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Core reference points: $69.3B market size in 2024, $72.9B in 2025, vitamins still lead the category mix, and non-pill formats now account for about 65% of the market.
1. Executive summary
- Vitamins still lead the ingredient mix, but specialty ingredients, sports nutrition, and herbs and botanicals now carry much more of the growth story.
- The channel structure has moved from natural-store leadership toward near parity across mass retail, specialty retail, and e-commerce.
- Consumer demand is increasingly organized around specific need states such as fitness and energy, mood, menopause, brain health, healthy aging, sleep, and GI support.
| Metric | 2024–2026 update | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Market size | $69.3B in 2024; $72.9B in 2025; almost $87B by 2028F | The market is materially larger and still growing. |
| Top product story | Vitamins lead, but specialty, herbs, and sports nutrition matter far more now | The industry is more diversified and condition-led. |
| Channel structure | Mass 27.0%, natural/specialty 26.0%, e-commerce 23.2% | Digital has become a core channel, not a side story. |
| Delivery formats | Non-pill formats are about 65% of the market; gummies are the largest format | Format innovation now shapes brand strategy and discovery. |
2. Market overview
By 2024, the market reached $69.3 billion, and 2026 industry coverage put 2025 sales at $72.9 billion. Forecasts cited by the trade press place the U.S. market at nearly $87 billion by 2028.
2028F is a forecast. 2020 from CDC background citing market estimates; 2024, 2025 and 2028F from NBJ reporting.
3. Product mix and category growth
Vitamins still lead at 27.5% of 2024 sales, followed by specialty ingredients at 21.8%, herbs and botanicals at 19.2%, sports nutrition at 15.2%, meal replacements at 10.3%, and minerals at 5.9%. Sports nutrition was the fastest-growing major category in 2024 at +8.4%, while specialty grew +6.3% and herbs and botanicals grew +5.4%.
Source data: Nutrition Business Journal figures as reported by Nutraceuticals World (April 2025).
| Fastest-growing categories in 2024 | Growth |
|---|---|
| Sports nutrition | +8.4% |
| Specialty ingredients | +6.3% |
| Meal replacements | +5.7% |
| Herbs and botanicals | +5.4% |
| Minerals | +4.1% |
| Vitamins | +2.7% |
4. What consumers are buying supplements for
In 2024 the leading supplement need states were fitness and energy, general health, weight management, immunity, GI health, and heart health. The fastest-growing demand areas were mood and mental health, menopause, brain health, healthy aging, fitness and energy, and sexual health.
Source data: Nutrition Business Journal figures as reported by Nutraceuticals World (April 2025).
Source data: Nutrition Business Journal figures as reported by Nutraceuticals World (April 2025).
5. Channels and delivery formats
In 2024, mass market accounted for 27.0% of sales, natural and specialty for 26.0%, e-commerce for 23.2%, MLM/network marketing for 12.0%, and practitioner channels for 9.1%. The three largest channels are now close to parity. The digital story is also larger than the standard e-commerce bucket alone: Expo West 2026 reporting highlighted rising social commerce, with TikTok Shop estimated at about 3% of the market and growing rapidly.
Non-pill formats represented about 65% of the market in 2024, with gummies at 25.5%, powders at 17.0%, softgels at 13.1%, liquids at 12.0%, capsules at 10.9%, tablets at 7.4%, and effervescents at 4.3%. The format shift matters strategically because powders, gummies, and liquids map directly to daily routines, functional beverages, sports nutrition, and social-first product discovery.
* ‘Other’ is the remainder to 100% after the reported channels. Source data: Nutrition Business Journal figures as reported by Nutraceuticals World (April 2025).
* ‘Other’ is the remainder to 100% after the reported formats. Source data: Nutrition Business Journal figures as reported by Nutraceuticals World (April 2025).
6. Trend signals that matter in 2026
7. Regulation, trust, and policy watch
- FDA does not pre-approve dietary supplements for safety, effectiveness, or labeling before they reach the market.
- Manufacturers are responsible for safety, legal labeling, and product quality.
- Dietary supplement cGMP rules apply to manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and holding operations.
- New dietary ingredients may require FDA notification with evidence supporting a reasonable expectation of safety.
- Serious adverse events must be reported to FDA.
- Structure/function claims are not pre-approved, but they must be substantiated, submitted to FDA on the required timeline, and paired with the statutory disclaimer.
- FTC requires health-product advertising claims to be truthful, not misleading, and backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence.
Policy watch: The Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2026 (S.3677), introduced in the Senate in January 2026, would require dietary supplement manufacturers to list products with FDA and submit ingredient, label, allergen, and claim information for a public database if enacted. It should be treated as a proposal to watch, not current law.
Trust and third-party verification are rising in importance as social discovery and digital-first brands expand.
Byclue research update | April 2026