Vitamins, Diet and Sports Nutrition

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.”

Drug Store News spoke with Troy Talarico, VP sales Fusion Diet Systems, regarding the consumer diet aid trend favoring meal-replacement offerings over quick-fix solutions.

(Click here to view the full VMS Report.)

DSN: What are the factors driving the growth in sales of diet aids and meal-replacement solutions across retail pharmacy?

Nutrex is introducing a new pre-workout product called OutLift that is differentiated by having no proprietary blend (full disclosure ingredients) and contains no “banned” ingredients. Fully-disclosed labels means the formulation of the product isn’t hiding within a proprietary ingredient. “It’s 10 clinically-dosed ingredients,” said Raul Gil, Nutrex research VP sales.

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.

Whether it’s baby boomers looking to boost their health profiles heading into their golden years or millennials attempting to fortify themselves against the rising cost of health care, interest in dietary supplements, sports nutrition, diet aids, meal-replacement solutions and even energy shots has never been higher, according to a Kline consumer survey released last year.

(Click here to view the full VMS Report.)

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.)

The minerals/supplements category saw year-over-year growth of 8%, with the one- and two-letter vitamins up 4%. Growth was led by Quincy Bioscience followed by private label in the minerals/supplements category (see Figure 1). Prevagen led drug channel growth in minerals and supplements, which nearly doubled in sales up 87%, while IBgard’s skyrocketed 306% year over year. Larger brands that contributed with double-digit growth were Nature’s Bounty, Culturelle and Align (see Figure 2).

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.)