By Mike Montemarano, Associate Editor03.25.24
In 2022, the dietary supplement industry saw sales contract in key areas like vitamins, minerals, and herbs/botanicals, attributed in large part to a hard reset after the pandemic-related buying frenzy.
However, new sales data suggest these segments are growing again. Several others that have fared well in recent years, like sports nutrition and women’s health, continue to outpace the overall market.
Back in 2022, sales of dietary supplements dipped to a 1.9% CAGR to reach $61 billion, which, adjusted for inflation, is negative growth. But in 2023, the U.S. supplement industry saw a CAGR of 3.9% to reach $63.54 billion in sales, according to Bill Giebler, content and insights director at Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ), who presented data at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA, in March.
Sales of dietary supplements were roughly $2 billion higher in 2023 than what NBJ projected before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Giebler, despite 2022’s downturn.
“What’s unique about this year, compared to last, is that sales are now growing in both dollars and units,” said Scott Dicker, market insights director at SPINS. “Most of the growth in 2022 was driven by a price increase, but we’re now seeing growth in units sold too.”
Top-selling sports nutrition products like pre-workout blends, creatine, and protein powders didn’t experience any normalization during 2022, and continued to sustain healthy growth in 2023, Craft said. Meanwhile, specialty ingredients, made up of products like collagen, probiotics, and omega-3s, performed well since purchases are often driven by condition-specific concerns.
NBJ’s sales-channel breakdown for 2023 is as follows:
Today, non-pill formats make up about 61.8% of the market, according to Giebler, with gummies now the top-selling format (23.4% of all sales), followed by powders (15.7%), capsules (14.5%), softgels (14.2%), liquid shots (12.4%), and tablets (8.1%).
Dicker noted that certain product formats perform better based on the retail channel. For example, while capsules containing pre/probiotics and beauty ingredients grew in single digits in conventional channels, they grew by 34% and 44% on Amazon, respectively.
Craft said NBJ estimates the category of sports, energy, and weight management products will increase 10.2% in sales to exceed $77 million in 2024, and will continue to grow at a CAGR of 10% from 2023-2027, increasing in sales volume by $32.6 million.
According to SPINS sales data, several sub-categories within sports nutrition experienced double-digit growth in 2023, including: performance nutrition (+27% to reach $2.9 billion, made up of hydration and electrolytes, pre-workouts, weight management formulas, creatine, and more); protein and meal replacements (+14% to reach $8.9 billion); and energy and sports drinks (+12% to reach $32.3 billion).
Strong performances within sports nutrition for 2023 included creatine (+46% to reach $400 million) and hydration and electrolyte products (+52% to reach $1.3 billion). There’s significant crossover in sports and performance nutrition, Dicker said, as energy drinks begin to assume the place of pre-workouts, and categories like hydration, once dominated by one or two brands, are more competitive.
Increased attention on ingredients designed to improve focus, has NBJ projecting the brain health market will grow at a 9% CAGR in 2024, reaching an estimated $1.4 billion, from 2023’s $980 million.
While brain health supplements were once limited to memory improvement and global cognition in the elderly, a newfound focus on peak performance in younger people is drawing in a new wave of customers.
The sexual health supplement market has gone up and down over the years, but performed well in 2023. The market is estimated to increase from just over $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion in 2024, largely driven by overall emphasis on women’s health, both related to and outside of sexual wellness.
Menopause-specific supplements now make up a full 1% of the dietary supplements market, according to NBJ’s 2023 estimates, and are expected to expand from roughly $630 million in sales to over $660 million in 2024.
“I’d be shocked if we don’t see double-digit growth for women’s health products,” he noted. “This is largely driven by hair, skin, and nails, weight loss, PMS, and more specific issues. Women-founded brands specializing in products for women are also generating a lot of interest,” he said, as are a variety of online trends like “sleepy girl mocktails,” smoothie recipes with functional ingredients, mainstream media headlines, and more.
Meanwhile, the implications that broad use of Ozempic and other new weight loss drugs may have on market segments aren’t clear yet. In the U.S., 1.7% of the population has now been prescribed a semaglutide. However, Walmart reported a slight reduction in food purchases among semaglutide users it tracked.
“In the supplements space, it’s likely that people on these drugs will want products that fill nutrient gaps as a result of eating less, including proteins, greens, multivitamins, and pro- and prebiotics,” Dicker said.
Additionally, while caffeine and alcohol aren’t going away, plenty of Gen Z consumers are looking to cut back or turn away from these substances. But they do want alternative energy or relaxation products. In terms of what ingredient might benefit the most, “my bet is on lion’s mane,” Dicker said, “as there are so many energy products today which place a special emphasis on focus.”
In 2023, lion’s mane coffees/brews increased by 56.4% to reach $11 million in sales, while juice drinks increased 22.8% to reach $9 million, wellness bars grew 96.5% to reach $8 million, and shots shot up 80.8% to reach $6 million.
However, new sales data suggest these segments are growing again. Several others that have fared well in recent years, like sports nutrition and women’s health, continue to outpace the overall market.
Back in 2022, sales of dietary supplements dipped to a 1.9% CAGR to reach $61 billion, which, adjusted for inflation, is negative growth. But in 2023, the U.S. supplement industry saw a CAGR of 3.9% to reach $63.54 billion in sales, according to Bill Giebler, content and insights director at Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ), who presented data at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA, in March.
Sales of dietary supplements were roughly $2 billion higher in 2023 than what NBJ projected before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Giebler, despite 2022’s downturn.
“What’s unique about this year, compared to last, is that sales are now growing in both dollars and units,” said Scott Dicker, market insights director at SPINS. “Most of the growth in 2022 was driven by a price increase, but we’re now seeing growth in units sold too.”
