New condition-specific supplements address shifting consumer needs

Now that we’ve covered the broad commercial contours of the supplements industry, it’s time to examine conditions—the reasons for which most people buy certain supplements. Understanding the primary array of conditions is important for retail staff. Solid and ongoing education about conditions, combined with knowledge about supplement categories, provides staff with the tools they need to engage in fruitful customer service.

Nutrition Business Journal characterizes the entire marketplace by 22 conditions; some generate modest sales, while others tend to carry the herbs and botanicals category. The eight condition-specific sectors detailed here are particularly popular at the moment, based on sales and growth.

Left, Gaia Herbs Infinity Glow vegan capsules help clear skin in adult women. Rootine: Focus Brain Support Drink Mix provides adaptogens to address issues such as brain fog, focus, mental energy, productivity and mood.

Beauty from within includes products like B vitamins, collagen and hyaluronic acid that consumers ingest, rather than slather on their bodies, to improve skin, hair and nails. Increasingly, beauty-from-within supplements feature probiotics or prebiotics shown to promote skin health.

Brain health was once embraced mostly by seniors looking to enhance memory. Today, neurohacking—using supplements to improve mental acuity and focus—is drawing waves of younger consumers. As with beauty from within, brain health includes some products that support gut health too, since mental fitness and gut vitality can be linked.

Related:Boost the vitamins and minerals aisle for dietary supplement success

Left, Herbaland Naturals Daily Probiotic Powder Stick provides consumers with a handy, compostable package of probiotic powder. True Grace Prenatal Multivitamin supports women’s bodies from before conception until after birth.

Gut health consists largely of products that help manage and improve digestive issues, this category is moving beyond addressing gut discomfort into optimizing gut vitality, acknowledging its role in everything from mental wellness to heart health. The category includes the well-known probiotics subcategory, along with prebiotics, postbiotics, and herbs and botanicals that support gut wellness.

Related:Herbs and botanicals 101

Women’s health features a fast-growing range of products that support women’s overall wellness, sexual health, pre- and postnatal health, and healthy menopause. This effervescent category is rife with new product launches and innovation.

Left, Ancient Nutrition Multi-Collagen Advanced Muscle supports muscle health in older adults. Cornbread Hemp Sleep CBD Gummies offer hemp THC to support better sleep.

Healthy aging draws from a wide range of herbs and botanicals to support memory, bone strength, digestion and other issues that older people face to different extents. Healthy aging supplements often blend plant-based compounds to support overall well-being.

Related:10,000 dedicated dietary supplement users list top choices

Healthy sleep is a buzzy category that covers a diversity of products, from the hormone melatonin to the mineral magnesium to the botanical valerian root. Sales of healthy sleep supplements remain strong, though growth was flat in 2022, largely due to a decline in hemp CBD purchases. But NBJ estimates sales will increase 3.1% in 2024.

Left, LifeSeasons Anxie-T Plus supports a calm mood. Better Being Co., Solaray ProSorb Berberine is popular among consumers looking to manage their weight.

Mood and mental health supplements offer a range of products that address brain health, mental fitness and mood enhancement. Increasingly, consumers are turning to supplements that relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression and other concerns.

Weight management is under pressure during the Ozempic era, which is testing the robustness of this market. As more and more products emerge from Big Pharma to help consumers lose weight, the challenges to supplements will likely intensify. While meal replacement solutions figure into weight management, the cutting edge includes botanicals like berberine, which may help regulate blood sugar and aid appetite suppression.