Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
You're listening to Roundtable with myself He Yang.
I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Yu Shun in the studio.
Coming up, with an estimated 700 million people in China dealing with nearsightedness, contact lenses have become a necessity for those who want to forego eyeglasses.
Join us as we explore China's booming contact lens market and dive into how these thin, clear discs, sometimes with a pop of color, have become a stylish must -have for Gen Z.
And we've all heard that coffee kickstarts your day.
But what if drinking it too early messes with your blood sugar and stress hormones?
We discuss whether our beloved morning brew is really waking you up or wearing you out.
Our podcast listeners can find us at Roundtable china on Apple podcast. Got a question that's keeping you curious from social issues to tech and everything in between?
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Now let's move on to the next topic discussion today.
Contact lenses are those thin clear discs that sit on your eyeballs improving your vision by floating on the tear film.
But did you know that by 2025, China's contact lens market is expected to top a whopping 20 billion yuan, or 2 .7 billion US dollars.
Even more fascinating, the colored contact lens market is four times the size of the clear lens market, with Chinese brands leading the way by perfectly matching the style needs of Gen Z who are born between 1997 and 2012.
It's not just the better vision anymore, it's about making a fashion statement at the same time.
Let's take a look at the market overview.
You Shun, give us the market overview here.
Yeah, according to a 2025 report published by Domestic Commercial Data Analysis from CBN Data, China's contact lens market has grown rapidly in the past 5 years and is expected it to surpass 20 billion yuan and that's about 2 .7 billion US dollars in 2025 which is 30 percent of global market up 17 .7 percent year -on -year and China overall has a near -sighted population of over 700 million and that's almost half of its total population as we mentioned in the leading parts some of them wear glasses, some wear contacts, and some wear both.
Besides, over 33 % of the non -near -sighted population also has purchased non -prescription colored contacts.
So, overall, about 65 million Chinese people wear contact lenses.
Yeah, it's nice for the contact lens industry, I think, because you've got the people who get the prescription ones who are using them to assist with their vision, but then you've got the other people who are simply using them for aesthetic reasons to change their look somehow, some way.
And this is a relatively new phenomenon.
I remember when I was a kid, or a teenager, this didn't used to be the common option for people, but increasingly, I suppose, when more people put on makeup, and sometimes having those colored contact lenses have become part of their physical appearance enhancement routine or something like that.
Yeah, I think some people, the way they use the non -prescription ones is they might not wear them every day, but if they have you know if they're going out to a party and they have a certain look then they want to change their eye color to match that look.
They kind of use them as an accessory as opposed to a tool to help them see better.
Yeah back then I also remember that people wear non -prescription Contact lenses just for make their eyes look bigger.
I remember they can Widen, maybe the eyeball or some pupils.
Yeah, it makes you yeah, it told it completely Changes how your whole face exactly right?
I was given a sample I've never I do wear contact lenses.
I wear them for corrective purposes and I've worn them since I was a teenager and one time my eye doctor just gave me a sample asked me, hey, do you want to try colored lenses?
I said, no, not for me, thank you.
So here's a free sample.
There were brown. I took them home I just put them on for fun and I've, it freaked me out.
I felt like I was staring at a different person in the mirror.
I didn't like it, but a lot of people really love it just as a way to kind of dress themselves up.
Well that is interesting, and if we will look at the Chinese market a little bit deeper, there are some interesting hallmarks that's only on display in this market.
For example, online platforms apparently is where people get their contact lenses, and I find that to be surprising.
I used to think you know for glasses and these eye correction purpose purchases people would go to the offline physical stores.
But that's not necessarily the case here.
Yeah the online platforms here they occupy about 80 % of the total Chinese contact lens market.
So we're talking about platforms like Taobao and Douyin and JD.
They take up 50, 30, and 20 percent of the contact lens market respectively.
Live streaming, we talk about live streaming a lot on Roundtable don't we?
That's in play here.
Also e -commerce and content marketing they're gradually growing into these new growth drives for brand competition and online platforms it's just the same with any other thing right it's just more convenient to buy contacts of well -known brands online.
You can choose whatever you want and then have them delivered to your home.
And to me this isn't really surprising because for contact lenses once you know well if you don't have a prescription well then you really don't need to care right it's only about the design but if you're buying prescription lenses online you already know what your prescription is.
If it's minus two or or minus three or four point five or whatever strength you need, you know what it is, so there's no reason to go to the shop if you don't want to.
Yeah, I used to have exact the same feeling as you had, Ko Young, because I wear eyeglasses and I tried to wear contact lenses but I couldn't because I could not just stab these two things into my eyes, you know.
