New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market Size, Share - Growth Analysis Report and Forecast Trends (2026-2035)

Market Overview

The New Zealand self-monitoring blood glucose market is changing shape rather than shrinking. Finger-prick testing remains the everyday tool for most people with type 2 diabetes, yet funded continuous glucose monitors are drawing heavy users of strips away, so suppliers are competing on connected meters, dual glucose and ketone testing and pharmacy support.

Three forces are shaping the market: a growing diabetes population, with the Government's roadmap citing an estimated 348,000 people in March 2026; Pharmac's single-supplier approach to funded meters and strips, which keeps unit prices low; and the rapid move of insulin users to sensors, with over 16,000 people with type 1 diabetes prescribed funded devices by April 2025.

In April 2025 Pharmac reported strong sensor uptake, and in May 2025 it began funding the FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus. In March 2026 the Health Minister launched the National Diabetes Roadmap, and in August 2026 Pharmac widened access to type 2 diabetes medicines.

Key Market Trends and Insights

• Larger diabetes population: The National Diabetes Roadmap launched in March 2026 estimates 348,000 New Zealanders live with diabetes, which sustains steady demand for strips and lancets.
• Wider diagnosis threshold: The roadmap will update the type 2 diagnostic threshold so that about 34,500 people now classed as prediabetic would meet the diabetes criteria by July 2026.
• Sensor substitution: Pharmac said in April 2025 that more than 16,000 people with type 1 diabetes had been prescribed funded sensors, which reduces strip use among the heaviest testers.
• Medicines widen testing base: Pharmac's August 2026 decision opens funded type 2 medicines to about 14,000 more people in the next 12 months, many of whom still test occasionally by finger prick.

New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market Size and Forecast

The market is moving from basic strip and meter replenishment towards connected meters, dual glucose and ketone testing and clearer pharmacy guidance. Test strips lead in value because every test consumes one, while meters grow faster as suppliers refresh devices and add app connectivity. Type 2 diabetes anchors volume, helped by the wider diagnosis threshold and new funded medicines, and online and direct-to-patient channels gain share from conventional pharmacy counters. Auckland remains the largest region, and Waikato grows quickest on population growth and an ageing patient base. Pharmac supply decisions, sensor funding and national roadmap commitments point to a durable shift in the testing mix rather than a cyclical change, even as sensors take over the heaviest insulin users.

Key Takeaways: New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market

Rising Prevalence Underpins Steady Demand

Revenue is on course to expand by about 17% across the decade, from USD 16.00 million in 2025 to USD 18.75 million in 2035 at a 1.6% CAGR. An estimated 348,000 people with diabetes, a wider diagnosis threshold and new funded medicines offset the loss of strip volume to sensors.

Meters and Type 2 Care Lead Growth

Test Strips hold the largest share, but Blood Glucose Meters grow at an estimated 2.4% CAGR and Type 2 Diabetes at an estimated 2.1% CAGR through 2035. Pharmac's August 2026 medicines decision adds about 14,000 people in a year, and online and direct-to-patient sales outpace pharmacy counters.

Sensors Reshape Insulin User Testing

Funded sensors now serve most insulin users who qualify, so strip volumes depend increasingly on people with type 2 diabetes. Pharmac's supplier changes in 2025 and 2026 show how quickly the monitoring mix is moving.

• FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus funded from 1 May 2025, with funding for Libre 2 ending 1 May 2026
• Dexcom G6 funding ends in early 2027, with G7 and Libre 3 Plus as replacements
• Over 16,000 people with type 1 diabetes prescribed funded sensors by April 2025

New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market Report Summary

Key Insight

Demand rests on a growing diabetes population and low-cost funded strips, while sensors draw heavy insulin users away. Auckland leads, and Waikato grows fastest.

Key Trends in the New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market

The New Zealand self-monitoring blood glucose market is being reshaped by sensor funding changes, a national diabetes roadmap, wider type 2 medicines access and rising overseas supplier interest.

September 2026 - i-SENS Reports Rapid Growth in Sensor Sales Including New Zealand

• i-SENS disclosed on 6 September 2026 that second-quarter sensor revenue rose 162.4% year on year, and that sales were growing in New Zealand.
• The company supplies sensors to 29 countries and confirmed a full-year sensor revenue target of 40 billion won.
• A supplier that also sells funded meters has a second route into the same patients, which may strengthen its pharmacy position.

