5 Global Supplement Trends Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Over the last decade, the "dietary supplements marketplace" has experienced steady growth - on both the domestic and international stages. For supplement entrepreneurs and business owners alike, paying attention to these trends serve as the foundation for long-term success.

Global Supplement Trends That Every Entrepreneur Should Be Paying Attention To

Late last year, NBJ released a report (and a subsequent article) highlighting some of the top line data and trends concerning the global supplement marketplace over the course of 2016 and 2017.

Trend #1: Know which national/global markets are growing.

While most supplement companies aren't in a position to take the global supplement marketplace by storm with the first (or even their second or third) product - there are plenty of brands and organizations with global aspirations.

For those looking to play the longer, globally-minded game, keeping in the know about global supplement markets (beyond your home marketplace) is a must.

Along with having an understanding of what a specific international market is looking for and how your products or future products can meet those demands, it's important to remember things like international regulations (e.g. paperwork, manufacturing standards, ingredient standards, packaging rules), manufacturer capabilities, distribution, and fulfillment.

Trend #2: Overall Industry Growth & Forecast: Good

Taking specific categories and countries out of the equation, the global forecast for the supplement industry (at least through 2020) looks good.

Driven at least by today's lifestyle, health, and social media trends, the global industry is on track to experience positive growth.

According to NBJ, the global sales reached $121.2 billion in 2016 - that's nearly 6% growth over the previous year.

This sustained growth has been linked to a number of different factors including changes to consumer lifestyles, the rise of social media platforms, and evolving consumer demographics. It would seem that a steadily increasing number of today's informed and health-conscious consumers are making the decision to embrace dietary supplements as part of a balanced approach to overall health and well being.

Trend #3: Herbal & Botanical Sales are Climbing

Throughout much of 2017, a number of industry blogs and magazines took time to cover the state of the herbal and botanical ingredient and supplements marketplace.

Many of the discussions that we saw concerning herbals and botanicals acknowledged that there may be a number of forces driving the growth of this particular market segment including changes like an embrace of older systems of health management and medicine like Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine as well as the consumer-led push for clean label, natural, and minimally-processed products and ingredients.

One article from Nutraceuticals World went so far as to point out that as a category, botanical and herbal supplement typically have the ability remain relevant across a broad swath of consumer demographics.

Trend #4: Specialty Categories are Growing

There's good news for supplement brands with specialty formulations that fall into the sports nutrition, meal, homeopathic, or general "specialty" category - sales are on the rise and are expected to continue rising.

Particularly in the case of sports nutrition supplements, NBJ cites a number of factors that may be responsible for the rise in demand including increased consumer focus on healthy lifestyles and the potential uses and benefits of protein supplements for athletes and those looking to achieve a healthy weight.

Industry leaders and publications have also suggested that the surge in demand for specialty supplements can be linked, at least in part, to a large shift in consumer preferences for products that have been "custom" tailored to meet an individual's unique needs.

Trend #5: Vitamin & Mineral Supplements Are Here to Stay

Even though the growth curve and projects for the Vitamin and Mineral supplements marketplaces aren't as sharp or drastic as some of the others on this list, VMS remains a strong category and a global player.

In terms of the US marketplace, data collected by the CRN Annual Consumer Survey has placed multivitamin and mineral supplements as the most popular supplement type among consumers (by a considerable margin) every year since 2013.

Looking for more? You can download these charts or purchase the full report here.