Not just for athletes: Healthier lifestyles attracting mass consumers to sports nutrition
Sports nutrition recovery mixes, protein bars and pre-workout shakes are becoming popular among a consumer well beyond core vein-popping gym rats. As more Americans wrestle with the cost of their health care, they continue to gravitate toward better lifestyle choices. This means these niche products that were at one time only purchased by body builders and serious athletes have become appealing to the mainstream consumer.
“Everyone wants to look better,” said Scott Dicker, SPINS nutrition researcher. “More people [are] looking to stay active, and as evidenced by the sales, are turning to sport-centric products to help get them stronger, faster and in better shape.”
This “sportification” of nonathletes has helped drive sales up across all supplements with a sports focus, he said. “The large conventional channel growth really reinforces our top sales driver [theory], that sports supplements have moved from the niche to the mainstream,” Dicker said. “With the trends for sports nutrition often starting in the natural channel, the high percentage of natural channel growth is a good indicator for future continued cross-channel growth.”
Cleaner, easier-to-read labels that provide full discloser on ingredients and amount of ingredients is one of the trends contributing to sales growth. “Today, it is just as likely a soccer mom will come in and buy protein for her morning smoothie for [her] general health benefit, as it is for an athlete to come in for protein to help with muscle recovery,” Dicker said.
“Consumers are looking for cleaner labels,” he said. “Which means no more proprietary blends [and] higher nutrition quality in their proteins [as can be found in] grass-fed whey and plant-based proteins.”
“Everyone wants to look better,” said Scott Dicker, SPINS nutrition researcher. “More people [are] looking to stay active, and as evidenced by the sales, are turning to sport-centric products to help get them stronger, faster and in better shape.”
This “sportification” of nonathletes has helped drive sales up across all supplements with a sports focus, he said. “The large conventional channel growth really reinforces our top sales driver [theory], that sports supplements have moved from the niche to the mainstream,” Dicker said. “With the trends for sports nutrition often starting in the natural channel, the high percentage of natural channel growth is a good indicator for future continued cross-channel growth.”
Cleaner, easier-to-read labels that provide full discloser on ingredients and amount of ingredients is one of the trends contributing to sales growth. “Today, it is just as likely a soccer mom will come in and buy protein for her morning smoothie for [her] general health benefit, as it is for an athlete to come in for protein to help with muscle recovery,” Dicker said.
“Consumers are looking for cleaner labels,” he said. “Which means no more proprietary blends [and] higher nutrition quality in their proteins [as can be found in] grass-fed whey and plant-based proteins.”