Drawing on sales, search and research data collected over the past year, the supplement retailer is analyzing the top five trends for 2024. These trends include nutritional support for GLP-1 drug users, the pursuit of longevity, digestive and gut health, a focus on women over 40 and consumer preference for functional beverages.
“Some of this year’s trends can be seen as an evolution of trends continuing from a year ago, such as hydration evolving into functional beverages and healthy lifestyle evolving into increased interest in innovations for longevity and healthspan,” Muriel Gonzalez, president of The Vitamin Shoppe, told NutraIngredients-USA. “In other ways, this year’s trends represent a consumer return to our core categories, such as multivitamins for GLP-1 users, probiotics and fiber for gut health, and joint support for longevity.”
Hot Topics and Health Priorities
The trends report distinguishes between hot topics and health priorities. While Ozempic and other semaglutide and tirzepatide drugs fall into the hot topic category for many consumers and the media, it notes that survey respondents are more likely to say they are focused on health priorities such as mental and emotional health (35%) and sleep and rest (33%) than weight management (25%).
Following last year’s Ozempic outbreak, supplement companies have seen an opportunity to recognise the supportive role of supplements in the weight management space, positioning products to fill nutritional gaps created by pharmaceutical modulation of the satiety-inducing GLP-1 gut hormone.
For example, ready-to-drink protein drinks are up 10% year-over-year in 2023, while weight management-focused meal replacements are up 13% in the first four months of 2024. In May, the retailer launched its Whole Health Rx telehealth service, which pairs GLP-1 medication prescriptions with nutritionist-recommended supplements, focusing on four key support categories: protein, multivitamins, dietary fiber and probiotics.
Also on the agenda is consumers’ pursuit of longevity, fueled by new research, technology and tools. This includes an increased focus on nutritional wellness and supplements, reflected in a 45% increase in 2023 sales of cellular health products that support longevity over the past year. This year, The Vitamin Shoppe installed longevity-centric product displays in all stores to highlight its cognitive health (top-selling), cellular health and mobility support formulas. Over the summer, the company plans to expand its assortment to include probiotics, omega-3s and multivitamins.
“Longevity is one of the most exciting areas of health innovation today, with influential podcasters and content creators democratizing scientific information through social media, sharing fresh thinking in this field of research with vast audiences,” Gonzalez said.Last week, tech mogul and longevity personality Brian Johnson hosted a “No Dying Dinner” of veggie, lentil and nut pudding, featuring the Kardashians, neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman and plastic surgeon Jason Diamond to discuss their mortality.
Probiotics, along with prebiotics, psyllium husks and digestive enzymes, are also growing in popularity in the digestive and gut health space as consumers come to understand their gut microbiome as the body’s command center. According to the report, sales of The Vitamin Shoppe’s Probiotic Care digestive health products are expected to increase 24% in 2023 and further increased 44% in the first quarter of this year.
Another big growth area for the retailer is women’s-specific health and wellness, where the company recently added three new brands and more than 40 new products, primarily targeting the unique hormonal, emotional and sexual health needs of women at each stage of their life.
And finally, the beverage category continues to perform well from last year, with an emphasis on satisfying cravings for anxiety and stress relief, as well as energy, immunity, sleep and cognitive enhancement. Among the category’s range of vitamins, adaptogens, nootropics and botanicals, L-theanine, ashwagandha and cordyceps are currently The Vitamin Shoppe’s most popular functional ingredients.
Evolution is TikTok-ified
The report reveals that influencers and their preferred platform, TikTok, now play a key role in sparking consumer curiosity and creating spikes in popularity for supplement ingredients and products.
Most notable is berberine, which rose to TikTok fame in 2023 as #naturesozempic. Berberine’s claims were initially confused with Ozempic’s off-label weight loss benefits, but the hashtag’s popularity led to a 40% growth in The Vitamin Shop’s sugar control category (Ozempic’s original use) last year. The growing interest in natural, healthy blood sugar support has led to the adoption of other vitamins such as benfotiamine (vitamin B1), chromium, cinnamon, Gymnema sylvestre.
The Vitamin Shoppe’s report also noted the virality of Mary Ruth’s liquid multivitamin set on TikTok, with sales up more than 200% this year. Looking back at trends from last year, Gonzalez noted that creatine and magnesium also continue to be popular on TikTok and remain strong categories for The Vitamin Shoppe.
“Searches for magnesium powder, the key active ingredient in the ‘Sleepy Girl Mocktail’ that became a huge hit on TikTok earlier this year as a sleep-promoting drink, increased by nearly 300% on vitaminshoppe.com in January,” the report noted.
The report also called #GutTok content, which has been viewed billions of times on social media, “one of the biggest phenomena in health,” saying the trend has “made subjects like bloating, IBS and bathroom habits unashamedly public, even fashionable,” while also raising awareness of microbiome-beneficial supplements.
“These changing trends mean our retail, marketing and inventory teams have to stay agile to adjust plans and maintain stock on demand cycles that vary significantly from month to month,” Gonzalez said, adding that consumers are looking for a brand they can trust and accurate information from The Vitamin Shoppe to support them on their health and wellness journey.
