The U.S. Supplement Market

The US supplement market, loves their dietary supplements. 

According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, four in five Americans use supplements, up 7% from 2020.

The industry is growing, too. Valued at $151.9 billion in 2021, experts project that the market will grow 8.9% annually from now until 2030.

Whether you are starting up a new health supplement business or looking to expand your current one, there has never been a better time to get a piece of this billion-dollar pie.

This guide to the current state of the supplement market in the United States. 

Keep reading for my supplement industry Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and, Threats (SWOT) analysis.

Here’s What’s Included in This US Supplement Market Report

• US Supplement Market Facts and Stats to Know
• The Top 5 Supplement Categories
• Supplement Form Factors
• Major Tailwinds in the US Supplements Sector
• Supplement Market Headwinds
• Competitors Are Large and Well-Funded
• FDA Crackdowns on Supplements
• 2023 Supplement Trends and Opportunities
• The Top US Supplement Companies
• Top US Vitamin Supplement Brands
• Top US Specialty Supplement Brands
• Top US Herbal Supplement Brands
• Top US Sports Supplement Brands
• Top US Weight Loss Supplement Brands
• Supplement Customers

US Supplement Market Facts and Stats to Know

The US government passed the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act in 1994. Since that time, the supplement market has grown significantly.

In the 1990’s an estimated 4,000 supplements comprised the entire market. Today, there are nearly 30,000 different supplements consumers can purchase.

Since then, sales of supplements have been on the rise. In 2002, total supplement sales brought in about $4.3 billion in the US dollars. 

In 2022, supplement companies raked in over $327 billion in revenue. That is an incredible 7,504.65% increase in only two decades.

Customers tend to spend big bucks on supplements. The average US shopper spends about $96.50 buying supplements, or over $500 annually. That equates to about $30.2 billion in total, spent every year.

But what about supplement margins? The average profit margin for a US supplements producer is 38%. Consider that in light of the fact that a “good” profit margin for products is generally around 20%.

With so many supplements today the competition is steep and the supplement market is splintered into several different categories.

The Top 5 Supplement Categories

There are five primary supplement categories on the market today. 

The following is a list of these categories alongside the percentage of supplement users who take them:

• Vitamins and Minerals: 98% of supplement users
• Specialty Supplements: 46% of supplement users
• Herbal Supplements: 44% of supplement users
• Sports Supplements: 30% of supplement users
• Weight Management (Weight-Loss) Supplements: 19% of supplement users

It should be no surprise that vitamins and minerals top this list. This category includes daily multivitamins, which the vast majority of American adults use daily.

Specialty supplements include but are not limited to Omega-3 fatty acid supplements, probiotics, fiber supplements, and melatonin.

Herbal supplements include any products derived from herbs or other plants. For example, ginseng and ginkgo biloba are commonly used supplements that fall under this category.

The sports supplements category includes hormones and hormone analogs as well as amino acid products. Pre-workout drinks, protein powders, and performance-enhancing products also fall into this category.

The final category includes products like chitosan, green tea extract, and 7-Keto-DHEA. People who use these supplements report that they can help induce weight loss.

Supplement Form Factors

If you are new to the supplements world, you need to understand their formats. Also known as supplement forms, supplement formats include:

• Gummies (this is a growing form factor)
• Capsules
• Tablets (including chewable)
• Softgels
• Powdered products
• Liquids
• Energy bars and other edible products
• IV (vitamin IV treatment therapy)
• Topical (creams)

A supplement’s form factor is important because it impacts the way the body metabolizes and uses the active ingredients. 

Different formats have varying cost of goods. Gummies and powders are easier or more difficult to swallow.

According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s 2020 supplement consumer survey, the most important factor is the ease of swallowing. Price and taste are also important. Especially for a gummy, a powder mix, or drink.

The most difficult supplements to swallow include softgels, tablets, and capsules.

Still, most consumers prefer softgels, tablets, and capsules over these other options for two reasons. 

First, these supplements cost less. 

Secondly, they do not taste like anything.

You need to keep all these factors in mind when formulating your supplement product.

Major Tailwinds in the US Supplements Sector

The supplements industry is trending toward growth. Here are just a few of the trends that will drive supplement uptake in the US over the long term.

