024-2026 three price pulses — BASF explosion (supply shock) + 2025 oscillation (digesting high base) + DSM divestment with geopolitics (structural up) — lifted industry from "price bottom, thin margin" to "price median, decent margin" new range.

2026-2028 price core drivers:

Post-DSM-CVC global capacity redistribution
Domestic leaders' "active supply control" (like Garden Bio VD3 stop-quote)
Global feed, food, supplement downstream stable growth
Raw material and energy price impact

Biggest beneficiaries in this uptrend: Xinhecheng (VA+VE), Garden Bio (VD3), Nantekang (VE), Kingdomway (Q10+VA).

Chapter 12　Research Institute Verdict: 3-5 Year Global Vitamin Pricing Power Migration to China

Previous 11 chapters laid out global and Chinese vitamin industry current state, upstream, process, enterprise, category, downstream, capacity, price. This chapter gives 3-5 year verdict.

"3-5 years" corresponds to H2 2026 to early 2030. Key window for China vitamin from "world's largest capacity holder" to "world's most effective price setter."

Verdict 1: After DSM-CVC closes, global VE pricing power to three Chinese producers

DSM-Firmenich's 2.2 billion euro ANH divestment to CVC Capital Partners, expected closing end-2026.

Post-closing global VE landscape:

Xinhecheng (China, incl JV): global 30-35%
Nantekang/JV (China): 25-30%
Zhejiang Medicine (China): 10-15%
China combined: 65-80%
DSM-CVC ANH (animal feed VE): 10-15% (efficiency declining with CVC capital nature)
DSM Essential Products Company (food, pharma VE): 5-10%
BASF: 5-8%

This landscape means — actual VE pricing decision power is in three Chinese producers' hands. CVC as financial capital, ANH operating logic must be "cash flow optimize, ultimate exit," no long-term R&D and capex. 3-5 years CVC may resell ANH, likely buyer is Chinese producer (Xinhecheng, Adisseo) or Asian industrial capital (Japanese/Korean feed additive groups).

By 2030, global VE China share over 85%, pricing fully in Chinese hands.

Verdict 2: VD3's "Garden pricing era"

DSM 2025 fully exits VD3, global effective capacity -15%.

2026 global VD3 landscape:

Garden Bio (China): 30-40%
Haisheng Pharma (China): 10-15%
Kingdomway (China): 5-10%
Xinhecheng (China): 5-10%
China combined: 60-75%
DSM/Embro (Canada): 10-15% (continually exiting)
Others: 10%

Garden Bio as #1 capacity holder + 70% global NF-grade cholesterol = "pricing decision maker" in global VD3. April 2025 "stop quote" was first collective exercise of pricing power awakening.

By 2030, Garden Bio's influence on global VD3 reaches "OPEC-leads-oil" level — Garden Bio's supply decision directly determines global VD3 price median.

Verdict 3: VA's "dual-center + Wanhua breakthrough" landscape

VA global landscape relatively complex because key intermediate citral is in BASF hands.

2026-2028 key variables:

BASF Ludwigshafen fully restored (completed 2025), but next 5 years facing facility aging, maintenance, energy cost pressure, weak expansion intent
Xinhecheng captive citral advantage continues, cost curve below others
Wanhua new citral facility (phased 2025) breaks China's BASF single-point dependence
Zhejiang Medicine, Kingdomway via Wanhua toll or external citral, ease raw material bottleneck

By 2030, China VA global share from current 40-50% to 65-75%. Internal Chinese competition (Xinhecheng vs Zhejiang Medicine vs Kingdomway) will be more intense than China overall vs BASF external.

Verdict 4: VK3's "Brother stable monopoly"

Brother's VK3 global share (40-60%) holds next 5 years. Three reasons:

"Chromium salt - K3" coproduction deep moat, new entrants can't replicate short-term
Global poultry feed stable demand growth (driven by Asia, Africa, South America expansion)
Brother's full value chain (pyridine) controls raw material cost

By 2030, Brother's VK3 share holds 45-55%.