August 2026 - Pharmac Widens Access to Type 2 Diabetes Medicines From 1 September

• Pharmac announced on 5 August 2026 that empagliflozin, liraglutide and dulaglutide would be funded for more people from 1 September.
• About 14,000 more people are expected to use the medicines over 12 months, rising to about 31,000 after five years.
• More people on treatment attend more reviews, which supports occasional finger-prick checks and keeps strip demand broad.

March 2026 - Government Launches the National Diabetes Roadmap

• The Health Minister launched the roadmap on 25 March 2026, citing an estimated 348,000 New Zealanders with diabetes.
• It will update the type 2 diagnostic threshold, so about 34,500 people now classed as prediabetic would meet the criteria by July 2026.
• Newly diagnosed people usually start with a meter and strips, so the change adds first-time users to the base.

November 2025 - Diabetes New Zealand Warns of Rising Type 2 Diabetes in Young People

• Diabetes New Zealand published on 13 November 2025 expert warnings that type 2 diabetes among young people is a health crisis in the making.
• Earlier onset means more years of home testing, which raises lifetime demand for strips and lancets per patient.
• Younger users may favour app-connected meters, which supports faster growth in the meter segment.

Key Insight

Sensor sales growth, a national roadmap and wider access to diabetes medicines are the main structural forces, while sensor substitution among insulin users remains the main risk to strip volume.

Recent Market Developments in the New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market

Recent developments, presented from the most recent, show sensor supply changes, new overseas product approvals, the end of an older sensor listing and early evidence of sensor uptake.

August 2026 - Pharmac Confirms Dexcom G6 Funding Ends in Early 2027

• Pharmac published a notice on 4 August 2026 saying the supplier is stopping supply of the Dexcom G6, which will no longer be funded in early 2027.
• Dexcom G7 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus are the two funded replacements, and both work with both funded insulin pumps.
• Each brand change needs a new prescription, which keeps pharmacists and prescribers in frequent contact with insulin users.

July 2026 - i-SENS Starts European Certification of Next-Generation Sensor

• i-SENS announced on 13 July 2026 that it had begun CE certification of CareSense Air 2 and applied to extend the current model to children.
• The second model lengthens wear time from 15 to 18 days and cuts sensor size by about 70%.
• Longer wear and smaller devices may accelerate the shift of insulin users away from finger-prick testing.

May 2026 - Funding for FreeStyle Libre 2 Ends After Move to Libre 2 Plus

• Pharmac kept the original FreeStyle Libre 2 funded until 1 May 2026 so pharmacists could claim for all dispensings.
• The Libre 2 Plus, funded from 1 May 2025, lasts 15 days and is funded for people with type 1 or type 3c diabetes.
• Pharmac caps funding at 28 Libre 2 Plus sensors a year, which sets a predictable ceiling on sensor use.

April 2025 - Pharmac Reports Over 16,000 People With Type 1 Diabetes Prescribed Sensors

• Pharmac said on 29 April 2025 that more than 16,000 people with type 1 diabetes had been prescribed funded sensors since funding began.
• The story described years of finger pricking and manual tracking that funded sensors were intended to ease.
• Strip use among this group should fall, leaving type 2 diabetes as the main driver of finger-prick demand.

Key Insight

Sensor supply changes, new overseas product approvals and the end of older listings show suppliers positioning for connected devices, while funded meters and strips remain the base.

New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Industry Segmentation

The Expert Market Research’s report on the New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market offers a detailed analysis of the market based on the following segments.

Market Breakup by Product Type

• Test Strips
• Blood Glucose Meters
• Lancets and Lancing Devices
• Others

Test Strips lead on value, in our estimate, because every test consumes one strip and Pharmac funds them under a single supplier arrangement. Blood Glucose Meters grow fastest at an estimated 2.4% CAGR through 2035, as suppliers refresh devices, including the dual glucose and ketone CareSens Dual that Diabetes New Zealand lists as funded. Lancets and Lancing Devices follow the strip base closely and grow slowly. Others include control solutions, carry cases and data cables. Sensor funding, including the Libre 2 Plus from 1 May 2025, limits strip use among heavy insulin testers.