Disposable Income on the Rise

After reaching an all-time high in March 2021, US disposable income is trending back up. In fact, disposable income has been increasing year over year for the past two decades. Inflation in 2023 may effect this negatively however.

For most consumers, supplements are discretionary purchases. That means supplements are among the first products people stop spending on during times of financial strain.

With growing disposable income, though, that means Americans have more money to spend on discretionary purchases than ever. In the long term, this could lead supplement spending to become a necessary purchase. Especially with the current state of health concerns across the world in the wake of the pandemic.

Advancements in Biotechnology

One of the more promising nascent industries out there right now is biotechnology. The biotech industry uses biological organisms and systems to produce products and services. And the industry has implications for supplements.

For instance, companies like Ginkgo Bioworks produce rare and costly ingredients in a lab. And they can produce these ingredients much more cheaply than it costs to acquire them in nature.

As biotechnology companies continue working out the kinks, supplement companies can expect more access to ingredients. This could even level out the playing field between small supplements vendors and big pharma companies that play in the space.

Supplement Market Headwinds

This guide to the US supplement market would not be complete without mentioning some of the downfalls of the industry.

Here are three sector weaknesses you need to address to be a successful supplement entrepreneur.

Competitors Are Large and Well-Funded

The supplement industry is highly fragmented but has a large number of major players. Many supplement competitors are public. And the vast majority of them employ entire research and development teams devoted to developing competitive products.

For example, Centrum is one of the most popular multivitamins around. Pfizer manufactures and distributes this supplement. And Pfizer is the world’s largest and wealthiest public pharmaceutical company.

Competitors like Pfizer stay competitive due to their economies of scale. They get bigger discounts on raw materials, produce products more efficiently, and have a larger distribution model.

Not only are these supplement companies large and well-funded, but they also benefit from vertical integration. Vertical integration refers to the fact that many supplement competitors own the R&D and manufacturing facilities that produce their products.

All of the above factors mean large competitors can lower their costs. This, in turn, allows them to undercut the market on price. And as you may recall, consumers cite a supplement’s price as one of the primary factors in their purchasing decisions.

FDA Crackdowns on Supplements

The Food and Drug Administration regulates the manufacturing and distribution of supplements. And in 2019, the FDA launched an industry-wide crackdown on the industry.

Fortunately, reputable companies do not need to worry about this crackdown. The FDA is only interested in penalizing companies selling supplements that make non allowable claims.

Your supplement brand can easily avoid receiving a warning letter from the FDA. How? Never make any claims about a supplement’s ability to cure or treat a condition. 

I have a complete article and guide on supplement claims that you can read here.

Further, always represent the ingredients in your product accurately on the label. Your product should be tested by an independent lab (preferably one that is FDA-registered). And that lab should provide a report stating that the ingredients listed on the label are accurate to what the supplement contains.

If you want to learn more about label guidelines and what makes a good supplement label check out the article I wrote and the podcast interview on supplement labels here.

2023 Supplement Trends and Opportunities

The pandemic led to a spike in supplement usage. Compared to 2020, 55% of supplement consumers started using more supplements in 2021.

What is more interesting is that the general public has changed its stance on supplements. 79% of Americans say they trust supplement companies. This figure is up 5% from 2020.

But the change in sentiment not only changed how consumers feel about and purchase supplements but also which supplements they purchase. Below, I’ve have compiled some of the trends impacting the supplements market in 2022.

The Immunity Supplement Market

The majority of Americans use supplements for health reasons. And the number one health reason is increased immunity. This trend became even more prominent during the pandemic, especially among older adults.

Consumers purchased 70% more immune-boosting supplements in 2021 than the previous year, making this the number one growth category. 

Experts expect this trend to continue into 2023 and beyond, growing at an 8.8% CAGR from now until 2030.

An emerging trend to keep your eye on is the increasing popularity of probiotics, prebiotics, and, more recently, postbiotics. 

Probiotics are among the top 10 most desirable supplement ingredients, with 27% of supplement consumers saying they take one.

As research into the gut-brain connection continues, these supplements will become even more desirable.

The Mental Health Supplement Market

According to Mental Health America, US mental health has been on the decline since the pandemic. 

