When you walk into an American retail chain store or pharmacy or search online for nutritional supplements, chances are that you will come across one of the following 15 most popular supplement brands. Indeed, they are popular, affordable, and provide a comprehensive line of products.
15 Most Popular Supplement Brands in U.S.
Nature’s Bounty is the flagship brand of The Nature’s Bounty Co. Founded in 1971, it once changed the name to NBTY and traded in NYSE until delisted in 2010. Headquartered in Long Island in New York, it employs about 4,000 employees and as the largest vertically integrated source of nutritional supplements in the US, the company manufactures, wholesales, and retails more than 22,000 products including vitamins, minerals, herbs, other supplements and sports drinks. The company has manufacturing facilities in US, Canada, China and the UK. Brands include Nature’s Bounty®, Sundown Naturals®, Solgar®, Puritan’s Pride® , Ester-C, Osteo Bi-Flex and many others. The total estimated sales are about $3.5 billion, including $1 billion from its international branch Holland & Barrett International.
In 1969, Tom Murdock founded Nature’s Way only for the purpose of improving his wife’s health and then started to provide eight wellness products. Now 50 years later, Nature’s Way is the preeminent brand of quality dietary supplements with over 1,000 product offerings. It owns brand names such as Alive, Fortify, Ginkgold, NutraVege, etc.
The company is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Nature Made is owned by Pharmavite® LLC, a private company established in Southern California in 1971 and was acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical in 1989. Most of its products are made by its own facility in the US, and a small portion is outsourced. Nature Made sells its nutritional supplements through major mass retailers, drugstore chains and online. Many Nature Made products currently hold the USP Verification Mark. The company employs 850 people and has an estimated revenue of $300 million. In 2017 and 2018, it ranked No. 1 in the Food/Drug/Mass — Broad Product Line by ConsumerLab.com.
Life Extension was founded in Fort Lauderdale, FL in 1983. This company now offers over 350 premium-quality supplements and over 2,000 other brand products. In 2018, not only did it rank as the No. 1 in Internet/Catalog merchant of supplements in Consumberlab.com, but also its multivitamin, Omega-3s and resveratrol all won the highest rank. The company offers customers FREE access to an expert team of naturopaths, nutritionists, and nurses who can answer their health-related questions. Life Extension Magazine® is the ultimate resource on staying healthy and living better. This company also has a one year return policy.
California Gold Nutrition is a brand name owned by iHerb. Starting in 1996 and headquartered in Irving, California, iHerb is s now a world-class online store, supplying a vast selection of brand name natural products. For six years in a row, iHerb has been named #1 online supplement store by ConsumerLab.com. It has four distribution centers in the U.S. and one in Korea.
Based in Los Angeles, CA, Jarrow Formulas was created in 1977. Today, it is a formulator and supplier of superior nutritional supplements, selling products to North America and throughout the world. It has an estimated revenue of $106 mil. The President of the company, Jarrow L. Rogovin, was also the founder of the International Probiotic Association.
Founded in 1936, this Salt Lake City, UT –based company offers a line of nutritional supplements under the Schiff brand. Its specialty supplements include joint care products (glucosamine, MSM, etc.) under the Move Free brand; omega-3 products under the MegaRed brand; probiotic digestive health products under the Digestive Advantage and Sustenex brands; and immune support products under the Airborne brand. It used to trade in NYSE but went private in 2012. It sells products mainly through retailers such as Walmart and Costco. It employs about 500 people and the annual estimated sales is $300 million.
Solgar, Inc. started in 1947, now is part of Nature’ Bounty after it was acquired by the latter in 2005. Solgar manufactures and distributes premium-branded nutritional supplements through 5,000 retail stores and more than 60 countries. With its own manufacturing facility located in New Jersey, and its own laboratory and distribution facilities, Solgar ensures quality throughout the entire process. The company is proud of its rigorous quality system called Solgar Gold Standard™. One example is that they use recyclable glass bottles, which cost more but protect against heat, light, and moisture.
