Special Reports Archive

Sales of diet aids are rocketing across retail right now thanks in no small part to the 38% of Americans who made weight-related resolutions for 2017. Of course, it won’t last long. As many as 25% of New Year Resolutionists lose their conviction in the first week. And less than half will still be weight-loss focused at the mid-year mark.

Sports nutrition is a category beginning to emerge as a viable destination center within mass outlets, as evidenced by growth behind brands like Premier Nutrition. For the 52 weeks ended Oct. 30, Premier Nutrition generated $160.9 million in sales on 85% growth, according to IRI across total U.S. multi-outlet.

Nature’s Bounty launched a line of aromatherapy products under the Nature’s Origin banner. The line includes an essential oils kit designed to attract new shoppers, as well as a “Travel with Scents” that has four scents packaged in a branded tin and diffused in easy-to-carry inhalers. The lineup features three diffusers, including one that can be in continuous operation for up to eight hours and fill a room of up to 400 sq. ft. with the optimal scent. A second diffuser can be in continuous operation for up to four hours for a suggested room size of 50 sq. ft.

Overall, sales of multivitamins are relatively flat — 0.2% annual growth toward a $1.8 billion base. But according to the latest consumer survey from the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 3-in-4 adults use a multivitamin. So, have sales of multivitamins plateaued, or are there pockets of opportunity out there?

The proof a category is hot can be measured not only by the number of players looking to participate in that category, but also by the heft of new entrants. Such is the case with aromatherapy, and this year, a major player in the VMS space is “getting their sniff on.”

The one truth a new Trump Administration and a Republican Congress represents is change, and for some, that spells opportunity.

(Click here to view the full VMS Report.)

A key trend captured by the 2016 TABS Analytics Vitamin and Minerals Supplements study is the continued decline in the number of heavy buyers (those who purchased more than three types of vitamins in a year). Heavy-buyer penetration peaked at 40% in 2012, but in 2016, heavy-buyer penetration dropped to 30%.

(Click here to view the full VMS Report.)