Stress is ubiquitous in contemporary lifestyles. Whether it’s a 24/7 digital work environment, the cost of living crisis, climate change, technology and information overload, or global political instability, it’s hard not to feel the pressure as the world’s events compound with our personal lives. 

Compared to years past, stress about cost of living is especially high today, according to a survey conducted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in April 2023, which showed people are increasingly worried about meeting their own basic needs.

Seventy percent of adults are anxious or extremely anxious about keeping themselves or their families safe, followed by keeping identities safe (68%), health (66%), paying bills or expenses (65%), the impact of climate change (59%), the opioid epidemic (50%), and the impact of emerging technology on day-to-day life (45%).

Young and Under Pressure

Gen Z consumers are in a transitional period in their lives, and COVID-19 had an especially strong impact on them as it struck during key formative years. As a result, there’s been a lasting focus on mental health management, said Jennifer White Boehm, director, beauty, personal care, health, and household reports at Mintel.

“Sixty-one percent of Gen Z say that taking care of their mental health is more of a priority now than it was before the pandemic,” said Boehm. “This generation is actively working to improve their mental health and many even started therapy within the last few years, supporting this generation’s openness to seeking out mental healthcare.”

Still, “roughly one fifth of Gen Z consumers say their mental health has gotten worse in the past year,” she added.

A mid-2022 survey of nearly 12,000 adults conducted by healthcare and insurance company Cigna further established burnout and financial troubles as lead stressors among young people. The survey found that 91% of Gen Z respondents feel stressed, and 98% of Gen Z reported feeling burnout. Eighty-seven percent of Millennials are stressed, and 40% of junior employees are specifically stressed about the cost of living.

Where Supplements Fit In

Dietary supplements positioned for stress and mental health have drawn significant demand since COVID-19’s onset.

“Supplements positioned around mental health are meeting a restless consumer base […] that is considerably dissatisfied with their current treatment approaches,” said Matthew Oster, senior industry manager at Euromonitor. This dissatisfaction is paired with low levels of loyalty and trust toward stress products, he noted.

“Most feel their progress is stagnant at best with no change in recent years,” according to Boehm. “Brands have an opportunity to step up to the plate with personalized and convenient offerings that fit with consumers’ lifestyles.”

Above other factors, consumers are drawn to the familiarity, cost-effectiveness, and convenience of dietary supplements, said Boehm.

“This tendency to rely on sources that are familiar, with medical professionals viewed as secondary, can stem from convenience, unease speaking with doctors about mental health, or cost,” she said.

“Consumers are more cost-conscious in today’s economic environment, evaluating what is most important to them and whether it is worth spending money on,” she continued, noting that 42% of survey respondents told Mintel they felt that stress management was worth the effort, but only 14% said it’s worth the cost.

“Some consumers have just come to accept stress and anxiety as part of everyday life, and because mental wellbeing is hard to quantify, they are reluctant to seek help and spend money to improve it,” Boehm suggested.

Beyond these factors, core consumers in this category have a natural curiosity about dietary supplements and nutrition, and are looking for extra support that doesn’t require much from them in terms of time or money, noted Bill Chioffi, chief strategy officer at organic mushroom supplier Nammex.

Market Metrics

Supplements positioned around mood support, stress, or relaxation are the fastest-growing nutraceuticals category over the past few years, with a growth rate of 62% in 2022 and a 27% CAGR since 2017, Euromonitor reported.

Ashwagandha, the Ayurvedic herb that has soared in popularity in recent years, still dominates by a large margin. But several other botanicals, amino acids, minerals, and neurotransmitter precursors are chasing.

According to data from SPINS on condition-specific calmative and mood support supplements over 52 weeks ending Jun. 18, the top-selling ingredients in the category are:

• Ashwagandha ($86 million, -8.5%),
• GABA ($23 million, -4.8%),
• 5-HTP ($12 million, -11.6%),
• Theanine ($2.6 million, +82.6%), and
• Magnesium ($2.07 million, +23.7%).

Some other botanicals that saw serious upsurges in sales over the past year include Rhodiola ($1.6 million, +303%) and Bacopa ($255,000, +621.2%).

When it comes to delivery formats used in stress/mood support dietary supplements, the top sellers tracked by SPINS were: gummies ($81.8 million, -18.1%); tablets ($18.9 million, -12.4%); capsules ($13.2 million, 14%); and softgels ($7.06 million, +23.6%).

Experiencing significant growth, sales of soft chews increased year-over-year by 1,344% to $4.6 million, and ready-to-drink carbonated beverages increased 201% to $1.3 million.