Even before COVID-19, nearly 20% of American adults struggled with a mental health condition. And over 50% of these adults do not seek medical treatment.

However, evidence points to the fact that some of these adults are turning to supplements instead. Sales of products treating stress, mood, and other mental health problems rose 30% from 2020 to 2021.

The great news about this trend is that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of ingredients that companies can market for mental health. And you can obtain many of these ingredients quite cheaply.

A supplement to watch in this space is cannabidiol (CBD). This hemp-derived ingredient shot up in popularity as a cure-all for many conditions a few years ago. From 2014 to 2022, sales rose from only $108 million to $1.92 billion, a 422% increase.

Companies have since pulled back on this product since the FDA cracked down on it, but it is still a viable and profitable ingredient to consider.

The Sleep Supplement Market

Sleep supplements have been popular for a long time. But in 2021, sales of supplements that promote sleep rose nearly 40%.

Melatonin is perhaps the most well-known over-the-counter sleep supplement. CBD also has the potential to help with sleep issues. But these are not the only two anxiolytic-like ingredients.

Some studies have shown the mineral magnesium’s efficacy for improving sleep quality and quantity. The amino acid supplement glycine is also a trending sleep supplement.

Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredients like ginkgo biloba and valerian root are becoming less popular in this category. 

Less costly, more natural ingredients like lavender and passionflower have come to replace them.

The Beauty Supplement Market

“Self-care” is a major buzzword these days. But self care does not just refer to taking care of one’s mental health. Consumers are also looking to take better care of their skin, hair, and nails.

Weight management supplements also fall under this category, especially when marketed toward female consumers. This is because women are 11% more likely to try an over-the-counter weight loss product compared to men.

With a predominately female consumer base, this segment has a higher compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) than the general supplement market.

Experts project that the beauty supplement market will grow at a CAGR of 9.5%, hitting $9.3 billion by 2026.

Aging skin is a target of particular interest. And consumers are searching for functional ingredients that target skin aging. Functional ingredients are ingredients that promote general health and also have benefits for the skin.

Often, these functional anti-aging ingredients are extremely cheap to produce. That is because you can typically find them in foods.

For example, collagen is a functional ingredient that may also have benefits for aging skin. The popularity of collagen supplements comes from the fact that this ingredient is a protein and also promotes skin healing and cell turnover.

The Gummy Supplement Format

Due in part to influencer marketing, gummy multivitamins and supplements have surpassed swallowable tablets as the most popular format. 

Gummy supplement sales are also growing 44% faster than sales of supplement powders and chewable tablets.

Consumers love gummies because they taste delicious. The taste motivates people to take their supplements, improving compliance.

However, there is a major downfall to gummy supplements. It is notoriously difficult to formulate gummy vitamins with minerals.

Further, the ingredient quantities listed on the label are often inaccurate. That is because vitamins and minerals in gummy-form degrade much faster than those in other supplement formats.

Still, companies can succeed with gummy vitamins, especially when marketing them to children. Parents love buying kids gummy vitamins because they feel good that their children are more likely to take them.

The Top US Supplement Companies

More than 450 US supplement companies put out over 1000 new supplement products each year. And the supplement manufacturing industry itself is worth over $35 billion. But the space does have some clear leaders.

Below, I’m detailing the top supplement companies by segment.

Top US Vitamin Supplement Brands

The majority of US adults take a multivitamin. It is the most popular supplement category and, therefore, highly competitive. 

Private label vitamin manufacturers lead the space with $315 million in annual sales.

Otherwise, these are the top US vitamin brands based on 2019 sales:

• Bausch & Lomb PreserVision: $194.7 million
• Centrum Silver (Pfizer): $164.5 million
• Airborne (Reckitt): $149.1 million
• Vitafusion (Church & Dwight): $98.1 million
• Nature Made (Otsuka Pharmaceutical): $84.8 million
• Nature’s Way Alive (Schwabe): $66.7 million
• One A Day VitaCraves (Bayer): $65.7 million
• Centrum (Pfizer): $55 million

As you can see, big pharmaceutical companies and consumer goods giants manufacture the top-selling multivitamins. That makes it problematic to enter this space unless you have a unique selling point or cost advantage.

