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The food supplements market in 2020 is likely to be a dovetailing of several existing trends that are now reaching maturity. The rising demand for ‘on-the-go’ nutrition for consumers that are increasingly time-poor has really shaped the development of the food & supplements market and will continue to do so.

In the coming year, we also expect the range of foods that support a healthy and diverse microbiome to widen. The global market potential is growing at a rapid pace in answer to rising obesity levels, which we have seen manifested in the adoption of our product in several new regions in recent months.

We also expect to see synbiotics rise in popularity in 2020, blending the functional benefits of prebiotic and probiotic ingredients. In parallel, it will also be more important than ever to drive core function through food products – everything needs to have a purpose to the consumer, which means food products need to accomplish more, often in place of standalone supplements.

Finally, the need to heighten fibre content, driven by a surge in consumer awareness, should be on the radar of every business along the food supplement supply chain as we move through the year.

In the UK, issues arising from stockpiling have become a key topic of discussion. Asia has been experiencing the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak ahead of Europe and observing various regional challenges - such as that faced by Japan - can help identify what comes next, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

When the effect of COVID-19 became prolonged, consumers searched for products that they thought would protect their health in general. An example from Japan is natto, fermented soybeans that have been lacking in stock consistently since the outbreak.

Natto is known for its health benefits, particularly in terms of lowering cholesterol, and is filled with fiber, probiotics and vitamin K2. Similarly, yogurt - which is generally associated with gut health and immunity - is selling well.

Consumers are more actively buying probiotic products. There will not be natto panic buying in Europe, but probiotic products claiming to improve the immune system are likely to grab consumers’ eye in the UK, as well as Europe.

In the food supplements market, we’re seeing a continued surge in plant-based solutions, married with continued rising demand for ‘on-the-go’ health.

As it matures, the US probiotic supplement market is largely expected to plateau, accompanied by growth in alternative probiotic sources. Businesses in this sector are seeking growth that maintains the excellent momentum that the nutraceutical sector has developed, which throughout the year will lead many companies to investigate the growing scientific evidence surrounding prebiotics.

‘Feeding good gut bacteria’ already resonates with buyers and prebiotic science is continuing to build consumer trust. To this end, we expect 2020 to display a significant growth in the development of synbiotics that blend prebiotic and probiotic ingredients, as the market looks to new delivery formats and marketable applications. 

Personalised nutrition has been a growing trend in the last several years, strengthened by increasing consumer health understanding, and demonstrated by significant industry acquisitions over recent months. We expect this to continue apace throughout the year, with some of the key industry players reacting to the growing demand with more agile service and supply models. The challenge will be limiting SKU proliferation while offering the flexibility that consumers want.

There has been a growing trend or interest in managing stress, both physical and emotional. We have seen huge interest in ingredients and supplements like CBD, and adaptogens like ashwagandha and maca - ingredients that can help the body withstand and cope with stress.

Now, with Covid-19, this has been brought into focus even further by opening up this infant category to include immune support.  We all know that stress can have an adverse effect on the immune system, and there is a trend that’s turning towards how supplement blends can cover or address this concern more holistically.

Similarly, more and more people are turning toward wholefood nutrition. Cooking from scratch, not eating anything their grandmothers wouldn’t recognise. This is partly due to the fact that people may have more time on their hands. 

However, since most consumers want to target their health as comprehensively as they can, I believe individuals will start to look at ingredients that are based on wholefoods, concentrated, and offer multiple benefits - think superfoods, such as spirulina.

An additional focus will be gut health. Increasingly, probiotics are entering mainstream categories.  Three years ago, who would have thought that probiotics would start becoming a staple in topical beauty regimes? 

Lastly, the link between gut health, immunity, wellness and stress has been brought into sharper focus.  It would not be surprising to see bacterial strains appearing and favoured in products such as protein shakes and food supplements, as opposed to capsule and pill forms.