NPF: Dietary supplement industry contributes $60B to national economy

WASHINGTON A new study funded by the Natural Products Foundation has determined the total economic contribution of the dietary supplement industry to exceed $60 billion dollars, or 0.5% of the national GDP, according to a statement issued Wednesday.

“Not only does the dietary supplement industry represent an important and growing component of the U.S. economy, it is interconnected in essential ways with many other industries,” wrote the study’s authors. “For example, the dietary supplement industry contributes to [spending] in other industries, such as retail and wholesale trade; real estate, rental and leasing; finance and insurance; professional, scientific, and technical services; and manufacturing.”

Dietary supplements generate more than $20 billion in annual consumer sales, but the industry’s overall economic contribution goes well beyond the direct purchase of goods, NPF stated.

The Economic Impact Report, completed by Dobson DaVanzo, a Washington-based economic research firm, is the first to quantify the dietary supplement industry’s total financial bearing on the national economy. It considers multiple tiers of contributing factors, including supply, production, research, direct employment, manufacturing and taxes, as well as these dynamics’ longterm financial effects.

“Most industry assessments typically focus on retail sales,” stated Tracy Taylor, NPF executive director. “Realistically though, sales are really just the tip of the iceberg. … The labor, materials and technology necessary to move any product from staging grounds to the final sale trigger a cascade of economic consequences,” she said. “Consider for example that the dietary supplement trade generates enough activity throughout production and sales to support over 450,000 jobs, and that industry concerns paid more than $10 billion dollars in taxes in 2006.”

Moreover, the dietary supplement industry’s influence is expanding, growing at a rate that exceeds inflation. While health care providers are usually given a “market basket” increase of between 2% and 3% to account for medical and other price increases, the dietary supplement industry is steadily growing at a rate of more than 5% per year.