17th of June 2024

Vitamin opportunities in nutraceuticals

How is the vitamin supplements market developing in terms of ingredients, how can brands stand out, and what are the possible future challenges?

Read the article to find out:

  • how is the current vitamin supplements market developing and what are the benefits of individual vitamin ingredients
  • what are the market opportunities and how can brands address them to stand out
  • what challenges can formulators and brands expect in the future

market development.

Vitamins have, in one way or another, always been the key component in dietary supplements. While the category has been widely commoditized and driven by low prices, recent trends show the rise of ingredients with added value. This is usually expressed as improved characteristics of vitamins, especially seen as improved absorption and retention in the blood, better solubility, and bioavailability. Microencapsulation is used for improved stability of the vitamins; it protects them against unwanted interactions with other components of the finished goods and against humidity and other external factors. However, liposomal vitamins have become the most popular. While the term “liposomal” has been present in the industry for a while, today the vitamin market is booming with liposomal ingredients. Not every mix of fatty components and vitamins is actually a liposomal ingredient, and it is up to finished product manufacturers and end customers to recognize the real liposomal grade of raw materials. The biggest differentiator will be the quality of raw materials and the transparency of manufacturers.

Vitamins can be applied to various health areas. For example, vitamin C is being used in dietary supplements for beauty, joints, cardiovascular health, and also sports. Vitamin D has recently been shown to play a large role in regulating blood glucose and developing diabetes. Vitamin K2 is mostly used for bone health and cardiovascular health, but it can also be used for blood glucose balance. And lastly, B vitamins can be used for mood and pain support.

Citrus, vitamin C, nutraceutical products

vitamin C.

Vitamin C is still the largest single vitamin category worldwide. In the last 5 years, it was the second most-selling (with a CAGR of 8,4%), exceeded only by vitamin D (with a CAGR of 12%), according to Euromonitor. Vitamin D3 deficiency is being more recognized in the general population, and it remains one of the most sought-after vitamins even after the COVID era. In the upcoming years (until 2027), vitamin D sales are expected to drop to a CAGR of 3,6% (2022-27), while vitamin C is forecast to become the best-selling global vitamin category, followed by B vitamins and vitamin E.

vitamin K2.

Vitamin K2 is coming up as a rising star due to increasing research on its health benefits, and B vitamins are riding the stress, sleep, and cognition wave. Vitamin K2’s popularity has been growing in the last decade, basically since its introduction to the market.

Vitamin K2

The number of supported application areas is also growing, where menaquinones have proved to be useful. The last reason for its increasing popularity is the increased number of vitamin K2 manufacturers. In the beginning, only a few companies were in line with regulatory requirements for vitamin K2, but the ingredient is slowly entering commodity offers, making it also more affordable.

B vitamins.

B vitamins are gaining renewed attention in products aimed at supporting the nervous system, such as supplements for neuropathic pain and migraine prevention, such as, for example Haleon’s 2022 Excedrin Head Care launch. However, despite their potential, the stability of natural forms of B vitamins falls short of expectations. While marketing claims often emphasize the benefits, there is still significant work to be done before these natural formats can be reliably incorporated into a wide range of supplement forms.

multivitamins.

The sales of multivitamins are also expected to grow further in the future, according to Euromonitor, and are forecast to exceed 24 billion USD in 2027. Most of the multivitamins on the market currently address women.

Many women take multivitamin nutraceutical products

standing out.

In new vitamin product launches, brands are increasing their efforts to stand out through several strategies.

Firstly, added-value sources are becoming increasingly popular. These are sources such as liposomal (for example, in 2022 Olimp labs launched a product Gold-vit-C+D3 based on a liposomal vitamin C), microencapsulated, metabolite-enriched, in their active form (such as MK-7), plant-based (for example, in 2022 Ganestra launched emulsified vegetarian vitamin D3 drops), and, of course, clinically studied.

