4th of September 2025
Creatine and colostrum are 2 supplement ingredients that have recently stepped into the spotlight. How is the market for each ingredient evolving and how can brands address the growing trends?
Read this article to find out:
The creatine supplement market is evolving and experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing consumer awareness of its broader health benefits and innovative product developments.
In 2025, the global creatine market reached 1,11 billion USD (Grand View Research) and is projected to grow by a CAGR of 25,2% until 2030. Meanwhile, SPINS reported a 17,2% growth in US creatine sales in 2024 (according to their year-over-year report of 52-week $ sales change ending December 29th 2024).
Research shows that, while the popularity of the ingredient grows, 65,2% of the population is not consuming enough dietary creatine, and a downward trend has been observed. Creatine malnutrition is linked to several health risks, such as fatigue, brain fog, poor mental health, depression, and heart/liver conditions, making it increasingly considered a semi-essential nutrient.
While remaining a cornerstone of sports nutrition, creatine is moving into wider health and wellness categories. Its health applications include increased muscle mass and strength, enhanced recovery, support for cognitive function (including memory, problem-solving, and brain metabolism), assistance with aging and sarcopenia by helping maintain muscle in older adults, blood glucose regulation when combined with exercise, and potential for improving health outcomes for muscular dystrophy, depression, and anxiety. Brands are already starting to communicate these benefits with new product launches and marketing campaigns. In September 2025, Thorne, for example, launched a campaign highlighting the ingredient’s benefits beyond performance, featuring the musician Ciara.
Creatine is generally considered safe for long-term use in healthy individuals, despite persisting myths about kidney harm. It is also approved by EFSA, which makes it easier for brands to communicate its benefits.
Among consumers, creatine is no longer seen solely as a supplement for bodybuilders or athletes. Its role in overall energy production and brain function is increasingly understood, leading to the ingredient’s adoption into products for general well-being. The growing consumer interest is also reflected in a 482% increase in Google searches for “creatine” in the past 5 years (Google Trends).
In delivery formats, the creatine market is experiencing a shift from traditional powders and pills to more convenient and appealing forms. Gummies and chews have emerged as significant disruptors due to their convenient use. This trend can be seen in searches for “creatine gummies” on vitaminshoppe.com, which have grown by over 1300% in 2025 (YTD June 2025). Industrywide, SPINS data shows that liquids, chewable tablets, and gummies are growing significantly faster than powders in the creatine category.
For example, Universal’s ANIMAL creatine chews, which were one of the first to launch at The Vitamin Shoppe, experienced sales growth of over 100% this year. Since their launch, several other brands have joined the segment of creatine chews and gummies, including Force Factor, Legion, and Codeage.
Furthermore, advanced delivery systems are also appearing. For example, BodyTech Elite has launched the first-ever creatine beadlet, developed with Specnova’s NovaQSpheres® technology. This format offers precision-controlled release and enhanced absorption — an innovation that highlights how newer delivery formats can drive both performance and differentiation.
Due to the growing knowledge of creatine’s potential use in various health areas, there is a potential in targeting specific consumer groups beyond traditional athletes.
The ingredient has the potential to help maintain muscle mass and combat sarcopenia; therefore, brands should explore the option of targeting the elderly. Furthermore, due to sex-based differences in creatine synthesis and storage, the ingredient could potentially benefit women during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and perimenopause. There is also potential in marketing creatine products to vegetarians and vegans, as the ingredient is recognized as an important nutrient for these groups, who often have lower dietary intake and brain creatine concentrations.
In terms of indications, cognition-focused blends and combination products may present a white space. While research is ongoing and EFSA rejected claims for cognitive function due to limited evidence, there’s a clear interest in creatine for cognitive benefits. There is potential for products that support memory and brain energy metabolism, especially in mentally fatigued or physiologically stressed individuals. However, further research in healthy, young individuals is needed to substantiate these claims – this may also represent a scientific white space.
Product innovation includes combining creatine with other ingredients to offer multiple benefits or improve user experience. Such an example is AN Performance’s product, which combines creatine monohydrate with PeptiStrong® to maximize strength output, endurance, and support faster recovery. It has been the brand’s top-performing SKU at The Vitamin Shoppe since the launch in 2025.
After already experiencing its era of popularity in the past, colostrum’s growth slowed down due to cost and supply chain challenges. Recently, we’re seeing renewed interest in this ingredient, dubbed “liquid gold”, driven by social media trends. This has resulted in a significant growth of the colostrum supplement market.
In 2025, the global colostrum supplement market reached 3,87 billion USD and is projected to grow to $7,34 billion by 2034 (Precedence Research). Recent sales data from SPINS indicates substantial y-o-y growth of 155,3% in 2024 in the US (52-week $ sales change ending December 29th 2024).
The ingredient is recognized for its rich composition of antibodies, growth factors, and nutrients. Its benefits extend to immune function support, gut health and gut lining integrity, inflammation support, overall wellness and longevity, potential for athletic performance, skin, hair, and nail vitality support, and metabolic function support.
Colostrum has gained internet virality much like the hype drinkable collagen products received in the past, with wellness content creators on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram promoting the ingredient’s benefits. Examples of this are Amra Colostrum and Cowboy Colostrum, a key ingredient in Sofia Richie Graine’s Erewhon Market smoothie collaboration that launched in February 2025.
With consumers becoming increasingly aware of colostrum’s benefits, the interest in and popularity of the ingredient are growing. It is highly appealing to consumers who wish to move away from chemical ingredients and instead champion the “super abilities of nature’s most nutrient-rich offerings” (Free the Birds Report, 2025). The growing interest is also evident in the increased number of Google searches for “colostrum”, as Google Trends reports a 238% growth in the past 5 years.
While traditionally found in capsule and powder dorms, the market is seeing innovation in delivery formats. Firstly, liquid formats are emerging. For example, Cymbiotika’s Liquid Colostrum claims to be the first ready-to-consume, highly bioavailable liquid form of colostrum. Furthermore, the ingredient’s use has already expanded into protein powders and ready-to-drink smoothies (such as the above example of Erewhon smoothie). As the wider understanding of colostrum’s benefits takes off, more evolution in delivery formats is expected.
There is a trend of brands emphasizing high-quality, ethical sourcing of colostrum, such as from grass-fed, locally raised dairy cows. Examples of this are Cymbiotika’s Liquid Colostrum, previously mentioned for its innovation in delivery formats, and Ballerina Farm’s Farmer Protein powder. In some cases, proprietary technologies, such as ARMRA’S Cold-Chain BioPotent™ Technology, are used to preserve nutrients in their most potent form, ensuring maximum efficacy.
Colostrum is currently performing well in the natural channel but has not yet fully crossed over into conventional markets. This represents a large untapped market for broader consumer access.
Colostrum’s potential for skin, hair, and nail vitality, and possibly aiding in collagen production, suggests white spaces in the beauty-from-within segment. Targeting specific benefits like improved energy and decreased bloating promoted by influencers also indicates unmet consumer needs that colostrum products could address.
There is potential for the ingredient to be integrated into broader health products. Ballerina Farm already addressed this category with their Farmer Protein powder, which combines colostrum, whey protein, collagen, and hemp protein for muscle development, joint health, and immune resilience.
What trends are experts from companies such as SPINS, FMCG Gurus, Radicle Science, Finzelberg, and others predicting for the food supplement industry in 2025 and beyond?
We prepared a collection of recent product launches in 2025, interesting due to their recency, their formulations, or the company that launched them.
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