Verdict 5: B family "China full-category dominance"

B family (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12) Chinese dominance consolidates next 5 years:

VB1: China >75% (Brother, Tianxin)
VB2: China 60-70% (Hubei Guangji, Shanghai Hessman)
VB3 niacinamide: China >80% (Brother, Henry, Xinfa)
VB5 calcium pantothenate: China >85% (Yifan, Xinfa)
VB6: China >70% (Garden Bio new capacity rises it further)
VB12: China 30-40% (Huabei, Yuxing; India still has significant share)

By 2030, China B family combined global share over 75% = "absolute global main supplier."

Verdict 6: Q10, astaxanthin "synthetic biology disruption"

Q10, astaxanthin "vitamin-like" synthetic biology disrupting chemical synthesis cost curve.

Kingdomway 2025 Chairman Jiang Bin revealed — synthetic biology cuts astaxanthin cost nearly 80%. Astaxanthin moves from "high-end high-price" to "mid-tier mass produce," downstream applications expand greatly.

Q10 similar cost down — from chemical high-price to fermentation mid-price, Kingdomway #1 globally.

By 2030, Q10 + astaxanthin + others (NMN, NR, ergothioneine) synthetic biology takes 70%+ global capacity. Chinese producers (Kingdomway, Bloomage Bio, Xinhecheng) lead.

Verdict 7: Methionine "Adisseo challenges Evonik"

Methionine is China vitamin industry's last not-fully-localized key variety. Evonik (Germany) still #1.

Adisseo (ChemChina) Quanzhou solid methionine 150k tons/year project expected 2027 commissioning. Post-commissioning Adisseo global 700-800k tons/year, approaching Evonik.

By 2030, Adisseo vs Evonik form "dual oligopoly" globally, each 35-40% global share.

Verdict 8: High-end downstream (cosmetics, supplements) sustained ramp

Next 5 years Chinese vitamin producers' biggest value step-up is in high-end downstream — cosmetic-grade VE, niacinamide, VC derivatives, NMN/NR anti-aging raw materials.

By current growth:

Cosmetic-grade VE: 15-20%/year, by 2030 market = 2-2.5x current
Niacinamide (incl NMN/NR): 20-30%/year, driven by anti-aging supplement global expansion
Q10: 15-20%/year, driven by US/EU supplements
Astaxanthin: 25-35%/year, driven by synthetic biology cost down

This high-end downstream expansion lifts Chinese vitamin producer margin structure significantly by 2030 — from "feed-grade 30% margin" to "high-end blend 50% margin."

Summary of this chapter

Tianxia Gongchang Industry Research Institute's core verdicts on 2026-2030 China vitamin:

First, global VE pricing fully to three Chinese producers (Xinhecheng, Nantekang/JV, Zhejiang Medicine).

Second, global VD3 enters "Garden pricing era," like OPEC pricing for oil.

Third, China VA share rises to 70%, Wanhua breaks citral bottleneck is key.

Fourth, VK3 Brother stable monopoly continues.

Fifth, B family China full-category dominance, combined global share over 75%.

Sixth, Q10 + astaxanthin synthetic biology disrupts chemical synthesis.

Seventh, methionine Adisseo vs Evonik dual oligopoly forms.

Eighth, high-end downstream (cosmetics, supplements) sustained ramp, Chinese producers complete margin structure upgrade.

These eight verdicts together point to one core conclusion — 2026-2030 is the key window for China vitamins from "world's largest capacity holder" to "world's most effective price setter." After this transition, Chinese vitamin industry is no longer just "cost manufacturer" but "global price setter + high-end supplier + synthetic biology innovator" triple-role integration.

