Consumer Insights For Building a Post-pandemic Supplement Brand
In the fall of 2019, we conducted a survey to uncover insights into what consumers want in a supplement brand. These findings were presented at the SupplySide West conference in Las Vegas. We conducted a follow-up survey to better understand how supplement consumers have been affected after COVID-19. Our CMO Tracy Landau shared these findings in partnership with Natural Product Insider’s SupplySide Education Series during a webinar on June 23rd, 2020.
A Few Takeaways From Our Research After Covid:
Immune Support
We verified that the demand for immunity-centric supplements has increased significantly. In Fall 2019, immunity ranked fifth on the list of consumer demands relative to other ~20 health categories like heart health and overall wellness. Our research, updated after COVID, revealed that immunity has moved into the third spot, preceded by disease prevention/overall wellness and gut/digestive health. Additionally, 61% of U.S. dietary supplement consumers said they have increased their usage of dietary supplements to support their immunity.
Addressing Immunity
We learned about how consumers are choosing to address immune health. U.S. Dietary Supplement consumers have, in the last 90 days, purchased vitamin D (54%), vitamin C (53%), probiotics (35%), protein supplements (22%), and zinc (21%) the most out of a list of ~25 specific kinds of supplements. Interestingly, the strong interest in probiotics is a possible indicator that consumers are associating gut health with immunity.
Demand for Sleep Support
Interestingly, we found that the demand for sleep support supplements has increased significantly as well. In the fall of 2019, sleep support ranked ninth on the list of consumer demands. In our updated research for COVID-19, sleep moved into the fourth spot.
Dietary Supplement Formats
Preference for gummies appears to be growing post-pandemic, with more than half (59%) using this format compared to last year (45%). Preference for pills appears to be declining (72%) compared to last year (89%). We also found that immunity-focused consumers are more likely than average to have used gummies (63%, compared to 59% average).
White Paper Download
Those insights and more are covered in the White Paper, available below. It covers how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the purchase intent, shopping behaviors, and information-seeking habits of U.S. supplement consumers and the shifts we’ve seen in the demand for immunity support.
To fully contextualize these new findings, we recommend you read our prior presentation and white paper, published in October 2019. It provides more comprehensive insights on consumer preferences, including emerging/niche ingredients and supplements, formats, claims, and marketing strategies.
If you need guidance navigating consumer preferences in a post-pandemic landscape or are launching your own supplement brand, we can help with that, too—let’s talk!