Brain and mood health claims are the second most common positioning in new supplement launches tracked by Innova Market Insights for the past 12 months ending Q1 2023 (27%), behind only immune health claims which were made for 33% of new products launched.

Compared to other health claims, there is a big geographical disparity when it comes to how often they’re used in nutraceutical products, according to Innova’s data. In Eastern Europe, for instance, 36% of all nutraceuticals have brain/mood claims, while in Asia, only 11% of products make these claims.

Product Positioning

Stress supplements are often initially taken for immediate effects, noted Erin Robbins, media director at branding and marketing firm MarketPlace Innovations.

“Consumers are likely to start taking [a stress support ingredient] in response to the onset of acute stress,” she said, and most products on the market today promise short-term results.

CENTR Enhanced, a functional beverage launched earlier this year features several rapid-onset ingredients to support mood and stress. The sparkling waters each contain 250 mg of Kyowa Hakko’s Cognizin Citicoline, 100 mg of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) marketed as PharmaGABA, 50 mg of a Panax ginseng and astragalus complex marketed as AstraGin by NuLiv Science, and 12.5 mg of Zembrin, a Sceletium tortuosum extract marketed by PLT Health Solutions.

Because of demand for products with immediate effects, the time of day at which a supplement is taken matters greatly.

First Person, a new mushroom-forward supplement brand offers a line of products targeting cognition, stress, and sleep, and curates three ingredient blends meant to be taken at a different time of day. Sunbeam supplements are meant to be taken in the morning, and contain lion’s mane, cordyceps, and Panax ginseng. Golden Hour supplements, designed for the end of the day to improve mood and relaxation, contain reishi, a saffron ingredient branded as Affron, and Bacopa monnieri. Lastly, Moonlight supplements are formulated to improve sleep, and contain reishi, passion flower, and holy basil.

Adaptogens, a group of plants characterized by their ability to level out markers of stress and fatigue, are an experiential X-factor for many successful stress-support products. There are many plants to choose from, and no one ingredient can do it all, so there’s strong potential for personalization in multi-ingredient products.

MyAir, for instance, has developed a patent-pending AI platform which uses an algorithm to track self-reported measures of stress, diet, and monitoring through a smart watch, in order to recommend and track the effects of adaptogen blends, which come in a variety of wellness bars. Questionnaires cover topics like sleep habits, focus, muscle tension, feelings of stress, how respondents feel throughout the day, and more, before the algorithm selects the bars best suited for addressing individual needs.

Mushrooms are another clear leader when it comes to experiential qualities of a supplement, and are versatile for functional foods and beverages like coffee, bedtime tea, and many more, noted Chioffi, with lion’s mane standing out in particular across many stress-support formulas. It is especially prominent in products designed to preserve cognitive performance and support memory by modulating how the body responds to stressors.

“Mushrooms are versatile across a range of products with sales distributed across ready-to-drink beverages, coffee and alt-coffee products, chewables, and softgels, while traditional pill and powder deliveries are also maintaining their positions.”

Chioffi noted the inclusion of Nammex’s organic lion’s mane extract in IQBAR’s suite of products, which includes: a nutrition bar called IQBAR formulated with healthy fat, fiber, protein, and lion’s mane; a powdered drink mix called IQMIX that is formulated for hydration, cognitive support, and mood; and an instant coffee product called IQJOE marketed as an alternative source of crash-free energy that improves cognitive performance.

“Lion’s mane is one of the more neutral-tasting mushroom extracts Nammex offers and it mixes well with other ingredients, with a reputation for cognitive health and stress support which consumers are learning more about,” said Chioffi.

Downstream Effects

While consumers might not think of certain health issues as exacerbated by their stress, it’s often the case.

An increase in stress-linked sleep disruptions is leading formulators to consider whether melatonin on its own is still enough. Adaptogenic ingredients, mood-associated nutrients like magnesium, and other stress stars are emerging in the sleep supplements market. While melatonin still represents 55% of the sleep supplements category, combination herb formulas now represent 18.1% of the market, representing a 19.7% CAGR in 2022, noted Claire Morton, senior industry analyst at New Hope, during a presentation at the American Herbal Products Association’s (AHPA) Botanical Conference.

Sleep will less frequently be treated as a standalone condition in next-gen products, Innova reported. “Mental wellbeing and brain function has been a particular focus in supplement new product developments (NPD) in recent times, as consumers continue to look after their mental health as well as their physical health. The importance of quality sleep on mood and mental performance has led to strong growth in insomnia positionings, and this is an area to watch.”

Recognizing that chronic stress can undermine innate immunity, companies are innovating to meet consumer needs. In July, Kerry debuted a new version of its flagship immune-support, beta-glucan ingredient Wellmune, which comes fortified with vitamin C and ashwagandha to bolster natural defenses through improved sleep and stress levels.

