The Austrian OTC and Consumer Health Market OTC medicines, food supplements, medical devices and pharmacy cosmetics – market volume, key players, opportunities, access requirements and a directory of importers and distribution partners for foreign suppliers Edition: October 2026 Language: English Target group: export-oriented manufacturers of branded and private-label consumer health products Market Entry
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary................................................................................................................................................ 3
2. Market Definition and Scope................................................................................................................................. 3
3. Market Volume and Development.........................................................................................................................3
3.1 Pharmacy market and consumer health segment.......................................................................................... 3
3.2 Retail and online channels.............................................................................................................................. 4
4. Key Players............................................................................................................................................................. 4
4.1 Manufacturers and brand owners.................................................................................................................. 4
4.2 Wholesale and distribution.............................................................................................................................5
4.3 Retail............................................................................................................................................................... 5
5. Market Opportunities for New Foreign Suppliers.................................................................................................. 5
5.1 Branded products...........................................................................................................................................5
5.2 Private label and no-name products...............................................................................................................5
5.3 Channel trends................................................................................................................................................6
6. Product Groups with Good Sales Potential............................................................................................................6
7. Market Access Requirements.................................................................................................................................6
7.1 Requirements for all suppliers........................................................................................................................ 6
7.2 Requirements by product category................................................................................................................6
7.3 Suppliers from EU member states..................................................................................................................7
7.4 Suppliers from non-EU European countries (e.g. Switzerland, United Kingdom, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye,
Ukraine)................................................................................................................................................................ 7
7.5 Suppliers from outside Europe (e.g. USA, Canada, Brazil, India, China, Korea)..............................................7
8. Recommended Market Entry Strategy...................................................................................................................8
9. Notes on Using the Importer Directory..................................................................................................................8
10. Directory of Austrian Importers and Distribution Partners..................................................................................8
10.1 Full-line pharmaceutical wholesalers...........................................................................................................8
10.2 OTC importers, in-licensing and brand-distribution partners (specialists)...................................................9
10.3 Pre-wholesale, logistics and private-label manufacturing..........................................................................10
10.4 Drugstore chains......................................................................................................................................... 10
10.5 Supermarket buying centrals......................................................................................................................11
10.6 Organic and health food wholesale............................................................................................................11
10.7 Online pharmacies and health/beauty e-commerce..................................................................................12
10.8 Sales agencies for food retail and drugstores.............................................................................................12
11. Sources and Methodology................................................................................................................................. 12
1. Executive Summary
Austria is a compact, affluent and highly regulated consumer health market of about 9.2 million inhabitants. Measured at pharmacy retail prices, the consumer health segment of Austria's public pharmacies – registered OTC medicines, non-registered OTC products, food supplements, medical devices, homeopathy and pharmacy cosmetics – generated around EUR 1.5 billion in 2025. Growth has slowed markedly after the strong post-pandemic years (+10.6 % in 2022, +6.5 % in 2023, +3.5 % in 2024, +0.8 % in 2025), and unit sales are declining slightly. Value is shifting towards beauty/dermocosmetics, registered OTC medicines and online channels. Three structural features shape every market entry. First, almost all medicines – including non-prescription ones –are pharmacy-only; the 1,445 public pharmacies therefore remain the core channel for OTC medicines. Second, distribution is concentrated: Herba Chemosan alone supplies more than 40 % of pharmacy volume, followed by Kwizda, Phoenix, Jacoby GM and Richter Pharma. Third, a large share of pharmacy OTC business is supplied directly by manufacturers or their Austrian distribution partners rather than through the wholesale trade – a local partner with a pharmacy sales force is therefore usually the decisive success factor. Opportunities for new foreign suppliers exist above all in food supplements (no notification required in Austria), phytotherapeutics, women's health, skin and dermocosmetics, cold and cough products, medical devices such as nasal sprays and wound care, and in private-label programmes for pharmacy groups, wholesalers, drugstore chains (dm, BIPA, Müller) and online pharmacies. Self-care penetration is still well below neighbouring Germany, which leaves long-term growth potential. The study closes with a directory of more than 30 Austrian wholesalers, importers, brand-distribution partners, retailers, organic wholesalers and online shops, each with website, switchboard and general e-mail address (where published), and the recommended route for a first contact.
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