A Look at the US Supplement Market

Highlights

• The US supplement market is growing, with several emerging health positionings.
• Immune health remains important, while sleep support needs are growing. 
• New product launches show supplement flavor trends are fruit-focused. 

US Supplement Market Overview

The $35.7 billion US retail vitamin, mineral, and supplement market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 2.5% from 2022 to 2027.¹ Vitamins make up the largest share of the market at 40.3%, while herbal supplements are the fastest-growing segment.²

The leading health positionings for US supplements are general health ($3.48 billion), digestion ($2.73 billion), and immune system ($2.36 billion).³ For supplement trends, Euromonitor reports high year-over-year growth for mood/relaxing claims (+62.0%), energy claims (+22.7%), and sexual health claims (+15.9%),⁴ while Innova identifies mental acuity and insomnia supplements as new product development trends to watch.⁵

Supplement Usage Among Consumers

Daily supplement use in the US exceeds the global average, with 38% of US consumers taking one or more supplements daily (compared to 26% globally).⁶ The top reasons consumers prefer supplements to support their health over food and beverage are the ability to combine supplements tailored to their needs and as a faster way to get essential nutrients.⁷ 

Consumers are reaching for supplements to support both physical and mental needs states, with the interest in mood support supplements continuing to grow. While 27% of consumers in North America have taken supplements to improve physical health, 34% have done so to improve their mental or emotional wellbeing.⁸

Supplement Benefits Important to Consumers

US consumers have an interest in a broad range of functional benefits and find supplements appealing if they can address a wellness need they consider important at a relatively low cost, reports Mintel.⁹ Recent US supplement launches include products for immunity, beauty, stress, sleep, and brain/nervous system support, among others.¹⁰

Immune Health Still a Priority

Immunity claims ranked first in new supplement launches due to the proliferation of immune health products during COVID, with 38% of products launched between April 2020 and March 2023 featuring a claim.¹¹ While this has dipped somewhat since COVID concerns have started to ease, immune health is still on consumers’ minds. The majority (58%) of US adults have used a vitamin, mineral, or supplement that supports immune health and say they would do so again.¹²

Immunity trends will continue to influence food and supplement markets in the US and globally as consumers seek out immune health products to hedge against new COVID variants. Probiotics and fermented ingredients are especially popular, with more diversification expected going forward. In addition, more consumers are becoming aware of the important role of prebiotics. Postbiotic products for immunity are still niche, but recent patents indicate growth potential.

Download our Guide to Navigating Immune Claims to learn more about immunity support and making claims for your products.

Sleep Support Needs Growing

With the importance of sleep to physical and mental wellbeing becoming more widely known, many consumers are taking steps toward improving their sleep—from using sleep apps to sleep supplements. High stress levels and exposure to blue light from screens are some common characteristics of the modern lifestyle that can take their toll on sleep quantity and quality.

In the past year, more than one in ten US supplement launches had insomnia positioning, representing an average annual share growth of 36.4% over the past five years.¹³ A wide variety of ingredients are being featured in sleep aid supplements and functional products, including melatonin, tryptophan, magnesium, valerian, and CBD. 

Flavor Trends in Supplements

Fruit flavors continue to dominate in new supplement launches in the US. Orange, strawberry, and red raspberry are the top flavors in supplements launched over the past year, while mango (now in the number ten spot) is the fastest-growing.¹⁴ In the past five years, mango flavor has grown at a CAGR of 76.2% in new supplement launches.¹⁵ Lemonade (+53.8%), elderberry (+50.6%), and watermelon (+49.6%) flavors are also on the rise.¹⁶

Succeeding in Supplements

Understanding consumers' evolving needs is essential to succeeding in the supplement market. Preferences are changing fast, with consumers looking for a variety of new health and wellness benefits from their supplements. Companies that keep up with the most important supplement trends can address consumers’ top concerns and help support a lifetime of health and wellness.

As a global expert in functional food and supplement ingredients, Glanbia Nutritionals has a portfolio of options from custom premix solutions to bioactive ingredients to give your consumers the benefits they’re looking for.  We support our customers with high-quality nutritional and functional ingredients and with market insights to help them succeed. 

Contact us to learn more.

References

1. Euromonitor, Vitamins & Dietary Supplements, US July 2023.
2-4. Euromonitor, Vitamins and Dietary Supplements – 2022 Market Sizes, March 2023.
5-6. Innova Supplements in the US, 2023.
7. Innova Trends Survey, 2023. 
8. Innova Health & Nutrition Survey, 2022.
9-10. Mintel, A year of innovation in VMS, 2022. 
11. Innova Supplements in the US, 2023.
12. Mintel, A year of innovation in VMS, 2022.
13-16. Innova Supplements in the US, 2023.