Secondly, standing out is possible through innovative delivery formats, such as gummies (for example, Gatorade launched immune support gummies in 2022) and chewables, but also sprays (for example, Natures Aid launched a line extension of their vitamin D3 product for children in a spray format), orodispersibles (for example, in 2022 Abbott launched orodispersible vitamin D tablets), drops (for example, in 2023 Laboratoires CCD launched vegan drops based on a branded vitamin K2 source), syrups (for example, in 2022 Hypera launched a children’s syrup containing vitamins A, B, C, D, and iron). One of the more notable innovations is the recent launch of a line extension of the world-famous Emergen-C brand by Haleon. In spring 2023 they introduced Emergen-C Crystals – direct sticks with powder that pops in your mouth.

Outcome-based positioning is also one way we see brands use to differentiate their products in the market. From products that are positioned purely as “vitamin X” to products highlighting a specific functional benefit or outcome. Energy is on the rise, and, of course, immunity is also still large. A good example is Berocca’s (Bayer) performance in France, where core multivitamin versions were outperformed by the Immunité and Energie versions in 2022, according to Nicholas Hall data.

An increasing number of brands are choosing to connect their products to technology. For example, Ritual is using a social media component to boost compliance, DSM boosted their ampli.D product sales by offering a free vitamin D test with it, and BetterYou is also offering vitamin D at-home test kits.

And lastly, products can stand out by addressing specific demographic groups. The most popular group to address are children, for example, KinderFarms’ is a line of liquid medication for children that was co-founded by Jessica Biel, BetterYou launched a special edition Roald Dahl supplement line for children in 2022, and Natures Aid is addressing children through various products and product format with their Super Stars line. Brands are also addressing women and men of a very specific age. An example of this is New Chapter’s 2022 multivitamin product for women under 40 or Solaray’s 2022 Liposomal multivitamin for women over 50.

An opportunity we see in the future is personalized formulating – either for individuals or for more target groups, for example, multivitamins for teenagers.

possible challenges.

Stability is the biggest challenge for vitamin products – providing the product’s stability throughout its life span and preventing the interaction of different multivitamin components while still providing stability for each of those components.

Scientist in a lab collecting clinical data

In the future, we expect new product formats will continue to gain popularity. This will also present a challenge in providing the product’s stability under new development conditions. For example, with gummies, the product mixture needs to be heated up for it to reach a gel form. This can cause several vitamins to be destroyed, due to their exposure to high temperature.

Another challenge lies in the regulations. In recent years, there has been a surge in new delivery formats, such as liposomal vitamins, but there is no guarantee what the regulatory requirements for such formats will be in the future. EU regulation currently says, liposomal ingredients may be classified as a novel food. At the moment, liposomal vitamin C seems to be on the safe side due to its favorable status in the Novel Foods Catalogue, but it is not yet clear, how other liposomal vitamins will classify in the future.

We expect a number of new ingredients to surge in the future, especially liposomal. However, ingredients that are not just a mixture of lecithin and actives can be tricky for developing, causing the price for such ingredients to be higher. It is unclear, how the market will react to that.

Liposomal ingredients are on the rise

We will also witness the expansion of positioning, from merely covering basic needs to the point where certain vitamins have additional health benefits. For example, the supplementation of vitamin D was initially based on preventing rickets, but it has since been shown that adequate supply, in higher doses than necessary for basic bone health, is also crucial for the proper functioning of the immune system, hormones, and so forth.

explore further.

Pain – the next frontier in nutraceuticals

At the Nicholas Hall 34th European CHC Conference 2024, we discussed the white space in pain supplements and the trend leaders are increasingly addressing.

Interesting ingredients for market differentiation

We discussed interesting nutraceutical ingredients that can provide brands with market differentiation with David Foreman, Founder of The Herbal Pharmacist.

Interesting nutraceutical ingredients for market differentiation with David Foreman, Herbal Pharmacist

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