NBJ Supplement Business Report

Nutrition Business Journal
September 1, 2011
SKU: NUT6800432
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Dietary supplements grew 4.4% in 2010, reaching $28.1 billion in sales. Despite the addition of $1.2 billion in incremental sales to the industry, peer categories across nutrition—notably, natural & organic foods—evidenced more impressive growth rates that begin to raise more serious questions about consumer perception of the risks and benefits involved in supplementation. Nutrition categories driven by high science and marketed heavily along health claims performed about half as well in 2010 as categories more aligned with pure, clean, whole foods held at arm’s length to the advances in food science.

It is worth noting, however, that the larger macrotrends toward prevention, self-care and holistic approaches to wellness remain systemic vectors of growth for dietary supplements—4.4% annual growth still dramatically trumps the anemic 0.7% growth in the larger food industry in 2010.