What’s in your supplement routine? Maybe it’s a pre-workout lineup with creatine, caffeine, L-citrulline, and beta-alanine. Or perhaps you’re focused on gut health, using sea moss and peppermint oil. Whatever your health goal, there’s likely a “supplement stack” on TikTok for it. People are paying attention: 2.8 million videos on TikTok have used the #supplements hashtag so far.
Once mainly used by bodybuilders and wellness enthusiasts, supplement stacks—complex routines involving drink blends, pills, tinctures, powders, and gummies—have become a kind of status symbol. People online show off regimens costing over $1,000 a month. At the same time, many new celebrity-backed brands are boosting the category’s popularity. Just this month, Kylie Jenner launched K20, a drink with electrolytes, hyaluronic acid, and collagen peptides for skin health. This follows other celebrity launches, like Mel Robbins’s Pure Genius Protein and Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed’s The Absorption Company. Kourtney Kardashian’s vitamin line, Lemme, has seen 25% month-over-month growth since its 2022 launch, with six products selling out.
“The days of taking just one multivitamin are over,” says Suzanne Scott, global associate beauty director at PR and strategy firm Seen Group. “Now, we’re mixing mushrooms like reishi and lion’s mane for mental fatigue and perimenopause, taking collagen for joints, skin, and hair, and using natural DHT blockers like saw palmetto and pumpkin seed oil for hair loss.”
Sales reflect this trend. UK retailer Superdrug reports a 163% increase in beauty supplement purchases this year, with demand for gut health supplements doubling. Globally, the supplements market is still growing. According to Euromonitor, the global consumer health market, including supplements, is expected to reach $338 billion in 2025, driven by “beauty from within” and preventative health.
The market is also benefiting from a post-pandemic focus on health and self-care. “We’re still in a post-pandemic mindset of prevention, where wellness is as much about avoiding illness as it is about feeling better,” says Scott. “We’re also an aging society. With people living longer and birthrates declining, there’s more focus on staying healthy as long as possible. This is driving interest in longevity and biohacking, which is inspiring innovation in beauty and wellness.”
But with so many new brands, viral claims, and complicated routines, which brands will stand out? In a crowded market, visibility isn’t enough, and credibility is harder to prove as influencer promotions blur the lines. At the same time, customer loyalty is fragile. In an era of fast-acting treatments like GLP-1 drugs, consumers expect quick results, making the slower benefits of supplements harder to sell—and increasing the chance they’ll switch brands. So, how should brands move forward?
No Results, No Repeat Purchases
As the supplement space gets crowded, a new wave of brands is focusing on simplicity and credibility over excessive stacks.
Shreddy, a UK-based fitness and wellness brand launched by an influencer…Grace Beverely has also focused on designing products that fit effortlessly into daily life. “The supplement space can feel overwhelming. There’s a lot of choice and mixed messaging, so a big part of our focus is creating products that are easy to use, effective, and worth adding to an already busy routine,” says Lottie Woolley, Shreddy’s head of brand marketing. This thinking drives its all-in-one approach. For example, Shreddy Supergreens combines 30 greens, antioxidants, prebiotics, probiotics, and key vitamins in a single daily drink aimed at supporting gut health as well as hair, skin, and nails—an approach that attracted a 30,000-person waitlist when the product launched in November 2023.
This emphasis on ease also helps with customer retention. “If it earns a place in someone’s routine, customers stick with it,” Woolley says, noting triple-digit subscription growth over the past year as users build consistent habits rather than treating supplements as one-offs. Importantly, the brand avoids chasing every trend. “Everything starts with a real customer need. If that isn’t there, we’re not making it, no matter how big a trend seems at the time.” Instead, Shreddy focuses on targeted innovation, as seen with Superwoman, an all-in-one blend designed to support hormone health. Launched last November, the product quickly proved popular, with a limited subscription release selling out in just 28 minutes.
