This report outlines five forces currently shaping consumer health. The first three are growth drivers, with new audiences fuelling protein demand, beauty redefining health, and surging demand for healthspan and cellular solutions. It also tackles disruption, with tariffs pressuring supply strategy, and OTC companies needing an expanded mission to escape stagnation. Packed with data and strategic insights, it is a guide to capturing growth and mitigating risk in a rapidly evolving market.
Delivery
This report comes in PPT.
Key Findings
Gut health is undergoing a renaissance tied to new brands and extended benefits
Gut health, the fastest-growing dietary supplement benefit in the 2010s, is back as an anchor to multifunctional products, as more consumers understand the linkage between gut health and other adjacent health considerations and as adjacent industries like soft drinks and snacks have mainstreamed gut health solutions in various markets.
Consumers, holding off on many health purchases, are maintaining interest in beauty from within
Long-standing demand for beauty-positioned supplements in Asia has reached other regions, with considerable growth expected, especially in the US, behind enterprising start-ups as well as bigger investments by market leaders (like Unilever’s acquisition of Nutrafol in 2022).
Demand for “healthy ageing” products is reaching a crescendo, but what are they really?
The term “healthy ageing” is ready for a facelift through more precise terminology and more specific approaches for consumers at different stages of ageing. To do so, the industry must build a more sophisticated approach around solutions to meet specific needs at different life-stages rather than unsupportable, broad claims.
Sports nutrition continues to dominate through extending messaging and markets
Sports nutrition has a long runway for growth, as the industry is embracing wider benefits and messaging to attract a more diverse group of consumers and is steering investments into emerging economies with low penetration to diversify away from the industry’s historically narrow geographic footprint.
The rise of weight loss drugs presents risks and opportunities for consumer health
Prescription-based weight loss drugs are still in their infancy, but consumer health companies would be wise to develop strategies now to allow their products to be used in conjunction with these drugs before future consumer demand is harder to shift.
Our expert’s view of consumer health in 2025
Key findings
Key facts to share
Top five trends in consumer health
Top five trends uncovered
Protein claims expand in 2025 across packaged food, dairy, and recently soft/hot drinks
As of 2025, more women than men are seeking to increase their protein intake
Protein has one of the most obvious and attractive growth profiles in consumer health
Musclespan is a strong appeal point, with sports physique emphasised in brand imagery
Kate Farms formulating for women on GLP-1 with specific protein needs
At 55:45, the UK has an above average ratio of women to men who are adding protein
Adding functional ingredients to established food and beverage categories is ongoing
PepsiCo’s acquisitions blur the line between sports protein and dairy beverages
The search for differentiation is eroding the distinctive lines between industries
Protein is given next lease of life, with new buyers and a need to abandon stereotypes
Health rises as a core definition of beauty, whilst beauty is rising as a motive for health
Skin health is dominant, mentioned on nearly all SKUs with any type of beauty claim
Main ingredients listed on SKUs supporting beauty claims increasingly include NAD+
Amorepacific’s K-Beauty brand builds complementary topical and ingestible solutions
This topical and ingestible combination trend is spreading in the Americas too
Clever format as well as message ideas are coming out of South Korea
Holland & Barrett is overhauling UK stores to accommodate beauty after running trials
Retailers are bringing down the wall between health and beauty just as fast as brands
Beauty sees faster growth, an opportunity health companies can exploit to accelerate
The pursuit of a longer healthspan sees a surge of life, investment and launches in 2025
Healthspan-related claims on supplements are rising, focused on specific areas
Claims can be mapped against ingredients, and NAD+ stands out as it escapes niche
Today’s priorities flip completely when consumers enter new life stages
Differentiation in chronic and general health turns to narrower demographic targeting
IM8 exemplifies what happens next in healthspan when shoppers believe in anti-ageing
A media narrative that NAD+ peaked and is falling in 2025 seems to be missing context
Healthspan is an area for solid gains, while the cellular health potential is spectacular
US protectionism across the forecast period requires reviewing global supply strategy
Tactical price tracking shows tariff-driven price rises arriving in waves throughout 2025
Some of the top 20 consumer health brands in the US see strong price jumps in 2025
A trade correction will seem punitive if imbalances have normalised over time
US tariffs are fast-changing; by the end of 2025, a mixture of rates proliferate
“This will pass” is not viable; shareholders and profit protection dictate a supply rethink
Demand stagnates, and while decline is US-centric, OTC purchase drivers are global
US versus rest of world has stark gaps, but similarities (eg eye care) are interesting too
Studying cough/cold remedy sales correlations – the US shows a saturation story
Studying cough/cold remedy sales correlations – Italy is developed, with more potential
Studying cough/cold remedy sales correlations – China has low but rising penetration
Total spend fell slightly long-term in US (ignoring COVID-19 spike), with a big mix change
One reaction is to extend the mission to achieve relevance beyond seasonal peaks
Early warning of colds and flu opens a greater opportunity for focused spend moments
Investing in supplements for growth is appealing, but OTC needs an expanded mission
Future implications
Key opportunities for growth (and the defence of existing value) in consumer health
Reading these bubble charts: Historic data
Consumer Health
It is the aggregation of OTC, Vitamins and Dietary Supplements (VDS), Sports Nutrition, and Weight Management and Wellbeing
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