Supplement sales are up year over year. More people than ever take vitamins, herbs and supplements on a regular basis. Post-pandemic life for supplement brands is great, right?

The short answer is that it depends on what kind of supplement brand you are and how you engage with your target consumers. Like everyone else, the post-pandemic supplement consumer went through a pivotal event, and they changed as a result. Brands should be prepared to adjust to this new supplement market.

Research Insights

Pure Branding has just published its 2024 U.S. Supplement Consumer PureSegmentation Research, which examines the U.S. supplement shopper through a census-balanced, market-sized segmentation analysis based on more than 2,300 interviews for a +/- 2 percent margin of error. As a brand strategy, market research and brand activation agency, our approach was to combine attitudinal, behavioral and demographic factors because we’re always thinking about how to fuel brand strategies with actionable insights that identify, attract and engage a brand’s target consumers.

This was our second major PureSegmentation research study. Our first was conducted just before the COVID-19 lockdowns and comparing the two studies has given us a unique perspective on how attitudes and behaviors have changed because of the pandemic.

1. Their trust in conventional medicine has decreased, whereas their trust in holistic medicine has increased.

As an agency rooted in customer segmentation, we don’t always emphasize our total sample. However, our two research studies quantified some significant attitudinal shifts, and these changes matter for supplement brands.

Trust in the medical system has decreased. While half of our respondents reported their trust in the medical system has stayed the same since the pandemic, 29 percent told us their trust decreased. This shift is validated when we compare the 2020 study to the 2024 study. In both, we asked consumers to describe our medical system and offered them a spectrum from “excellent” to “extremely corrupt and harmful.” Compared to our pre-pandemic study, there has been a dramatic negative shift in sentiment—59 percent of today’s supplement users consider the system flawed, corrupt or harmful versus 39 percent in 2020. This is a macro-cultural shift and one that supplement brands should pay close attention to.

We are not suggesting your brand should be outspoken against big pharma or insurance, but it’s critical to recognize your consumers may have a deep mistrust of the conventional system. This trend begs the question, “If supplement consumers have become increasingly critical of the conventional medical system, what are they turning to instead?”

Post-pandemic supplement users have adopted a more holistic view of health. When we asked if their belief in a more holistic view of medicine and healing (body, mind and spirit) has increased, decreased or stayed the same, we saw a shift toward holism with 33 percent of respondents reporting an increase in their holistic beliefs.

When we interpreted this data, we wondered whether this interest in holism is a byproduct of mistrust in the medical system or has an interest in holistic perspectives caused new distrust in the system? Regardless of whether it’s the chicken or the egg, there’s a clear shift in mindset underway.

We also asked respondents reguarding their beliefs about alternative medicine and therapies. Forty percent of supplement users either believe in many or some alternative medicines, and 33 percent are aware of and open to alternative medicine. In this question, we gave ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy and homeopathy as examples of alternative medicine practitioners. We intentionally referred to those modalities at the further end of the spectrum so we could confidently assess the openness of our respondent pool to complementary medicine, and these data clearly reveal there’s mass appeal.

2. Their desire to take charge of their health has increased.

The next trend we examined is the change in how people think about their personal role in their health. Supplement consumers are taking a more active role in their healing, and our research quantifies this trend.

When asked if their desire to take charge of their health has increased, decreased, or stayed the same since the pandemic, the majority (58 percent) reported an increase in the desire to take charge of their health.

With declining trust in medical systems, an increased appetite for holistic health and alternative medicine, and evidence that supplement consumers want to take control of their health, we were interested in analyzing some of the roots of these related shifts in attitudes.

3. They have more knowledge about supplements.

These trends may all be driven by an increase in consumer knowledge about supplements.

In both our 2020 and 2024 studies, we asked respondents to self-report their level of knowledge, and 35 percent either considered themselves experts or were relatively well informed about supplements, compared to 32 percent in 2020. The biggest change is among those who knew some information about supplements and were trying to learn more—47 percent in 2024 compared to 33 percent in 2020. 4. They want to follow instructions and recommendations.

This increased knowledge can be attributed to a change in consumer interactions with supplements.

In both research studies, we asked respondents to tell us about their overall philosophy when it comes to supplements. We were surprised to see a meaningful shift in attitudes. Today’s supplement consumer is more likely to “follow instructions and take supplements as recommended,” up to 49 percent from 36 percent, and “establish a routine with the same supplements,” up to 47 percent from 28 percent pre-pandemic. Additionally, “Researching supplements to determine which are best for me” remains steady in the ranking at third place.

5. They are taking supplements at a higher frequency.

This shift in behavior has impacted knowledge and the frequency of taking supplements. Comparing 2020 to 2024, we see people taking supplements daily at much higher rates. Taking supplements multiple times a day has increased slightly, 15 percent from 13 percent. The biggest change is with those who take supplements daily, 59 percent compared to 41 percent pre-pandemic.