Launching a supplement in the U.S. or U.K. doesn’t require pre-approval from regulators like the FDA or Food Standards Agency, but brands are legally responsible for ensuring ingredients are safe, properly labeled, and compliant with existing rules. Unlike pharmaceuticals, supplements don’t need to prove effectiveness before launch, though any health claims must be backed up and cannot be misleading.
“The supplement category has become crowded because it’s easy to launch a product, but much harder to create something with integrity. The strongest brands aren’t those launching more products, but those building fewer, more thoughtful, and credible ones,” says Sofia Downing, founder of liquid supplement brand Inora Health, who started the company after burning out in a high-pressure data career. Her range includes only liquid supplements tailored for sleep, energy, and longevity. “It shouldn’t be about encouraging consumers to take more, but about helping them understand what they actually need,” Downing continues. “That means identifying gaps in their lifestyle, recognizing potential deficiencies, and supporting specific outcomes. There’s a simplicity to good health that often gets overlooked.”
She also points out that the issue isn’t just about ingredients, but how products are tested. “I think too many brands rely on ingredient-level, third-party research to validate their finished formulations. Testing their own final product, at the dose and in the format it’s actually delivered, should be the standard. At Inora, we’re committed to investing in research,” says Downing.
For emerging brands, expert partnerships are becoming another key way to build legitimacy. “The science alignment is a huge selling point and especially important for building trust in a category where there’s still inconsistency in testing and scrutiny,” says Scott of Seen Group. She highlights YLW founders Joe Bloomfield and Anthony Plom as standout examples. “They were shocked at the lack of oversight in the industry, so their approach was to enlist top experts to eliminate any doubt in customers’ minds that they were buying something truly exceptional,” says Scott. “YLW works with Glenn Gibson, a professor of food microbiology at the University of Reading who has published more than 500 scientific papers and is a world-renowned gut health expert, on its probiotic formulas.” She also points out…Brands like Nuchido Time+, led by molecular biologist and longevity expert Dr. Nichola Conlon, exemplify this trend.
The Aesthetic of Optimization
If credibility is the foundation for supplements, branding is increasingly the hook. The days of sterile pill bottles are gone. Today’s supplements are expected to sit comfortably alongside skincare and fragrance on a bathroom shelf and feature in aesthetic morning routine videos. They need to look good.
This marks a shift from just a few years ago, when the category had a more clinical, prestige feel with apothecary-style glass or metal bottles and muted, “serious” colors. Now, supplements are borrowing directly from skincare’s playbook, embracing brighter, candy-like hues and more playful, sensory-driven design, alongside content created primarily for social media.
Sult is an interesting case study. Co-founded by Milly Goldsmith and Henry Porpora, the brand has built its following through unfiltered storytelling on social media. They’ve shared everything from how the founders matched on Hinge, reconnected a year later, and ultimately began developing their electrolytes brand, each investing £10,000 before launch. Visually, Sult uses bold, high-impact branding with a bright green logo and blue packaging designed to stand out. But its cultural traction has been built just as much online as offline. The founders have documented the journey in real time, from the evolution of their branding—sharing real screenshots of notes and diagrams—to reading product reviews and offering behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturing and packaging.
“As the vitamin and supplement category evolves, customers now expect them to be as visually appealing as skincare and cosmetics products, whereas in the past this was considered a more commodity area,” says Emma Monaghan, head of own brand and exclusives at Superdrug. “However, while branding and positioning help to bring in customers, our product efficacy and expertise are what build trust and drive purchases.”
Of course, countless celebrities have cashed in, which is an obvious brand-builder. But as Scott warns: “The celebrity angle on its own isn’t enough. There needs to be substance behind the endorsement, whether that’s clinical backing or proprietary innovation.” She points to brands like Epetome, founded by UK-based influencer Emily English (@EmTheNutritionist), which pairs strong founder-led messaging with its Synbiotic Duo Cap technology designed to protect ingredients en route to the gut. Similarly, David Beckham’s IM8 draws on expertise across medical research, nutrition, sports science, oncology, and even NASA.
Innovations in the Space
As the supplement category matures, innovation is increasingly defined not by what supplements do, but by how they fit into everyday life.
