For companies in the nutrition industry, the “new normal” may be very different, less desperate, less exasperating and more hopeful. For us, the new normal could include the $41.1 billion in sales on 6 percent growth that NBJ estimates for 2016. This is a notch up from 5.9 percent in 2015, suggesting the industry has settled into what feels like a modest pace, after recovering from a historic slowdown in 2014.

So “the new normal” starts to sound like the good times are over but the industry has found its footing. Omega 3s, a major target of the negative headlines circa 2013, have crawled out of negative growth to find increasing sales that suggest a turnaround. While 1.9 percent might not sound like a lot in the supplement world, it’s a vast improvement over the negative 0.5 percent in 2015 or the plunge to negative 5.4 percent in 2013.

Welcome to the new normal. Learn all about it in NBJ's 2017 Supplement Business Report.