However, the rise of private label manufacturing companies has made it easier to compete with these multivitamin giants. Private label companies offer white-label manufacturing services to small businesses and larger retailers.

Top US Specialty Supplement Brands

Specialty supplements are a fast-growing category. They include natural products that can treat specific conditions. For example, lutein supplements fall under this segment and may help protect the eyes against the sun.

Some of the top competitors in the specialty supplement category include:

• Nature’s Bounty
• Bluebonnet Nutrition
• GNC
• Walgreens
• Soria Natural
• Nature’s Way
• Dr. Ron’s

Specialty supplements are a tricky space to get into. That is because you are not just competing against the above brands. You are also competing against pharmaceutical companies.

These pharmaceutical companies manufacture name-brand and generic drugs that treat the same conditions as specialty supplements.

However, supplement consumers are unique because they are looking for natural treatments. 

For this reason, specialty supplements do tend to have a unique selling point over traditional pharmaceuticals.

Top Herbal Supplement Brands

Herbal supplement sales saw record growth in 2020. Sales rose 17.3% from the previous year, surpassing $10 billion. This is the first time the segment has ever seen double-digit growth in sales.

Companies selling herbal supplements distribute through superstores (e.g., Walmart), specialty health stores (e.g., GNC), and direct-to-consumer. While the superstore channel leads, direct-to-consumer sales online increased 23.7% from 2019 to 2020.

Below, we are listing the main brands serving herbal and botanical supplement customers:

• Gaia Herbs
• Herb Pharm
• Nature’s Bounty
• Nutraceutical Corporation
• Rainbow Light
• Bio-Botanica
• Arizona Natural Products

Other competitors in the herbal supplement category include CBD manufacturers and distributors. But it is important to note here that the FDA’s stance on CBD as a legal herbal supplement is still in a grey area.

Top US Sports Supplement Brands

Sports supplements contribute about $12.6 billion annually to the overall supplements market share.

Nearly 42% of sports supplement consumers use protein products. Energy drinks, creatine, amino acid supplements, and caffeine-rich multivitamins are also popular with this segment of the market.

The following companies produce brands marketed as sports supplements:

• Innovate Health Sciences
• 1st Phorm
• Orgain
• hydrant
• MusclePharm
• The Bountiful Company
• Post
• BA Sports Nutrition
• Cardiff Sports Nutrition
• Gainful

Since 2020, this space has experienced a lot of mergers and acquisition activity. This has reduced the number of competitors but increased overall competition in the space. For example, PepsiCo acquired Rockstar Energy Beverages in 2020, marketing another venture into the sports drink space.

But the great thing about this segment is the variety of product types. You do not have to sell pills if you do not want to. You can distribute drinks and snacks to this market.

Top US Weight Loss Supplement Brands

Up to 30% of the global population is obese. This chronic disease has driven the demand for weight management supplements. And from 2019 to 2020 alone, the segment grew by over $1 billion.

There are five major global weight loss supplement brands. However, only two are US-based, including:

• Amway Corp. (Nutrilite)
• Creative Bioscience

Ajinomoto (Capsiate Gold), Glanbia (Prolibra, CapsiAtra, NutraSol), and GlaxoSmithKline (Alli) also serve this market. Ajinomoto is a Japanese company, Glanbia is an Irish company, and GlaxoSmithKlein is a British multinational company.

If you want to launch a weight loss supplement, you need to consider that these are not your only competitors. Weight loss pills also compete against traditional dieting programs (e.g., Noom) and even fitness facilities.

Supplement Customers

The majority of US adults take one or more supplements. But exactly who are these supplement consumers? Here are the latest supplement customer demographics:

• Adults aged 55+ are the primary consumers of supplements (81%), followed by the 35 – 54 age group (74%) and the 18 – 34 age group (61%)
• Adult females are 9% more likely to supplement than males
• High-earning adults (77%) are not much more likely to purchase supplements compared to middle-income (74%) and low-income (68%) adults
• There is little difference in supplement purchasing habits between adults who have a college degree (75%) and have no college degree (70%)

Further, experts are seeing some trends driving supplement uptake among consumers. 

Below, I’ll uncover these trends, the groups they will impact, and the opportunities they will create for entrepreneurs in this space.