“Gummies are currently the fastest-growing global format, with around 20% annual growth, largely driven by convenience and ease of use,” says Rachel Chatterton, director of product and global brand at UK health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett. She attributes this to a broader behavioral shift. Many people cite fatigue, time pressure, and lack of motivation as key barriers to maintaining healthy habits, so they are increasingly drawn to formats that are simple, accessible, and easy to incorporate into daily routines. “We are also seeing growing interest in powders, liquids, and functional drinks, particularly where they fit seamlessly into existing habits.”
Hydration has emerged as a standout sub-category, becoming a core driver of innovation. Sachets, soluble electrolyte tablets, and ready-to-mix blends are transforming how consumers engage with daily supplementation. “Hyditation has been a standout category, building momentum throughout 2025 and continuing into 2026,” confirms Chatterton.
For more established players, innovation is being approached with greater caution.Rather than chasing trends, brands like Thorne—founded in 1984 and built on clinical research and partnerships with health practitioners—base their product development on scientific rigor and clear consumer needs. They introduce new formats only when supported by clinical evidence and genuine shifts in behavior.
“A great example of innovation driven by consumer demand was our launch of single-serving products in 2025, including Daily Electrolytes,” says Mary Beech, Thorne’s chief growth officer. “We recognized a growing need for convenient, on-the-go performance support—whether for training, travel, or just getting through a busy day. This wasn’t about jumping on a hydration trend; it was about responding to how people actually live and adapting our formats to meet that.”
Looking ahead, longevity and personalization are set to shape the next wave of growth. Ingredients like NAD+, collagen, and peptides are expected to become more mainstream, while innovation will increasingly follow paths already seen in the beauty industry, where life-stage targeting and prevention are key drivers. “This could mean collaborations between testing services and supplement brands, or even outsourcing your supplement routine to a concierge who arranges relevant blood tests and adjusts your regimen accordingly,” adds Scott.
Despite rising competition and greater market sophistication, the category shows no sign of slowing down. “While some areas are becoming more competitive, there’s still clear room for expansion,” says Chatterton. “Only about half of people say they actively manage their health today, and 78% only visit a doctor when absolutely necessary. That shows the potential for everyday health solutions. Supplements are increasingly acting as a gateway to more proactive habits, driven by the broader shift toward preventive health.”
In short, while formats, branding, and science continue to evolve rapidly, the underlying opportunity remains enormous. The supplement industry is still expanding, and its next phase will likely be defined by how well brands can balance innovation with trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Who Will Come Out on Top in the Supplement Competition designed to cover a range of perspectives
Beginner General Questions
1 What does coming out on top in the supplement industry even mean
It generally refers to which companies brands or types of supplements are winning in terms of sales market share consumer trust and innovation Its about who is leading the pack
2 Is it just about which brand makes the most money
Not entirely While sales are a huge factor coming out on top also considers brand reputation product quality scientific backing and customer loyalty A trusted brand with slightly lower sales might be considered a leader over a cheaper less reputable one
3 What are the biggest categories in the supplement competition right now
Currently some of the hottest categories are
Protein Powders Sports Nutrition Always competitive
Health Wellness Vitamins D3K2 magnesium and comprehensive multivitamins
Gut Health Probiotics prebiotics and digestive enzymes
Cognitive Support Supplements for focus and brain health
Sleep Stress Melatonin ashwagandha and Ltheanine
4 As a consumer why should I care about this competition
Healthy competition drives innovation improves quality and can lower prices It means you get better more effective and safer products over time
Advanced IndustryFocused Questions
5 What are the main factors that determine a supplement brands success
Key factors include Quality Transparency Marketing Brand Story Scientific Research backing claims Distribution Price Point and Customer Reviews Community
6 Whats the biggest challenge for new supplement companies trying to compete
Breaking through in a saturated market is tough They must overcome established brand loyalty navigate strict FDA regulations on claims manage supply chain costs and build trust from scratch often against giants with huge marketing budgets
7 How important is clinical research versus marketing hype
Its crucial for longterm success