Structural change's "investment logic"

Translating eight verdicts to investment logic, core judgments:

First, Xinhecheng = Chinese vitamin's "core asset". Moat covers VA, VE + flavors + methionine + new materials + synthetic biology multiple directions, 5-10 year earnings visibility. Capital market should value as "growth + oligopoly asset."

Second, Garden Bio = Chinese vitamin's "elastic asset". Moat concentrated on VD3 single product, but highest price elasticity. If VD3 from current 200-300 yuan/kg up to 400-500, Garden Bio net profit could multiply from current few billion to tens of billion. Value as "high-elasticity asset."

Third, Kingdomway = Chinese vitamin's "brand asset". Moat is "upstream Q10 + downstream supplement brand" integration. With supplement globalization and anti-aging demand expansion, brand value lifts continuously. Value as "consumer + manufacturing."

Fourth, Brother and Nantekang = Chinese vitamin's "specialty assets". Both have irreplaceable advantages in respective core (K3+B family + VE/isophytol), but lack multi-category diversification. Value as "niche leader asset."

Fifth, Adisseo = Chinese vitamin's "special asset". Core business is methionine not vitamins, but as ChemChina subsidiary, special background. Value as "SOE + global #2 methionine."

Long-cycle "synthetic biology disruption"

Stretching view beyond 2030 to 5-10 more years, longest-cycle variable is "synthetic biology disruption."

Core idea: via gene editing and metabolic engineering, microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, algae) become efficient chemical production factories. Past decade completed lab-to-industrial scale-up, already industrial production for astaxanthin, Q10, ergothioneine etc.

Next 10-20 years synthetic biology likely extends to nearly all vitamins — VA, VE, VD3, K, B family, VC could find synthetic biology substitutes. Once mature, traditional chemical synthesis cost advantage may be disrupted.

Chinese producers' synthetic biology layout:

Kingdomway: Q10, astaxanthin
Bloomage Bio: hyaluronic acid, ergothioneine
Cathay Biotech (Wantai Group): long-chain dibasic acids, bio-based polyamides
Xinhecheng: synthetic biology new materials
Zhejiang Medicine: synthetic biology R&D

Long track — 5-10 years from R&D to industry. But once breakthrough, product cost can drop 50-80%, market restructure thorough.

Global vitamin "regional bloc" landscape

By above verdicts, by 2030 global vitamin "regional bloc":

China bloc (70-80% global): full-category vitamin main production + global key intermediate main supplier + price setter
Europe bloc (10-15%): DSM-retained food/pharma + BASF citral and some vitamins + Evonik methionine
Americas bloc (5-10%): Cargill, ADM distribution + Novus methionine + Chinese local production
India bloc (5-10%): B family and some low-end + Europe/US export channels
SE Asia bloc (<5%): Chinese re-export + small-scale local production

"China-dominant, Europe-US brand-retained, India supplementary, SE Asia re-export" new global landscape.

These eight verdicts together point to core conclusion — 2026-2030 is key window for China vitamin from "world's largest capacity holder" to "world's most effective price setter." After transition, Chinese vitamin no longer just "cost manufacturer" but "global price setter + high-end supplier + synthetic biology innovator" triple-role integration.

Chapter 13　Risks — CVC Variables, EU Antidumping, Hog Cycle, Synthetic Biology Failure

Chapter 12 gave 3-5 year verdict. This chapter looks at risks behind verdicts.

Research institute verdict is not prophecy. Each verdict has implicit assumptions; assumption shifts change verdict. This chapter lists core risks.

Risk 1: CVC ANH operating variables

DSM-CVC closing expected end-2026. CVC is financial capital, ANH operating logic may differ greatly from industrial capital.

Worst case: CVC keeps ANH status quo (no expansion, no exit), via cash flow optimization and cost control lifts asset valuation, 3-5 years overall sells to Asian capital (Japanese/Korean feed groups or Chinese feed group). Under this, global VE "DSM-exit dividend" may delay 5-7 years to fully release.