Stress can also influence eating behaviors and weight management. Fonterra’s brand Nutiani is considering the potential to include stress-support ingredients in weight management products. The company is supporting research on how the broad-spectrum phospholipids found naturally in milk-fat globule membranes, which help induce feelings of satiety, may reduce stress.

In one study published in the Journal of Functional Foods, 12 weeks of milk-derived phospholipid supplementation resulted in a statistically-significant 45% reduction in mean stress scores, compared to 21% in the placebo group, in a population of adults between the ages of 25 and 60.¹

Unlike single phospholipid sources, Nutiani’s phospholipids are broad-spectrum, the company said, and include a range of major phospholipids and sphingolipids, including phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, and sphingomyelin, at a similar ratio to what appears in the human brain.

Through a holistic lens, consumers are focused on more than just numbers on a scale, and care more about how they feel. Rather than counting calories or adhering to restrictive dieting habits, consumers are increasingly engaging in mindful and intuitive eating.

“Practicing intuitive eating goes hand-in-hand with mindful eating, which is all about paying attention to what is being consumed and the effects of food on our senses,” the company reported. “By slowing down to savor food and assess feelings of fullness, mindful eaters also develop an awareness of ‘mindless’ habits, such as emotional or binge eating.”

Nutiani has launched multiple stress-supporting weight management concepts, including a protein powder and ready-to-drink shake fortified with 400 mg of broad-spectrum phospholipids, formulated for muscle building, recovery, satiety, stress response, and focus.

Zembrin, a Sceletium tortuosum ingredient marketed by botanical specialist PLT Health Solutions, is among the company’s ingredients positioned for cognitive and mood support. One study showed that 25 mg of Zembrin reduced anxiety-related activity of the amygdala and its associated anxiety circuitry within 2 hours of administration.²

Mood support ingredients like Zembrin may also help with weight management, the company suggested, recognizing the role of cognitive support in adhering to long-term programs.

Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier

Companies are innovating to make ingredients more bioavailable to the brain, either through liposomal/micellar technologies, novel forms, or through ingredient alternatives. 

Many magnesium suppliers, for example, have emphasized the difference in performance of certain kinds of chelates, which are a type of chemical bond, when it comes to brain bioavailability.

Gadot Biochemical Industries has positioned its Pure Magnesium Bisglycinate ingredient for stress-relief and cognitive support formulas. The chelate form of the ingredient contains the neurotransmitter glycine, which, according to the company, improves magnesium’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier for stress reduction benefits.

Meanwhile AIDP’s Magtein, a proprietary form of magnesium known as magnesium L-threonate, has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier, and has been linked to improved measures of cognitive function, in a study where authors noted that greater magnesium concentrations in the brain are associated with lower incidence of mood disturbances.³

Choline’s Rising Stock

While choline has been well-established for its role as a prenatal nutrient in supporting neural tube development and growth of newborns, emerging research is highlighting how understated the role of this nutrient may be in mood support and cognitive function.

Despite its established role as a precursor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which regulates the processes of mood, cognition, memory, and the nervous system, just 10% of Americans and 8% of pregnant women get their sex- and life-stage-specific adequate intakes for choline, according to a review published in Nutrition Today, which presented the highlights of the 2018 Choline Science Summit, including findings on its role in adult cognition. The review predominantly discussed short-term effects on markers of neurocognitive function, as well as the strongest evidence, which is focused on age-related cognitive decline.⁴

An observational study involving nearly 6,000 participants found that greater plasma choline concentrations over time were associated with significantly better overall scores for anxiety symptoms, though no effects on depression were observed.⁵

The nutrient is included in many products that bridge the gap between cognitive and mood support, and several proprietary choline formulations claim to be more effective than standard versions at crossing the blood-brain barrier. The ingredient is often positioned for stressed individuals as an alternative to caffeine for those looking to avoid the nervous or anxious feelings the stimulant may induce.

Cognizin Citicoline, a proprietary compound from Kyowa Hakko, is chemically identical to cytidine-diphosphocholine (CDP-choline), which is the naturally-occurring form of choline found in humans. Studies have linked this ingredient to significant improvements in domains such as memory in elderly people, cognitive performance in younger people, and psychomotor vigilance.^6-8

Meanwhile, a few years ago, Chemi Nutra had a U.S. market debut of its proprietary alpha-glyceryl phosphoryl choline (A-GPC) ingredient, which it reported is the most active of the choline-containing phospholipids at increasing acetylcholine levels in the brain.

