Cashing In On The Booming Market For Dietary Supplements

Spurred by aging people and increased interest in preventative health, earnings of minerals, vitamins, and nutritional supplements herbal supplements have jumped. Here is how producers can catch this dynamic opportunity.

An increasing number of folks are realizing the value of excellent health, fueling increasing interest in all the things which promote it. As inhabitants from the U.S., Europe, and Japan era, an increasing number of folks are searching for remedies to cure what ails them and elixirs to help them remain healthy well into their twilight years. Health isn’t simply a target. It’s both a lifestyle option and also a flourishing consumer industry.

Throughout the previous ten years, sales of vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements herbal supplements (VMHS) have jumped and lots of new businesses have entered the area. Globally, the industry is currently valued at $82 billion, with approximately 28 percent of the from the U.S., where sales increased by roughly $6 billion between 2007 and 2012. Growth is expected to stay strong through 2017 — between 6 and 5 percent annually both internationally and in the U.S.

What is behind this expansion?
There are five major aspects driving a heightened interest in healthy living and the numerous products related to that. Even though the phenomenon is worldwide, this report focuses primarily on the features of the U.S. marketplace.

1. An aging population
Much was made from the manner in which the aging of baby boomers will alter the U.S. market. Their absolute numbers will change investing in healthcare and realign markets, making substantial new opportunities. The happening is currently visible in the vitamin and dietary supplement business, in which purchases have increased by 6 percent yearly from 2007-2012, a lot of the coming from the eye, joint, and bone supplements. As of 2012, consumers 65 and older accounted for 36 percent of U.S. VMHS earnings, a trend that’s predicted to last for the near future.

2. Greater customer awareness of preventative healthcare
A fast look at magazine racks, TV lineups, and information articles shows that many Americans have an almost insatiable desire for information pertaining to preventative healthcare. Celebrity physicians such as Dr. Oz and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, online forums such as bodybuilding.com and Livestrong.com magazines and magazines such as Shape, Fit, and Men’s Health all frequently dispense both diet and lifestyle ideas and extend details about new goods. This barrage of information was a key catalyst for customer buying.

Additionally driving improved consumer awareness has been the attempts of VMHS producers, which have improved their marketing campaigns aimed at consumers. Such marketing concentrates on new product creation and the improved efficacy and safety of goods, and it’s influenced a broad selection of customers at various touchpoints and contributed enhanced authenticity to the function VMHS can play in contributing to preventative healthcare.

3. The Growth of the self-directed consumer
Gone will be the times when primary care physicians gave patients each of the answers. Consumers are relying upon other stations to self-diagnose and also to identify targeted health requirements. This is partially driven by the fact that insurers are raising co-pays and incentivizing their clients to take preventative maintenance measures. Now, 70% of Americans use the internet to find health information and also to make decisions through all areas of the health journey (pre-diagnosis, identification, and therapy). The vast majority of individuals consult with the internet both prior to and after their visits to physicians, to inform their discussions with their doctors and confirm medical information after consultations.

This tendency has gained VMHS manufacturers because most nutritional supplement purchases will be caused by customers taking their health into their hands, and not the direct guidance of a physician. VMHS makers have supported this self-directed behavior by enhancing their education and marketing campaigns and targeting customers both offline and on. Additionally, as customers become more knowledgeable, they’re interested in personalized VMHS solutions and are utilizing online tools offered by manufacturers and retailers to make a personalized program.

4. Channel proliferation
VMHS makers are highly fragmented and therefore are getting new revenue channels to achieve a varied and broad set of consumers. The top maker Living Basics, for example, asserts just 7% market share, along with the best five branded producers collectively hold greater than a 25 percent market share. Private label accounts for 10% of earnings. Such fragmentation is the consequence of an overall shortage of brand awareness and a lack of customer loyalty within the class. The maximum concentration of VMHS earnings is in super/hypermarkets, together with online shops and specialty retailers like GNC following closely behind. As they have grown in popularity as a result of their perceived greater product quality and private label options, specialty retailers have contributed appreciably to station proliferation. Internet sales have undergone considerable growth over the previous five decades (17 percent CAGR 2007-2012), a tendency that’s forecast to continue as customers become more comfortable with the class and leverage the ease of online shopping for duplicate purchases.

5. A change from fixing focused messaging to wider brand positioning
Historically, VMHS marketing was focused on encouraging a particular ingredient that addresses a customer health requirement –e.g. omega 3 for core health or lutein for eye care. This accent produced a market where goods were commoditized and customers had trouble differentiating between brands. To fight this, entrepreneurs have lately started to tailor their customer messaging to incorporate an emphasis on a holistic gain stage, in the hopes of promoting the utilization of a wider array of goods.

One producer’s household of preventative eye health options and General Mills’ heart-healthy cereals are prime examples of the growing trend. Through targeted marketing campaigns, these firms have created a requirement and marketed a benefit-oriented alternative to customers. VMHS makers are also utilizing the advantage platform for a method of attaining a distinguished, premium placement in the market, attractive, for example, to expectant moms, heart health, 60+ guys, or other particular consumer segments. The resulting enlarged suite of product offerings was the main driver of growth over the group.