Supplement Categories
Erika Craft, market research analyst at NBJ, detailed the 2023 dietary supplements market by top-line categories. According to NBJ, 2023 sales were as follows:- Vitamins: 19.4% market share, +0.5% in sales
- Herbs and Botanicals: 19.8% market share, +3.8%
- Specialty Ingredients: 28.8% market share, +5.4%
- Sports Nutrition: 15.3% market share, +8.5%
- Meal Supplements: 10.6% market share, +5.1%
- Minerals: 6.1% market share, +2.3%
Top-selling sports nutrition products like pre-workout blends, creatine, and protein powders didn’t experience any normalization during 2022, and continued to sustain healthy growth in 2023, Craft said. Meanwhile, specialty ingredients, made up of products like collagen, probiotics, and omega-3s, performed well since purchases are often driven by condition-specific concerns.
Points of Sale
When it comes to sales channel trends, the biggest highlight is that mass-market retail continues to claim a bigger share of the market, as natural and specialty retailers begin to lose share. “Mass market saw a growth rate of 5.7% in 2022, and while it went down to 5.1% this year, consumers are clearly still trying to find more economical options,” Craft said.NBJ’s sales-channel breakdown for 2023 is as follows:
- Mass-Market: 26.5% market share, +5.1% growth
- Natural/Specialty: 26.6% market share, +0.6% market growth
- E-commerce: 21.7% market share, +8.7% growth
- MLM: 13.1% market share, +2.8% growth
- Practitioner: 9.3% market share, +7% growth
- Mail order, DRTV: 2.9% market share, -4% growth
Supplement Formats
Regarding product forms, the gap continues to widen between pill and non-pill formats. Sales of non-pill forms first overtook pills back in 2019.Today, non-pill formats make up about 61.8% of the market, according to Giebler, with gummies now the top-selling format (23.4% of all sales), followed by powders (15.7%), capsules (14.5%), softgels (14.2%), liquid shots (12.4%), and tablets (8.1%).
Dicker noted that certain product formats perform better based on the retail channel. For example, while capsules containing pre/probiotics and beauty ingredients grew in single digits in conventional channels, they grew by 34% and 44% on Amazon, respectively.
Sought-After Health Conditions
Reviewing condition-specific formulas, 2023’s top-sellers were: sports, energy, and weight management (33.1% market share); cold, flu, and immunity (8.3%); gastrointestinal health (6.5%); and heart health (5.7%). Conditions that experienced the highest sales-growth rates were: brain/cognitive health (+7.3%); children’s health (+7.1%); sexual health (6.5%); sports/energy/weight management (+5.9%); and mood and emotional health (5.8%).Craft said NBJ estimates the category of sports, energy, and weight management products will increase 10.2% in sales to exceed $77 million in 2024, and will continue to grow at a CAGR of 10% from 2023-2027, increasing in sales volume by $32.6 million.
According to SPINS sales data, several sub-categories within sports nutrition experienced double-digit growth in 2023, including: performance nutrition (+27% to reach $2.9 billion, made up of hydration and electrolytes, pre-workouts, weight management formulas, creatine, and more); protein and meal replacements (+14% to reach $8.9 billion); and energy and sports drinks (+12% to reach $32.3 billion).
Strong performances within sports nutrition for 2023 included creatine (+46% to reach $400 million) and hydration and electrolyte products (+52% to reach $1.3 billion). There’s significant crossover in sports and performance nutrition, Dicker said, as energy drinks begin to assume the place of pre-workouts, and categories like hydration, once dominated by one or two brands, are more competitive.
Increased attention on ingredients designed to improve focus, has NBJ projecting the brain health market will grow at a 9% CAGR in 2024, reaching an estimated $1.4 billion, from 2023’s $980 million.
While brain health supplements were once limited to memory improvement and global cognition in the elderly, a newfound focus on peak performance in younger people is drawing in a new wave of customers.
The sexual health supplement market has gone up and down over the years, but performed well in 2023. The market is estimated to increase from just over $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion in 2024, largely driven by overall emphasis on women’s health, both related to and outside of sexual wellness.
Menopause-specific supplements now make up a full 1% of the dietary supplements market, according to NBJ’s 2023 estimates, and are expected to expand from roughly $630 million in sales to over $660 million in 2024.
What’s on the Horizon?
Dicker noted several top trends that are likely to influence purchase patterns for the rest of 2024.“I’d be shocked if we don’t see double-digit growth for women’s health products,” he noted. “This is largely driven by hair, skin, and nails, weight loss, PMS, and more specific issues. Women-founded brands specializing in products for women are also generating a lot of interest,” he said, as are a variety of online trends like “sleepy girl mocktails,” smoothie recipes with functional ingredients, mainstream media headlines, and more.
Meanwhile, the implications that broad use of Ozempic and other new weight loss drugs may have on market segments aren’t clear yet. In the U.S., 1.7% of the population has now been prescribed a semaglutide. However, Walmart reported a slight reduction in food purchases among semaglutide users it tracked.
“In the supplements space, it’s likely that people on these drugs will want products that fill nutrient gaps as a result of eating less, including proteins, greens, multivitamins, and pro- and prebiotics,” Dicker said.
Additionally, while caffeine and alcohol aren’t going away, plenty of Gen Z consumers are looking to cut back or turn away from these substances. But they do want alternative energy or relaxation products. In terms of what ingredient might benefit the most, “my bet is on lion’s mane,” Dicker said, “as there are so many energy products today which place a special emphasis on focus.”
In 2023, lion’s mane coffees/brews increased by 56.4% to reach $11 million in sales, while juice drinks increased 22.8% to reach $9 million, wellness bars grew 96.5% to reach $8 million, and shots shot up 80.8% to reach $6 million.