Mid case: CVC partially divests ANH segments — e.g., sells vitamins to Chinese producers, keeps feed premix. Under this, Chinese producers may get part of ANH vitamin assets, but long negotiation, high price.

Best case: CVC decides fast exit from vitamins (to Essential Products Company or sells to Asian industrial capital), Chinese producers take over faster than expected. Under this, Chinese VE global share may reach 85% by 2028.

Risk 2: EU antidumping logic chain spread

2024-2025 EU launched antidumping on Chinese amino acid (lysine) and levied 47.7-58.3% AD duty, 2026 launched anti-absorption investigation. Logic chain may spread to vitamins.

Potential AD targets:

VA (China 40-50% global, big EU export)
VE (China 70%, big EU export)
VD3 (China 60-75%, big EU export)
B family (China 70%+)

If EU launches AD on vitamins, Chinese producers' EU export faces 30-60% price penalty. Affects Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Brother EU business.

Response paths:

Build assembly/packaging plants in Europe (lift Europe local share)
Via SE Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia) re-export
Via technology transfer + JV (DSM-Nantekang style) avoid

Risk 3: US "Agricultural Security Act" and tariff policy

US is reviewing "American Agriculture Security Act" possibly limiting Chinese vitamin exports to US. Niacinamide etc key varieties have extreme China dependence, US AD or import limit affects Chinese producer revenue 20-30%.

Response paths:

Build JV plants in US (like Adisseo US methionine base)
Via China + overseas (Singapore, Vietnam) dual capacity
Via USP + FDA registration push "high-end substitute"

Risk 4: Domestic dual energy control

Chinese specialty chemicals (incl vitamins) is high energy, high emission. "Dual energy control" continued push may limit expansion.

Impact:

VA, VE, B family synthesis needs lots of steam, power, compressed air, high energy
Fermentation (B12, Q10, astaxanthin) fermenter energy higher
New project EIA, safety, energy eval cycles extend, some delayed

Response paths:

Leaders build in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia (low electricity, green power)
Via synthetic biology reduce reaction steps, lower energy
Heat recovery, recycling lower per-unit energy

Risk 5: Corn and oil price cost transmission

VB family (fermentation) core cost is corn (glucose); VA, VE core cost is oil (citral, isophytol etc petrochemicals).

Corn and oil prices transmit directly to vitamin cost.

Impact:

Corn +100 yuan/ton = fermentation vitamins (Q10, B12, astaxanthin) per-ton cost +200-300 yuan
Oil +10 USD/barrel = citral, isophytol intermediates +5-10%, VA, VE per-ton cost +1000-2000 yuan

2026 Middle East geopolitics already pushed oil up, VA, VE cost pressure not negligible. If oil stays high (80-100+ USD/barrel) in 2026, vitamin cost curve continues up. But this also supports end-price up — elasticity may benefit producers.

Risk 6: Hog inventory cycle

China hog inventory is biggest determinant for vitamin feed demand. 2023-2024 historical low, vitamin feed weak; 2025-2026 recovery, vitamin feed rebound.

But hog cycle is 3-4 year medium-long cycle. If 2027-2029 inventory down-cycle again, vitamin feed demand weakens.

Response paths:

Leaders increase food/pharma/cosmetic/supplement weight, reduce feed dependence
Expand aquaculture, pet food new downstreams
Expand SE Asia, India, Africa emerging markets

Risk 7: VD3 overseas premium sustainability

Q1 2025 China VD3 export premium ~140 yuan/kg. Core source: DSM-VD3-exit + overseas capacity short.

But if next 3 years overseas (e.g., Xinhecheng, Adisseo overseas distribution) enter overseas market large-scale, D3 overseas premium may compress.

