North America leads in supplement launches
The market for dietary supplements has seen strong growth in recent years, reflecting increasing consumer concerns about the adverse effects of busy lifestyles and stress on health, as well as rising demand from an aging population, according to Innova Market Insights, Arnhem, the Netherlands. In addition to optimizing health via diet, consumers are increasingly using supplements for areas of their lives perceived to need additional support.
North America, particularly the United States, has been driving activity in supplements, accounting for more than 42 percent of global launch activity recorded by Innova Market Insights in the 52 weeks ending in November 2015. Europe came next with just under 30 percent. Emerging markets are seeing rising demand, however, with increasing disposable incomes and a desire to take on elements of a more Western lifestyle, Innova Market Insights said.
“Other factors driving the market include growing availability, the range of products and formats appearing and an increased focus on branding rather than just promoting specific ingredients and their potential benefits,” said Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation for Innova Market Insights.
The number of supplements available is very large and features an increasing range of ingredients. But general vitamin and mineral products continued to dominate launches in 2015, accounting for 28 percent of the total, ahead of botanical and herbal products, at almost 14 percent Innova Market Insights said.
Methods of delivery have also changed in the sector, with a move away from supplements in the form of tablets and capsules and toward alternative easier-to-consume formats such as powders and liquids. There has also been rising interest in products that straddle the boundary between supplements and foods — for example, dose-delivery probiotic drinks such as DanActive , the company said. Others include fortified confectionery drops, chews and gums, as well as supplement-type beverages such as Joint Juice for joint health.
Initiatives in the dietary supplements sector have increasingly moved toward targeting specific consumer groups with benefit-oriented solutions. This involves not just lines formulated for groups such as women or older people, but also lines that address areas such as weight management, primarily weight loss, with nearly 10 percent of supplement launches taking this kind of positioning in 2015, Innova Market Insights noted.
Another key growth area is sports supplements, which have seen rising levels of interest in line with sports nutrition as a whole. Usage is tending to spread away from professional sportsmen and athletes and more into the mainstream for a whole range of active consumers looking to improve their general health and performance levels, the company said.
“The high level of new product and promotional activity reflects the fact that the global supplements industry is increasingly competitive,” Williams stated. “This is both internally between different manufacturers and brands and between different ingredients targeting the same health conditions, and also externally where supplements have to compete with healthy foods, functional foods and even OTC pharmaceuticals to cater for increasingly demanding and savvy consumers.”