Market Breakup by Diabetes Type

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Type 1 Diabetes
• Gestational Diabetes
• Others

Type 2 Diabetes leads on value, in our estimate, and grows fastest at an estimated 2.1% CAGR through 2035, as the March 2026 roadmap widens the diagnostic threshold and Pharmac's August 2026 decision adds about 14,000 medicine users. Type 1 Diabetes grows slowly because more than 16,000 people had been prescribed funded sensors by April 2025. Gestational Diabetes is a smaller, steady need tied to pregnancy care and short monitoring periods. Others include people with prediabetes and secondary diabetes who buy meters privately.

Market Breakup by Distribution Channel

• Retail Pharmacies
• Hospital and Clinic Supply
• Online and Direct-to-Patient
• Others

Retail Pharmacies lead, in our estimate, because funded meters and strips are dispensed through community pharmacists, who also manage the Dexcom G6 retirement notice of August 2026. Hospital and Clinic Supply covers education starter kits and ward meters, and grows steadily with the national roadmap's push for community-based support. Online and Direct-to-Patient grows fastest at an estimated 2.8% CAGR through 2035, as app-connected meters and private purchases of sensors such as the Libre 2 Plus rise. Others include supermarket, mail-order and diabetes society sales.

Market Breakup by Region

• Auckland
• Wellington
• Canterbury
• Waikato
• Others

Auckland dominates, in our estimate, as the country's most populous region with the largest base of people with diabetes and the main hospital and pharmacy networks, and it grows at an estimated 1.5% CAGR through 2035 from a mature base. Waikato is the fastest-growing region at an estimated 1.9%, on population growth and an ageing patient base. Canterbury grows at 1.7%. Wellington grows at 1.4%. Others, including Northland, where a partnership between Ngati Hine Health Trust and the University of Otago was announced in November 2025, grow at 1.8%.

Competitive Landscape in the New Zealand Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Market

Competition combines Pharmac-contracted local suppliers, global glucose monitoring groups and distributors acting for sensor makers. Entry barriers include Pharmac listings, Medsafe device regulation, pharmacy relationships and supply reliability.

Pharmaco (NZ) Limited

Pharmaco (NZ) Limited, an Auckland-based diabetes supplier, distributes the CareSens range of funded meters and test strips and the mylife YpsoPump. Diabetes New Zealand lists it as the CareSens supplier, including the CareSens Dual meter that tests both glucose and ketones. From 1 January 2025 it became one of two funded insulin pump suppliers, which deepens its ties to prescribers and pharmacies that also stock its meters.

i-SENS, Inc.

i-SENS, Inc., headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, makes the CareSens blood glucose monitoring systems and the CareSense Air sensor. On 6 September 2026 it said second-quarter sensor revenue rose 162.4% and that sensor sales were growing in New Zealand, and on 13 July 2026 it began European certification of CareSense Air 2.

Abbott

Abbott, headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, sells FreeStyle Libre sensors in New Zealand through the distributor Mediray. Pharmac began funding the FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus on 1 May 2025, capped at 28 sensors a year, and ended funding of the original Libre 2 on 1 May 2026. The FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus is also funded for people on insulin pumps, and Pharmac named it a Dexcom G6 replacement in August 2026.

Dexcom

Dexcom, headquartered in San Diego, California, supplies Dexcom ONE+, G6 and G7 sensors in New Zealand through NZMS. Pharmac's notice of 4 August 2026 said the supplier is stopping supply of the G6, which will lose funding in early 2027, and that the G7 now works with both funded insulin pumps.

Other players operating in the New Zealand self-monitoring blood glucose market include Roche, LifeScan, Medtronic, Mediray, and NZMS, alongside pharmacy chains, online health retailers, private-label packagers and diabetes society suppliers serving people who buy meters, strips and lancets privately across New Zealand.

Key Insight

Competition rests on Pharmac listings, pharmacy relationships and supply reliability rather than price alone, while sensor suppliers increasingly compete for the same patients as meter and strip makers.