Response paths:

Garden Bio overseas sales team localization
Long-term supply agreements with overseas feed groups lock price
Via 25-OH-VD3 high-activity raise unit price

Risk 8: Synthetic biology industrialization failure

Synthetic biology (Kingdomway astaxanthin -80% cost) is industry future, but industrial-scale-up has higher failure rate. Specific tech risks:

Strain stability (continuous fermentation mutation, capacity drops)
Fermenter scale-up (lab to industrial capacity inconsistency)
Byproduct handling (synthetic biology often complex byproducts)
Extraction-purification (separating target from broth difficult)

Some synthetic biology projects may fail engineering, can't reach design capacity or cost.

Risk 9: Vitamin niche category price cycle de-sync

Vitamin overall in "range up-shift" structural trend, but niche category cycles not synchronous.

2026-2030 may see "VA up, VE flat, VD3 up, VK3 up, niacinamide up, Q10 flat, astaxanthin down" divergence. Divergence affects single-category-dependent producers.

Response: multi-category, multi-grade, multi-geography, multi-downstream comprehensive layout.

Risk 10: India vitamin capacity "chase threat"

India is one of few countries globally capable of challenging China vitamin dominance. India VB family (esp B12) traditional advantage, VC capacity expanding fast.

Next 5 years India vitamin capacity observation points:

Indian government PLI etc policy support continues
India labor cost still notably below China (40-60% of China)
India environmental and energy regulation relatively loose, new capacity threshold low
India relatively mature API export channels (esp to US, EU)

If India breaks through on VA, VE, VD3, may squeeze Chinese export. But India's core constraint is key intermediates (citral, isophytol, NF-grade cholesterol) — needs 10-20 years to break through.

Short-term (5 years), India threat mainly on B family (B12, B complex) and some low-end. Long-term, India may form new competition on some niches.

Risk 10.5: IP and patent barriers

Although China's vitamin industry has completed key intermediate localization over the past 15 years, some new processes, strains, catalysts still belong to overseas producers via patent.

Specific patent barriers:

DSM, BASF VE stereo-selective synthesis core patents
Evonik some liquid methionine process patents
Synthetic biology core strain gene-editing related patents
Some high-end reactor design patents

Chinese producers' breakthrough paths:

Self R&D (alternative paths bypassing overseas patents)
Patent cross-licensing (mutual authorization with overseas)
Acquisition (directly obtain patent rights)
Patent expiry waiting (some core patents expire around 2030)

Path choice greatly impacts cost and time. Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine etc can solve patent issues via multiple paths simultaneously; mid-small may face long-term patent limits on some categories.

Risk 11: Vitamin industry "environmental high pressure"

Chinese specialty chemicals (incl vitamins) faces continued environmental pressure next 5 years:

"Dual carbon" goal, high energy/emission process limits or eliminations
Wastewater, waste gas, solid waste standards continuously raised
HazChem management tightens
Chemical park consolidation and relocation

Biggest impact on small vitamin producers — can't afford upgrade investment, forced to exit. But for leaders, environmental pressure is "industry clearance accelerator" — leader share concentrates further.

2026-2030 Chinese vitamin producer count expected from hundreds to under 100, leading seven listed share from current ~70% to 85%+.

Risk 11.5: Cross-border payment and FX risk

Chinese vitamin producers' export revenue mainly in USD. RMB-USD FX volatility directly affects RMB-denominated export revenue.

Since early 2026, RMB-USD has oscillated in 7.0-7.2 range. If next 5 years RMB notably appreciates (e.g., USD-strong-cycle ends), Chinese vitamin producers' export revenue may FX-discount 5-10%.

Response paths:

Hedge lock FX risk
Push RMB-denominated export settlement (esp with SE Asia, LatAm emerging)
Via overseas subsidiaries hold USD assets to hedge

Risk 12: "Choke point" reverse risk

Chinese vitamin industry past 15 years completed "key intermediate localization." But some links still have "choke point" risk:

Special catalysts (chiral, precious metal etc): still mainly imported
High-end reactors and reactors (UV reactor, high-pressure hydrogenation): still mainly European/American
High-end testing instruments (HPLC, MS, NMR): still mainly imported
Some high-end process tech (next-gen stereo-selective, next-gen fermentation strain): still need overseas learning

If these "choke points" cut in US-China tech competition, may negatively impact Chinese vitamin process upgrade, quality, efficiency.