So dramatic, you are.
But anyway, I was thinking, how can I get the right degree of that contact lenses.
So obviously we can have that prescription and if you have this right calculation and then you can absolutely buy because there's so many options that you can get.
To your point about stabbing your eyes with your fingers, no it does, I remember, I think I was 17 years old when I first got my contacts and I got them for sports purposes.
I was playing ice hockey and when you play ice hockey and you wear eyeglasses they get steamy and foggy So that's why I switched over to contacts, but the day that I got them My eye doctor wouldn't let me go home until I could put those contact lenses in my eyes and take them out by myself He said there's a training he said you are staying here until you learn how to do that and in the beginning it's so weird because you feel like you're gonna hurt yourself right but Yeah, you have an instinct to close your eyes but the contact is between your finger and your eyeball so you're not gonna hurt yourself
at all it just takes a it took me three hours to get used to it but once you do get used to it then it's no issue at all.
Yeah, and can we also dive into the different categories of contact lenses we've established there are the prescription ones, there are the colored ones.
And there are soft ones and hard ones, disposable ones, clear the air for us, please.
So according to the website of US Food and Drug Administration, there are two general categories of contact lenses, soft and rigid gas permeable.
So soft contact lenses are made of soft, flexible plastics that allow oxygen to pass through to the cornea.
These may be easier to adjust to and are more comfortable.
Newer soft lens materials include silicon hydrogels to provide more oxygen to your eye.
Another one is called RGP's, is Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses.
These are more durable and resistant to deposit build -up and generally give a clearer, crisper vision.
and they tend to be less expensive over the life of the lens since they last longer.
Yeah the soft lenses, that's what I use and you can get different types, right?
You can get daily disposable ones.
You can get the ones I have now I think are three months ones, so there's different types that you can buy.
The softer ones, I've never had hard lenses before they never seemed attractive to me at all so I've never tried them but I've always heard from eye doctors that the soft ones are far more comfortable to wear.
Yeah I've also heard a specially designed type of these hard ones you you wear them at night and when you take them off during the day you have the normal vision that's called orthokeratology kind of thing.
Interesting. Well I've worn eyeglasses since the second grade in elementary school.
Have you never been tempted to go switch over to contacts?
See, when contact lenses became popular it was already after maybe middle school for me and also I've gotten my other eye conditions I'm very it's I'm easily allergic to a number of things and also my eyes tend to get dry easily and have infections easily, which kind of coincides with some of the risks and dangers that eye contact lenses can bring if you're a regular wearer or user.
So my doctor actually advised me against it unless I absolutely want it.
Which I think, you know, I'm happy to just be able to see with my regular glasses.
It's not that big of a deal to me.
Yeah, that makes total sense.
Yeah, if you have some sort of pre -existing conditions with your eyes, then contact lenses might not be the right choice for you yeah, and if we look at the consumption groups of Contact lenses.
I'm curious who's buying So many pairs of contact lenses 79 % of contact lenses Users in China are female and 7 % of the users aged below 18 34 % aged from 18 to 24, and 28 % aged 25 to 29, and 21 % aged 30 to 34 and 10 % aged 35 and above.
Oh so the two largest groups, there's 79 % female.
Wow. And also the 18 to 24 group is the largest percentage of users.
Exactly. Also 50 % has moderate level of myopia, which is around 300 to 600 degrees, followed by light level of myopia that's below 300 degrees, and high level myopia which is over 600 degrees.
Yeah so again, that speaks to the point, right?
Some people are using these for corrective purposes and other people are just buying them for their aesthetic value.
In terms of cities are not where they're buying them and where they're using them 49 % are from high tier cities here in the country.
First and second tier cities is what I mean there.
First tier cities refers to the foremost developed and influential mega cities in China and then the second tier cities they include provincial capitals and autonomous region capitals as well.
So, a large percentage of the purchasers are coming from some of the bigger cities in the country.
And also I think a lot of people may wear or use or buy these content lenses as the reason that Steve had because they are maybe outdoor activity lovers, 72 % of them love traveling, 63 % love beauty products and make -up because of some of them.
There's the aesthetic purpose, right?
Yes, so 47 % of them love photography.
That makes sense because - Easier to use a camera.
Yeah. Right. And 47 % of them love reading and 43 % of them love sports.
So totally 72 % love traveling and 43 % love, love sports.
You mentioned a lot of outdoor activities there, right?
And sports, yeah, I can tell you exercising or doing some sort of athletic training or whatever with contacts versus glasses, it's just so much more convenient.
