Dietary supplement market trends reflect current scientific research combined with current health conditions and trends. A look at today’s nutraceutical market will show that there are specific products to support specific health conditions for heart, lungs, diabetes, pregnancy, supplements specifically for women, men and women. women over 40, for children and for the elderly, people actively involved in sports, bodybuilding, for dieters, for skin and digestion, and for hair care. General health products for general health and nutrition are always available, categorized by age and gender.
Growing Trends in Research and Health
As more studies are conducted on specific supplements, more and more customers are looking for health supplement manufacturers they can trust to stand up to the rigors of scientific scrutiny. The medical community has become more receptive to nutritional supplementation. The market is constantly expanding. As a result, there is an increase in specialty formulations. Supplement manufacturers with high quality control processes providing new and effective solutions for growing manufacturing needs are in high demand. The demand for health supplements that provide preventative health and an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs with their side effects will continue to grow.
Consider these facts:
- As the aging population continues to grow, there is a strong demand for products that help maintain aging health. These include antioxidant formulas, anti-inflammatories, products that promote eye and brain health, and cardiovascular support products.
- There is continued interest and growth in menopause support products in response to negative research surrounding hormone replacement therapy.
- The demand for exercise programs, diets and supplements to help with weight management will continue.
- The glucosamine/chondroitin market is still very active and represents an important part of this industry. More and more people are interested in formulations of essential fatty acids (EFAs).
- More and more research is being done on medicinal plants and the herbal segment of our industry is a growing segment.
- Green foods are another very popular segment.
- The high-protein, low-carb trend is certainly influencing supplements in both traditional and powder form. These can be found in meal replacement drinks and in mixes for the fitness industry.
- Men’s health is finally receiving increased attention. Multi-vitamin and mineral supplements designed to provide specific nutritional support for men are on the rise.
- Sales of vegetable capsules are on the rise. There are very vegetarian consumers who like to stay away from animal products and prefer a vegetable type capsule.
- There is even a demand for kosher nutritional supplements.
Some of these products are backed by really excellent research that have demonstrable benefits and are not only effective, but also safe and reasonably inexpensive.
Easier choice for the consumer
With product marketing bombarding the public, the challenge of choice can be quite daunting. Supplement manufacturers can make the choice easier. For example, in 1994 Bayer launched a line of 8 leading specialty health supplements. Jim Kindel, category manager of nutritional products at Bayer, said: “Consumers will no longer have to sift through a bewildering array of herbs and vitamins trying to figure out which ingredients to use to maintain their good health. We are making a much more convenient for consumers. We’ve done the homework – and even the legwork – so they don’t have to.” Using a specific goal to maintain specific health concerns made Bayer’s One-A-Day different from other vitamin brands that focused on overall holistic nutrition with a multivitamin.
Consumer demand
Designer Nutrition is here. Years of research and understanding of consumer needs can help supplement manufacturers produce supplements more specific to the needs of today’s health-conscious public. Don Kendall, Co-Founder and CEO of GreenTree Nutrition, said, “We are seeing overwhelming demand from customers for a wellness solution customized to meet their needs. In 2000, Acumin launched SmartSelect, an online system that assesses specific customer needs. must formulate a set of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and herbs designed specifically for that person. Customers’ needs are assessed and they are given one of over 37 million custom formulation combinations to meet their exact criteria. By providing more personal nutrition, more specific to their personal health needs, people who previously took a dozen pills a day can take just three or four. Along with the demand for more specialized nutritional supplements, manufacturers are seeing the need to give consumers comprehensive, personalized information they can trust to make informed choices about their health and nutrition. Their websites combine objective health information with the cost benefits and convenience of shopping online.
Good business strategy
In addition to providing the consumer with a more informed and personalized choice of nutritional supplements, from a business perspective, having a specific product demographic or a specific health product for a specific health condition is imperative to sell a product. . A company needs to know who will buy the product so that it can market it specifically to those consumers. Advertising and marketing become more specialized and targeted and, more importantly, advertising is more likely to be successful when tailored to a specific target consumer audience.
The future
No two people are alike in their supplement needs. A single food solution cannot be applied universally. Biological individuality calls us to seek an integrated supplementation approach, which addresses metabolism, lymphatic function, blood circulation, skin health, detoxification capacity, digestive function, immune function without excluding genetics and heredity, exposure to environmental toxins, and even culture. Other causes of nutritional deficiencies are related to psychological and physical stressors, activity levels, age, weight, gender, lifestyle, habits and sensitivities.
Therefore, a personalized approach is required, which will result in the prescription of a combination of dietary supplements for individual needs. In recent years, the focus of nutritional science has shifted from the prevention of deficiency diseases to the optimization of health and the prevention of chronic diseases. This research, together with the expectations of an increasingly health-conscious consumer, is leading to food choices and nutritional recommendations that are better suited to meet the specific needs of individuals. The challenge for nutraceuticals in the near future will be to provide choices suitable for specific health conditions.