Response paths:

Increase domestic catalyst, reactor, instrument R&D
Via international cooperation (with Europe, Japan, India) avoid US single source
Increase basic research, develop next-gen process and equipment

Summary of this chapter

Chinese vitamin industry next 5 year verdict is not risk-free. CVC ANH variables, EU and US AD chain, dual energy control, raw material price, hog cycle, overseas premium, synthetic biology failure, niche price divergence, India chase, environmental pressure, choke point — twelve risks are verdict's implicit constraints.

But risks don't deny verdict direction. China vitamin "from world's largest capacity to most effective price setter" trend already irreversible — only time window length and speed may adjust by risks.

For investors, understanding risks is investment basis. For producers, addressing risks is next-5-year core management task.

Chapter 14　Data Sources — Main Materials and Public Channels Referenced

This report's data comes from publicly available materials. This chapter lists main sources for cross-verification.

Listed company annual and interim reports

Zhejiang NHU 002001.SZ 2025 annual, 2025 Q1, 2024 annual
Zhejiang Medicine 600216.SH 2025 annual, 2025 H1, 2024 annual
Zhejiang Garden Bio Pharmacy 300401.SZ 2025 H1, 2024 annual
Zhejiang Brother Enterprise 002562.SZ 2025 H1, 2025 Q3 pre-announce
Xiamen Kingdomway Group 002626.SZ 2025 H1, 2025 Q3, 2024 annual
Hubei Nantekang 002102.SZ 2024 annual
BlueStar Adisseo 600299.SH 2025 annual, 2025 H1
Wanhua Chemical Group 600309.SH annual and investor platform

Overseas producer annual and announcements

DSM-Firmenich AG (DSFIR.AS) 2025 Integrated Annual Report
DSM-Firmenich announcement on ANH divestment to CVC Capital Partners (2026)
BASF SE announcement on Ludwigshafen 29 July 2024 fire and force majeure
Evonik Industries AG annual + MetAMINO methionine business announcement
Cargill, ADM feed additive business annual

Industry data and research institutes

China Feed Additive Industry Association, China Vitamin Industry Association industry data
Mysteel 2024-2026 vitamin market data
Sunsirs 100ppi VE channel
BAIINFO vitamin market
PHARNEXCLOUD (former YaorongYun) vitamin API export data
China General Administration of Customs vitamin export classification (Jan-Dec 2024)
ZhiYan Consulting, Bestz Consulting, LP Information vitamin industry research

Policy regulations

China MoA Feed Additive Catalog, Feed Antibiotic-Free Policy (since 2020)
China CFDA health food blue-hat approval
US American Agriculture Security Act review progress
EU AD ruling on Chinese amino acids (EU 2025/1330) and anti-absorption (Feb 2026)
China "dual energy control" implementation rules

Academic literature and process route reference

VE synthesis research progress (academic review, Xinbelai Bio etc)
TMHQ synthesis route review
Isophytol (IP) industrial preparation pathway research
NF-grade cholesterol industrial extraction and purification research
VD3 UV photochemistry synthesis research
VK3 "chromium - coproduction" process innovation literature

News reports and industry interviews

Research institute methodology

This report adopts "research institute" writing style — based on public data, company annuals, industry research, news coverage cross-verified, horizontally compared, vertically analyzed for conclusions that hold up to scrutiny.

Method principles:

First, data before conclusion. All conclusions built on publicly verifiable data, no subjective speculation or unsupported prophecy. Where data insufficient, mark "forecast" "estimate" "inference."

Second, multi-source cross-verification. Same data points verified from multiple independent sources where possible. Conflicting sources resolved by authority, recency, specificity.

