What drives the price gap between basic and fortified calcium supplements?

What drives the price gap between basic and fortified calcium supplements?
China's calcium supplement market segments clearly by formulation complexity. Basic calcium carbonate tablets cost roughly 6 yuan per 60-tablet bottle. Organic calcium (citrate, lactate) runs about 20 yuan per bottle. Adding vitamin D3 pushes prices to 10-30 yuan depending on calcium type and D3 content. Full formulations with calcium, D3, and K2 range from 30-200 yuan per 60 tablets. Products exceeding 200 yuan per 60 tablets carry excessive brand premiums without proportional efficacy gains. The industrial supply chain shows why raw costs stay low: China produces about 24 million tonnes of calcium carbonate annually across plastic, paper, coating, and rubber applications, with utilization around 78-80%. Pharmaceutical and food-grade calcium is a tiny, high-margin niche within this massive commodity market.