I absolutely agree with you and I attribute the reason why I'm not more sporty to the fact that I don't wear contact lenses.
And I remember I tried to take up dancing for a while and it was just impossible with these glasses when you want to do like the flicking of the hair and really like give it some sass with your head movement and then my glasses would be flying elsewhere.
So yeah, anyway, that's my excuse.
So now we kind of know what the profile kind of looks like for the users.
What do you think are the more Chinese market consumer demands stand for the contact lenses?
Yeah, it still differs from different types of contact lenses and click contact lenses.
they're suitable for sports and formal occasions and discomfort often occurs when maybe wearing them for too long, and that is becoming a pain point.
And also colored contacts, they're suitable for, as we said, makeup or socializing occasions and users pursue fashionable colors or just different maybe even shapes of your contact lenses.
And also this hard content lenses are used for customized daily vision correction, and it takes a relatively long period of Customization also adaptation after your customization.
Yeah among the users 35 % of Contact lens wearers they wore them for the first time before they were 18 years old So they got used to them pretty early in life and then that 18 to 24 age group that we talked about before 48 % were using them for the first time during that age.
25 to 29%, 25 to 29, excuse me, 13%, and then age 30 or over, 4%.
So as you can see from those statistics, the older you get, the less likely it seems you are to switch over to contact lenses from glasses.
Mm, that makes a lot of sense.
And also, domestic manufacturers are making strides in this market of contact lenses.
Oh, yeah. In the field of colored contact lenses, top Chinese brands such as Moody began investing in and building factories 5 years ago, relying on self -developed technology and also 15 patents to build competitive advantages.
Coming up next, coffee drinkers, when do you time your perfect cup for the ultimate caffeine buzz?
Stay tuned. Looking for passion?
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You're listening to Roundtable with myself He Young joined by Steve Hatherly and Yuxun.
For coffee lovers what's the perfect moment to enjoy that daily cup of Joe most people drink coffee in the morning but some consume it throughout their day including during work before exercise and even as a post -dinner beverage so how does drinking coffee at different times of the day affect your body?
Well it's all amazing for me but I'm a coffee lover so I don't know if you should trust my answers or not.
Yeah. A lot of people drink coffee in the morning right?
A cup of coffee has about 92 milligrams of caffeine per cup.
So people feel more awake in the morning, but some people argue that consuming coffee first thing in the morning could negatively affect your health due to its effect on your blood sugar and certain hormones.
But I think it's just kind of the connection isn't it with coffee?
Especially for coffee drinkers, wake up in the morning, Have a cup of coffee.
Do we agree with that?
Mm -hmm. Well, we're not all coffee lovers So there are a ton of tea drinkers, for example Or maybe they just like norse juice or regular water, which is perfectly fine.
Yeah Yeah, I suppose for coffee lovers.
This is something that we think about Yeah, it's it's usually in the morning and then maybe after lunch as well in the afternoon When you have caffeinated drinks like coffee then maybe it could help improve your performance and your energy levels at the office or maybe at the gym when you exercise it can help you get a more effective workout.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition, they recommend consuming caffeine products like coffee around 60 minutes before workouts for the greatest benefits.
So that's the afternoon at the office or at the gym, what have you.
It can have benefits there too.
Or, I suppose, if you're a university student and you have late afternoon classes.
Remember though that drinking coffee in the afternoon can interrupt your sleep patterns, especially if you're a really sensitive sleeper or if you're really sensitive to caffeine.
Some research shows that consuming caffeinated coffee within six to eight hours, almost nine hours before or bed can disrupt your sleep.
Oh yeah, and also we need to give some precautions for special groups, for individuals with diabetes drinking coffee before eight a .m. may actually exacerbate adverse morning reactions and increase all -cause mortality risk.
So it is, therefore many experts are recommending that diabetic patients avoid drinking coffee before eight a .m. All right, what about those people who have a cup of coffee after dinner?
Oh, those people amaze me.
I can't do it because if I have a cup of coffee at night, I can't go to sleep in the evening.
And that's probably because I've already had a couple of cups of coffee earlier on in the day.
Coffee increases your alertness and keeps you awake.
But if you are sensitive to caffeine, I mentioned it a minute ago, having a cup of coffee at night might not be the good thing for you.
So when's the best time to have coffee?
Whenever you want it.
There is no solid scientific evidence that indicates a best time to drink coffee, but since drinking coffee too late in the day could disrupt your sleep it's generally best for most people to limit their coffee intake from the morning to early or mid afternoon.
And that brings us to the end of today's roundtable!
Thank you Steve and you Shrunt for joining the Discussion I'm her young we'll see you next time