Third, clear time anchoring. All financial, price, capacity data clearly mark time scope. Avoid "cross-period confusion."

Fourth, risk equivalence. Directional verdicts accompanied by corresponding risks and reverse scenarios. Research is not "certain prediction" but "logical reasoning."

Fifth, neutral tone. Objective, rigorous, neither praise nor disparage. Toward Chinese producers neither unprincipled praise nor pessimism; toward overseas neither blind worship nor groundless disparagement.

Sixth, long-cycle perspective. Vitamin industry is typical long-cycle — capacity expansion 3-5 years, price cycle 6-18 months, landscape evolution 5-10 years. Research perspective must cover medium-long term.

Seventh, multi-dimensional cross. From process, enterprise, category, downstream, capacity, price, policy, international layout multiple dimensions cross-analyze, avoid single-dimension limits.

Eighth, empirical + logical. Both data empirical (public facts) and logical reasoning (sound inference based on facts).

These eight principles are research institute methodology basis. This report strictly follows in writing.

Special declaration

This report content is for research and reference only, not constituting any investment advice. Readers making investment decisions should combine own risk tolerance, investment objectives, professional knowledge, and consult licensed professional investment advisors.

Data and facts aim for accuracy, but industry landscape and market environment change rapidly. Some data may shift after report completion. Please cross-check latest public data when using this report.

All listed company stock info (codes, market caps, valuation multiples) is industry research background only, not constituting any specific stock buy or sell advice.

News reports and industry interviews

Securities Times, Sina Finance, Eastmoney, 21st Century Business Herald financial reports
Eastmoney Caifuhao, Xueqiu, Zhihu special columns
Kingdomway Chairman Jiang Bin, Xinhecheng management investor exchanges
Brother Enterprise, Garden Bio investor relations records

Factory distribution and value chain data

Chapter 7's factory data perspective references a B2B platform covering 4.8 million in-production factories in China. The platform's differentiator from generic enterprise lookup tools (Tianyancha, Qixinbao) lies in identifying "whether a company is actually a factory" — through cross-validation of process, equipment, personnel, and production permits, real in-production factories are filtered from the industrial-and-commercial registry. This filter is especially valuable in vitamins, a sub-sector with extra-long upstream-downstream chains and an unusual density of intermediaries.

Data freshness note

Report data baseline:

Company financials: 2025 annual (disclosed Mar-Apr 2026) + 2025 H1 + 2026 Q1 pre-disclosure
Prices: as of end-May 2026
Policy events: as of end-Jun 2026
Landscape events: DSM-CVC (early 2026 announce, expected end-2026 close)

Closing

China vitamin 2026-2030 is a key transformation window. From world's largest capacity holder to world's most effective price setter; from cost manufacturer to value creator; from feed additive base plate to food, pharma, cosmetic, supplement high-value-add market. After this transformation, China vitamin industry is no longer just a link in global supply chain — it becomes global vitamin industry's price center, tech center, innovation center.

China vitamin past 15 years told "seven plus one" story (seven main category Chinese dominance + methionine localizing). Next decade story is "pricing power + high-end + synthetic biology" three-part integration.

Difficulty of next transformation is much higher than past 15 years of capacity expansion. "Pricing power" requires Chinese producers to maintain industry discipline; "high-end" requires breakthroughs in cosmetic and pharma certification systems; "synthetic biology" requires sustained basic research and industrial scale-up investment. All three are not easy, all must be done.

2026 is the starting point of this decade's transformation. DSM-CVC transaction closes by year-end, global vitamin landscape restructuring enters second half. Chinese vitamin industry's seven listed companies — Xinhecheng, Zhejiang Medicine, Garden Bio, Brother Enterprise, Nantekang, Kingdomway, Adisseo — together with dozens of mid-size producers and hundreds of supporting producers behind, will jointly write this industry history.

