February 9, 2024 – Consumer focus on health and wellness helps drive supplement trends. In the US, several supplement trends stand out, including supplements for health and wellness, brain health, insomnia, and hair, skin, and nails.
Consumer Trends Support Supplements
Supplement trends show that supplements are popular among US consumers. Nearly one-quarter of US consumers increased their consumption of supplements from the previous year while over two-thirds are taking the same amount of supplements as before. Similar percentages of consumers say they take multivitamin/multimineral supplements or single vitamin supplements regularly. This is higher than the percentage of consumers who never take supplements. Tablets are the most common format, followed by capsules and gummies.
Consumers Take Supplements for Health and Wellness
When asked why they take supplements, over half of US consumers report taking supplement to help maintain their health and wellness. Nearly 4 in 10 report taking supplements to help boost their immune health. Supplements for digestive health and gut health also are popular.
Consumers in the US can choose from many different brands of supplements for health and wellness, brain health, insomnia, and hair, skin, and nails. One-seventh of supplement launches in the US are from the top 10 brands, demonstrating that the supplement marketplace is highly fragmented.
Concentrates from Fruits and Vegetables are Fastest Growing Supplements
Over a five-year period, the total supplements category grew at a steady compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of +9%. The leading subcategories of supplements, botanical supplements, herbal supplements and vitamin-mineral supplements, drive the growth rate of the supplements category. They make up nearly half of recent supplement launches.
Supplements featuring fruit and vegetable concentrates show the strongest growth, followed by supplements for healthy hair, skin and nails. Supplement trends show that a growing number of supplements in the US have Ayurvedic ingredients. Supplements with adaptogen ingredients also are growing. In vitamin and mineral supplement ingredients, tocopheryl acetate, a specific form of vitamin E, is becoming more common in launches in supplements for healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Supplement labels carry various health and wellness claims. Immune health has been the top supplement claim for several years and continues to grow. Mental acuity is the fastest growing claim regarding health and wellness. Supplements with healthy aging benefits, including healthy hair, skin, and nails, are expected to grow.
Health and Wellness Trends Affect Supplement Trends
Three of Innova’s Top 10 Trends for 2024 are particularly relevant for supplement trends. The top trend – Ingredients: Taking the Spotlight – demonstrates how manufacturers can feed into positive consumer attitudes toward key nutrients by promoting a supplement’s star ingredients and health benefits. Examples include ayurvedic and adaptogen ingredients tied to brain, mood, and focus, and also melatonin for insomnia. The trend Prioritizing Prevention demonstrates how positive action to prevent health concerns before they arise drives consumers toward supplements that meet their personal wellbeing needs. Highest percentages of consumers say they take supplements to help maintain their health and boost their immunity. Another trend, Indulging in Health, captures the action of supplements to become more indulgent when offered in a variety of flavors as gummies or drink-mix powders – convenience meets pleasure when taking supplements.
What’s Next in the US Supplement Marketplace?
Several developments are likely to fuel upcoming changes in the US supplement marketplace. Vitamins, minerals and nutraceutical ingredients are moving into different supplement subcategories and creating opportunities for innovation. Convenient and tasty formats, including gummies, oral strips and smoothie powders, offer indulgence and variety that can attract new consumers. The future success of supplement “packs” can help consumers to make personalized supplement decisions. Ongoing innovation will be needed for supplement brands and products to stand out.
As consumers increasingly seek clean products, expect supplements to carry free from, natural, and organic ingredient claims and to be labeled with various label claims and certifications.
This article is based on our report, “Growth Segments in Supplements in the US.”
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