The company noted the ingredient has been studied in comparison to common choline salts, choline chloride, and choline bitartrate, and was the only of the group shown to be effective in brain metabolism as measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Gut-Brain Axis

Three in four supplement users report that their stress levels affect their gut health, noted Robbins, citing MarketPlace consumer research. Of all the secondary influences digestive health has, gut-brain interactions are among the most well-established.

Research on the bidirectional relationship between the gut and stress is growing and becoming increasingly complex. Recent studies have demonstrated the pivotal role bacteria can play in the synthesis of major neurotransmitters within the gut, like dopamine, glutamate, serotonin, GABA, and more, changing how the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain function.

While the cause-and-effect relationship remains elusive, microbiota alterations have been observed in various disease states, including depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s, according to a 2021 review published in Pharmacological Research, which also noted that antibiotics may provoke anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in multiple human clinical studies.⁹

Compared to controls, depression/anxiety groups’ microbiota were characterized by decreases in total diversity, as well as in Bacteroidetes, Prevotellaceae, Faecalibacterium, Coprococcus, and Sutterella, and increases in Actinobacteria and Eggerthella, the review concluded.⁹

A recent meta-analysis supported the use of probiotics as a potential treatment for depression and anxiety, though no significant differences were achieved in healthy populations. While Lactobacillus strains had the strongest positive effects, blends of multiple strains were significantly more effective than any strain administered alone.¹⁰

For instance, Lallemand Health Solutions’ probiotic blend Cerebiome was associated with improved GABA production and reductions in the production of ammonia, which is associated with motor and cognitive dysfunction, in a SHIME (Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem) model that included donors who had self-reported anxiety symptoms.¹¹

An unpublished study on a probiotic blend marketed as Bifizen by Probiotical, concluded that supplementation improved de novo synthesis of serotonin in a population of 70 adults, with corresponding self-reported measures of mood compared to placebo.

Already, the gut-brain axis is serving as the central platform for several brands in the probiotics space. Denmark-based NovoZymes OneHealth, for instance, recently debuted in the U.S. and will focus on health challenges related to modern lifestyles including stress and brain health. Its flagship mental wellness probiotic, ProbioBrain Bifidobacterium longum 1714, has been supported by data suggesting that it can modulate resting neural activity in social stress tests in a way that correlates with enhanced vitality and reduced mental fatigue, as measured by magnetoencephalography.¹²

References

1. Davies, N. et al. (2023). The effect of supplementation with milk fat globule membranes on psychological health: A randomized clinical trial in healthy adults with moderate stress. Journal of Functional Foods. 105: 105585 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2023.105585
2. Terburg, D. et al. (2013). Acute Effects of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin), a Dual 5-HT Reuptake and PDE4 Inhibitor, in the Human Amygdala and its Connection to the Hypothalamus. Neuropsychopharmacology. 38(13): 2708–2716
3. Zhang, C. et al. (2022). A Magtein Magnesium L-Threonate-based Formula Improves Brain Cognitive Functions in Healthy Chinese Adults. Nutrients. 14(24): 5235 doi: 10.3390/nu14245235
4. Wallace, T. et al. (2018). Choline: The Underconsumed and Underappreciated Essential Nutrient. Nutrition Today. 53(6): 240–253. doi: 10.1097/NT.0000000000000302
5. Bjelland, I. et al. (2009). Choline in anxiety and depression: the Hordaland Health Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 90(4):1056-60. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.27493
6. Nakazaki, E. et al. (2021). Citicoline and Memory Function in Healthy Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Journal of Nutrition. 151(8): 2153–2160. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab119
7. Medrano, M. et al. (2022). Acute Effect of a Dietary Multi-Ingredient Nootropic as a Cognitive Enhancer in Young Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Triple-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial. Frontiers in Nutrition. 9: 858910. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.858910
8. Al-kuraishy, H. et al. (2020). Citicoline Improves Human Vigilance and Visual Working Memory: The Role of Neuronal Activation and Oxidative Stress. Basic Clinical Neuroscience. 11(4): 423–432. doi: 10.32598/bcn.11.4.1097.1
9. Socala, et al. (2021). The role of microbiota-gut-brain axis in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. Pharmacological Research. 172: 105480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105840
10. Liu, R. et al. (2019). Prebiotics and probiotics for depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 102: 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.023
11. Lopes De Oliveira, F. et al. (2023). Exploring the Potential of Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 as Promising Psychobiotics Using SHIME. Nutrients. 15 (6) 1521. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061521
12. Wang, H. et al. (2019). Bifidobacterium longum 1714 Strain Modulates Brain Activity of Healthy Volunteers During Social Stress. American Journal of Gastroenterology. 114(7):1152-1162. https://doi.org/10.14309/ajg.0000000000000203