History will record which producers caught opportunity, which missed cycle; which process routes mainstream, which obsoleted; which categories shift to high-end, which to bulk. All are industry phenomena worth tracking over the next 5-10 years.

The industry research institute will continue tracking this industry, releasing deep research reports on individual enterprises, single categories, single process routes.

新和成, 浙江医药, 花园生物, 兄弟科技, 能特科技, 金达威, 安迪苏, 万华化学 — these eight companies are Chinese vitamin industry's "team formation," and key nodes on the Tianxia Gongchang industry map. Next decade is written by them.

——Industry Research Institute　June 2026

China Vitamins 2026 — VA/VE/VD3 Oligopoly and Global Export Pricing Power

Chapter 1 Industry Overview: The Basic Global and Chinese Vitamin Landscape in 2025

Chapter 2 Upstream: Citral, Isophytol, and Trimethylhydroquinone — the True Choke Points of the Vitamin Industry

Chapter 3 Process Routes Deep Dive: The Technology Map of Vitamin A, E, D3

Chapter 4 Leading Companies Horizontal Comparison: 2025 Financials and H1 2026 Updates

Chapter 5 Vitamin E Oligopoly Evolution — From "DSM-Dominated" to "China-Dominated"

Chapter 6 Vitamin D3 + K3 + Niacin + Calcium Pantothenate — China's Advantage in Medium Varieties

Chapter 7 Factory Data Perspective: Slicing the Chinese Vitamin Value Chain by Process, Category, Region

Chapter 8 Downstream One: Feed Premix — the "Base Plate" of the Vitamin Industry

Chapter 9 Downstream Two: Food Fortification + Pharma + Cosmetics + Supplements — Growth Curves of High-End Markets

Chapter 10 Capacity Expansion: Xinhecheng Shaoxing, Zhejiang Medicine Changyi, Garden Bio Xinchang, Brother Sihong — Four Core Project Unpacks

Chapter 11 Price Cycle — 2024 to 2026's "Accident + Divestment + Geopolitics" Triple Pulses

Chapter 12 Research Institute Verdict: 3-5 Year Global Vitamin Pricing Power Migration to China

Chapter 13 Risks — CVC Variables, EU Antidumping, Hog Cycle, Synthetic Biology Failure

Chapter 14 Data Sources — Main Materials and Public Channels Referenced

Chapter 1　Industry Overview: The Basic Global and Chinese Vitamin Landscape in 2025

Chapter 2　Upstream: Citral, Isophytol, and Trimethylhydroquinone — the True Choke Points of the Vitamin Industry

Chapter 3　Process Routes Deep Dive: The Technology Map of Vitamin A, E, D3

Chapter 4　Leading Companies Horizontal Comparison: 2025 Financials and H1 2026 Updates

Chapter 5　Vitamin E Oligopoly Evolution — From "DSM-Dominated" to "China-Dominated"

Chapter 6　Vitamin D3 + K3 + Niacin + Calcium Pantothenate — China's Advantage in Medium Varieties

Chapter 7　Factory Data Perspective: Slicing the Chinese Vitamin Value Chain by Process, Category, Region

Chapter 8　Downstream One: Feed Premix — the "Base Plate" of the Vitamin Industry

Chapter 9　Downstream Two: Food Fortification + Pharma + Cosmetics + Supplements — Growth Curves of High-End Markets

Chapter 10　Capacity Expansion: Xinhecheng Shaoxing, Zhejiang Medicine Changyi, Garden Bio Xinchang, Brother Sihong — Four Core Project Unpacks

Chapter 11　Price Cycle — 2024 to 2026's "Accident + Divestment + Geopolitics" Triple Pulses

Chapter 12　Research Institute Verdict: 3-5 Year Global Vitamin Pricing Power Migration to China

Chapter 13　Risks — CVC Variables, EU Antidumping, Hog Cycle, Synthetic Biology Failure

Chapter 14　Data Sources — Main Materials and Public Channels Referenced