We think this shift is noteworthy, particularly when we consider how long it takes people to form new habits. With the pandemic, we had a unique moment in time when daily life changed dramatically for over a year. People prioritized supplements and got into a daily routine, and this behavior has stuck even as society returned to normal.

6. They are a multichannel shopper.

For a moment during the pandemic, people wondered if the shift to massive online buying would continue at the expense of brick-and-mortar shopping. For the supplement consumer, the short answer is no.

As we compare shopping channels pre- versus post-pandemic, we see minor shifts across natural, specialty and online channels. The most meaningful shift is within FDMC (food, drug, mass and warehouse clubs) shopping. Those buying their supplements from large mass retailers grew from 38 percent in 2020 to 48 percent in 2024. This has been an interesting shift to watch as the lines between online, FMDC and natural have blurred for our shoppers.

However, while we know FDMC has a large market share, we also know it’s rarely the only channel at play. When analyzing self-reported spending across channels in 2020, 31 percent of consumers claimed to only shop for supplements at FDMC, and these consumers represented 16 percent of the total U.S. dollar market share. Today, the percentage of FDMC-only shoppers has held steady at 28 percent, but they now only represent a dwindling 3 percent of the market share.

For comparison, we also examined the FDMC multichannel shopper. These shoppers buy at FDMC but also traverse at least one other retail channel whether natural, DTC, Amazon, or the like. This group represents 58 percent of the total supplement population and nearly half of the total buying power! Clearly, supplement consumers are no longer constrained to just one channel. This trend was well underway prior to the pandemic, but we think it’s now been kicked into high gear.

7. They are more brand loyal.

While the loyalty of supplement consumers to a primary channel may have gone away, supplement brands should be encouraged by the fact that their consumers have become more brand loyal.

In both studies we asked how often they switch brands for their most frequently used supplements. We found that the percentage of people who rarely or never switch brands has grown to 61 percent, up from 48 percent in 2020.

8. They view the supplement industry as trustworthy.

Thirty-three percent of respondents said their trust in supplements, their efficacy, and their safety increased, and only 4 percent said it decreased. Other studies have shown a level of trust toward the supplement industry year after year. It is important to note that the people who answered this question are all supplement users, so they have a vested interest in wanting to trust what they take. So, we went deeper and looked at the degree of trustworthiness. We asked, “In relation to trustworthiness, what is your perception of the vitamin and supplement industry?”

Overall, 61 percent perceived it as trustworthy. This is obviously good news. However, looking at this a little more closely, only 14 percent said it was very trustworthy, 31 percent were ambivalent, and 7 percent did not trust it. And this is from a group of people who have a vested interest in trusting supplements.

9. They believe that transparency impacts the efficacy of products.

We know that one effective way to gain trust is through transparency, and the pandemic did not change that at all. Our research has consistently shown a correlation between transparency and the perception of efficacy. People tend to believe that the more transparent a supplement company is, the greater the efficacy of its products. The percentages of those who strongly agree and agree with this belief are virtually identical between the 2020 and 2024 studies—70 percent versus 69 percent.

If there is a surprise in how transparency is viewed post-pandemic, it is in its association with innovation. What people most want to see from an innovative supplement brand is that it is totally open and transparent, up from 29 percent to 44 percent in our 2024 report.

Brands Must Raise Their Game

The culmination of this research points to a consumer who is more intense about their supplement usage, more knowledgeable, and more trusting and the consumer holds a greater holistic view of health.

The post-pandemic consumer is better able to sense snake oil and pandering. Brands must raise their game. Loyalty is a growing trend and being trustworthy is expected. Brands can’t take loyalty or trust for granted because their competition from other brands is stronger than it was pre-pandemic.

Additionally, while we did not discuss segmentation in this article, we would be remiss if we did not emphasize that each brand competes with thousands of other supplement brands for attention. A brand’s communication must be relevant, and if you speak too broadly, then you become part of the noise. Once a brand identifies its target segment, it can engage its consumers in a deep and meaningful way that aligns with their beliefs, values and aspirations beyond just the functional benefits. NIE

Yadim Medore, founder and CEO of Pure Branding, has spent more than 20 years transforming science-driven supplement companies into beloved brands through smart strategy, research and activation. Pure Branding’s rebrand of Gaia Herbs tripled its sales in only four years and launched the industry’s first transparency platform, Meet Your Herbs. He helped MegaFood double its sales in only two years, which led to its acquisition by Pharmavite, and launched the digitally-native personalized nutrition brand Persona that was acquired by Nestlé Health Science. Pure Branding’s Supplement Consumer PureSegmentation Research is a quick, cost-effective, and predictive custom research tool designed to fuel growth for both legacy and emerging dietary supplement brands. Learn more at www.purebranding.com.