Targeted and specialized formulas are among the key trends shaping the nutritional supplements market over the next five years, according to market research firm Packaged Facts in the new report “Nutritional Supplements in the U.S., 7th Edition.”
 
On a larger scale, Packaged Facts (Rockville, MD) sees four major trends driving sales in 2016 and through the forecast period to 2020:

• Women’s supplements and gender-specific supplements
• Digestive supplements and probiotics
• Specialization and individualization of supplements
• Increasing supplement use in ethnic or multicultural demographic groups 

One of the largest trends Packaged Facts has seen shaping sales in 2016 is a growing focus of marketers on providing supplements designed specifically by gender, particularly, women. The potential to grow thewomen’s supplements category over the next five years is tremendous, particularly in the subcategory of prenatal and pregnancy supplements. Thus, it is important for marketers to understand the differences required when marketing specifically to women for supplements through the correct use of celebrity and public figure endorsements, particularly since women also do not want to feel as though those same celebrities sway their opinions.
 
There are plenty of reasons to get excited about the future of probiotic nutritional supplements marketed for digestive health, according to Packaged Facts, as it is the largest condition-specific category for mass-market retail sales and the second fastest growing condition-specific supplements category, with sales up 21% in the past year. Probiotics have become the mainstay of digestive health supplements, and their popularity continues to grow, with prebiotics a new offshoot generating enormous potential. The important takeaway is that digestive health and probiotics will remain hot topics over the forecast period.
 
The idea of creating a set of supplements specific to your individual situation has been around for a long time. Nowadays, you can find a multivitamin tailored specifically to your lifestyle whether you are a committed athlete, a women looking to become pregnant, or a man with heart health issues. The next stage in this evolution is now making headway as well, which is personalization programs for supplements. A host of companies have introduced such personalized programs since 2011. Personalization is a key trend in virtually every industry right now, largely attributed to Millennials and that demographic group’s approach to product engagement.
 
Nutritional supplement use among ethnic groups such as Hispanics and African-Americans continues to be lower than the national average, leaving an enormous untapped potential for new supplement sales among these populations. For African-Americans, supplement use is much stronger in younger Baby Boomers and those working in management and professional occupations. For Hispanics, the strongest trend has to do with education, as Hispanics with a college degree or a graduate degree are much more likely to be using nutritional supplements. Another option for Hispanics is to use celebrity endorsements and public figures to promote a product. In Packaged Facts’ most recent National Consumer Survey, 30% of supplement users agreed that they sometimes take into account what famous people had to say concerning supplements, compared to 38% of Hispanics, such that marketers may want to especially consider the option of reaching Hispanic consumers by partnering with celebrities or other public figures who resonate with this demographic.