In 1968, Now Foods was founded in suburban Chicago by Elwood Richard. Today NOW is still owned by the Richard family and has grown to become one of the natural product industry’s most recognizable brands, providing one of the most extensive lines of natural products available, including supplements, beauty, essential oil, and pet supplements. NOW owns and operates several manufacturing and distribution facilities in the United States and Canada, and sells products to 70 countries worldwide. It employs 850 employees with estimated sales of $460 million.
21st Century has state-of-the-art facilities located in Tempe, Arizona which is cGMP compliant and adheres to the strict FDA standards for dietary and nutritional supplement manufacturing. Its reputation as quality leaders for over 28 years ensures that its family of brands is committed to only the safest and reliable health and wellness formulations available today. This company has very competitive pricing strategy.
Physician-founded in 1990, the California-based Doctor’s Best is a nutritional supplement company, offering more than 200 products, most made with branded ingredients. It uses contract manufacturing to produce their products. In 2016, the company was sold to Xiamen Kingdomway Group, who had been the ingredient supplier for a number of years.
For over 35 years, Natrol has been a leading manufacturer of Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements and is dedicated to empowering consumers to “Own Your Health” with the help of our top-selling products, Melatonin, 5-HTP and Biotin. At the core of Natrol’s success is their unwavering focus on five strategic principles — Quality, People, Innovation, Customer Service, and Cost Effectiveness. The company is based in Chatsworth, CA.
Founded in 1981 in California, Rainbow Light has been dedicated to creating natural, food-based supplements that make a difference in the health and well-being of the customers, while promoting sustainable practices for planetary health and contributing to the fight against global malnutrition. “For the First Thousand Days” is the first multivitamin series that provides specific nourishment for mom and baby through each stage of pregnancy from preconception, through all three trimesters to postnatal and into the toddler phase.
Optimum Nutrition, Inc. (ON) has production facilities in IL, SC, and FL. Started in 1986, ON is now one of the few sports nutrition companies to manufacture in every product category. Its Gold Standard 100% Whey is the world’s best-selling whey protein, and it also sells Gold Standard 100% Casein, the slowly digesting protein category. ON also created the anytime energy category, which remains dominated by Essential Amino Energy.
L’il Critters and Vitafusion, both brands owned by Northwest Natural Products, is based in Washington State, have two extremely popular gummy vitamin brands, one for kids and one for adults.
Since 1998, this company has revolutionized the dietary supplement industry with five simple words: “We Make Nutrition Taste Good.™”
Besides the above 15 most popular supplement brands that we recommend, you may also find three very popular brands: GNC, Centrum and One-A-Day. While some of their products are great, these brands are not our favorite as they tend to compromise the quality of the ingredients they use to meet the cost and price pressure. For the fairness of comparisons, we still list them for your consideration.
GNC (General Nutrition Centers) is a Pittsburgh, PA-based American company selling health and nutrition supplements under its proprietary brands, including Mega Men®, Ultra Mega®,etc. It also sells other companies’ products, such as Jarrow Formulas, Carlson, Nature’s Way, Solgar.etc. GNC has more than 6,400 stores in the U.S., as well as locations in 49 other countries. In 2016, it had 16,800 employees and $2.5 billion sales. GNC is listed in NYSE. Recently, it received $300 million investment from Harbin Pharm to form a joint venture.
Centrum is a brand of multivitamins produced by Pfizer, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Centrum’s range of supplements includes the original ‘Centrum Advance’, plus other special formulas with ingredients targeted towards health for women, men, over 50s and kids. Their products are widely available in retailers like Walmart, pharmacies like Walgreen, from Amazon, but not directly sold through Centrum’s own website.
One A Day (or One-A-Day) is a product family of multivitamins produced by the Bayer corporation, a German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company. Currently there are fifteen products in the One A Day line, with formulas targeting women, men and kids, similar to Centrum in terms of product types and sales channels.