Adults With Nutritional Deficiencies

Less than 10% of the US adult population suffers from a nutritional deficiency. But due to more education surrounding nutritional deficits, this number is growing. The most common nutrients people are deficient in are:

• Vitamin B6: 10.5% of the US population
• Vitamin D: 8.1% of the US population
• Vitamin C: 6% of the population
• Vitamin B12: 2% of the population

Particular groups have higher rates of nutritional deficiencies than others. For example, 31% of black Americans suffer from a vitamin D deficiency compared to only 3% of white Americans and 12% of Mexican Americans. Also, 9.5% of women aged 12 to 49 years have an iron deficiency.

Another reason adults are increasingly likely to use supplements for nutrient deficiencies is the understanding that they can lead to chronic diseases. For instance, vitamin D deficiencies come with a higher risk for type 2 diabetes.

Children and Infants With Nutritional Deficiencies

Adults may be more likely to purchase supplements. But they are not always the end-users. Instead, many adults purchase supplements for their family members, including children and infants.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, infants and children are also at risk for the following nutritional deficiencies:

• Vitamin D
• Iron: 6.7% of 1 to 5-year-olds
• Vitamin B12
• Folate

Doctors recommend folate supplementation in women of childbearing age. Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest supplementation of 400 or more micrograms of folic acid per day. Folate is critical for both the mother and the infant.

Since this recommendation went into place in the late 1980s, folate deficiencies have fallen. However, they have been back on the rise since 2006, especially among Mexican Americans and Black Americans.

Adults With Chronic Diseases

Did you know that 60% of US adults have a chronic disease? What is more, a whopping four in 10 adults suffer from two or more chronic diseases. Chronic diseases include the following:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Obesity

There are genetic and lifestyle factors that increase the risk of these conditions. While people can not prevent the genetic causes of chronic disease, they can make better lifestyle choices. One such choice is to eat a more nutritious diet.

Yet, many adults struggle to get their daily intake of highly-nutritious fruits and veggies. That is where supplements come in. Consumers can target specific nutritional deficiencies associated with chronic disease risk through supplement use.

Chronic disease prevalence is on the rise. At the same time, Americans are more educated than ever about the lifestyle factors that increase chronic disease risk. And both of these things will lead to increased supplement uptake.

Adults in Sports Professions

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the athlete occupation will grow 38% from now until 2030. Compare that to the average growth rate for all US jobs, which is only 8% in 2022.

This statistic points to the increasing acceptance of athletics as a career. And according to some researchers, as many as 82% of athletes report using one or more sports supplements, including the following:

• Protein
• Vitamins
• Amino Acids

Athletes have gotten a bad rap for using illegal sports supplements. But as you can see, the majority of athletes turn to supplements for more basic nutritional needs. Remember that the #1 supplement athletes turn to is protein.

Considering the growth in the sports profession occupation and athletes’ tendency to use supplements, this demographic will drive growth for the sports supplement segment.

Older Adults With Low Immunity

Today, the 85+ age group in the US is over 53 times its size in the year 1900. There are more than 54 million US adults who are over the age of 65. And this population will reach nearly 100 million by the year 2060.

This age group drives significant demand for supplements. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more older adults than ever before are focused on their immune health. As you may recall, this is one reason why immune supplement sales have seen such impressive growth.

Other supplements to watch for this age group include natural remedies for infections, supplements for pain, and nutrients to help reduce the risk for chronic diseases.

Latin Consumers and Supplements

The Latin community is a growing customer segment within the supplements industry. According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, Latin consumers were the most likely to say they increased their supplement use in 2020.

This is good news considering Latin consumers’ buying power in the US. The Latin market commands about $1.9 trillion in spending power. And this percentage has increased by 87% since 2010.

Smart supplements companies should pay attention to this trend and market accordingly. Especially note the markets where Latin markets have seen the most growth. These include North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington D.C.

Are You Ready To Grow Your Supplement Business?

The supplement market in the US is growing. At the same time, the competition is highly fragmented, and clear winners have yet to emerge. If you want to come out on top, you need a leg up on the fierce competition.

That’s where Creative Thirst comes in.

Need help marketing your new supplement product or business? Contact me today to find out how I can help you improve your conversion rate and boost your bottom line.