The beauty supplements market was valued at $2.32 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $3.33 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4.61% from 2019 to 2026, according to Verified Research Market. From liquids and gummies to powders and capsules, the beauty industry offers a vast number of SKUs that claim to help consumers enhance their appearance while amplifying the health of skin, hair, and nails, among other aspects of the body. According to Nutritional Outlook, 91% of Americans have increased their VMS (vitamin, mineral, and supplements) intake since the beginning of the pandemic, whether this be adding new supplements to an existing routine (46%), taking the same supplements more regularly (25%), or increasing doses (22%). Nutritional Outlook puts this increase down to consumers becoming more interested in their health since the pandemic. At the same time, Jostein Solheim CEO, Health & Beauty, Unilever, believes this growth is a result of the supplements industry "going through a cultural shift, transforming from its clinical roots into a lifestyle-led category."
There is a clear opportunity for beauty businesses to profit from the supplement market, as Unilever reports 10.3% growth in Q1 of 2023, its ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, after $1 billion in turnover in 2022. Unilever's successful supplement brands include Olly, which claims to be the number-one gummy vitamin brand in the US; SmartyPants Vitamins, which has provided products to 27 million women and children around the world through its 10-year partnership with the Vitamin Angels charity; and Nutrafol, the dermatologist-recommended hair growth supplement brand, which Unilever took a 13.2% stake in back in May 2022.
Solheim believes that the success of Unilever's supplement offerings comes down to "the beauty industry taking on the challenge to offer proactive solutions for immunity and mental, physical, and emotional health," becoming more than just a sector that offers cosmetics and body care products. The CEO states four main trends drive category growth at Unilever, the first being the consumers behind the increase. "Millennials and Gen Z no longer see health as the absence of illness and disease but as a lifestyle goal to pursue," he adds. 50% of millennials are using supplements, followed by 53% of Gen Z. This number is sure to continue to grow alongside the market, which could lead to these generations passing their habits down to the next, solidifying heavy VMS usage for several years to come.
The second factor behind the category's growth is said to be the element of personalization now being offered. "Products are becoming more about benefit-led personalization rather than a one-size-fits-all approach," Solheim comments. A great example of this is Melissa Snover's personalized nutrient stack brand Nourished, which recently entered a collaboration with Neutrogena to offer 3D-printed personalized skincare supplements that leverage proprietary technology "to create a new dimension of comprehensive inside-out skin care." The partnership allows for 22 billion different combinations of supplements to be created, meaning the consumer demand for personality is genuinely being met, as opposed to them having to navigate which offering of a small selection will best suit their needs.
Solheim names the overlapping of separate categories as the third trend; with VMS beauty, personal care, healthcare, and food merging into one, consumers no longer have to remember to take several different products to achieve the results they desire. Taking VMS is now much more fun and easy, with brands such as Sourse creating snackable supplements, including vitamin-infused chocolate, with clinically backed dosage guidelines, making taking supplements feel like a treat instead of a chore.
The final reasoning behind the VMS boom is the rise of the conscious consumer and the ever-evolving shift to digital news consumption, with Solheim believing that those purchasing such products now see it as a lifestyle choice. Many consumers of VMS products, especially those that fit into the millennial and Gen Z age brackets, are exposed to these products through social media, with several of the generation's favorite celebrities and public figures either backing the VMS movement or creating brands selling these products themselves.
Additionally, Solheim states that 80% of Unilever's category growth comes predominantly from gummies and powders. This is also evidenced in other non-Unilever owned brands, such as Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s gummy brand Lemme, which has had a lot of success so far, further solidifying Solheim's prediction that these offerings will continue in the future.
Lemme is officially defined as a lifestyle brand. If the celebrity herself is branding VMS as a lifestyle choice, as opposed to a medical need, and promoting this message across social media, younger generations—80% of Gen Zers say they are influenced to make purchases based on what they view on social media—are sure to adopt the movement, making it a part of their everyday routines.
Several other beauty supplements have seen an increase in sales due to social media influence. VMS brand Wellgard recently went viral on TikTok for its Vitaflora for Women and Vegan ACV Gummies, with the search terms for both products having a combined 84 million views. Wellgard’s increase in sales came after TikTok added wellness supplements as a product on TikTok Shop, where consumers can buy products directly from brands. While there is no published number on Wellgard’s sales growth, several TikTok users have reported the product being out of stock when they went to purchase it, with some commenting that this was never an issue they encountered prior to the brand's expansion to TikTok Shop, indicating a potential spike in demand. “As a challenger DTC brand, we are always on a quest to find exciting ways to engage with our audience, expand our reach and grow our digital footprint. Given the popularity of TikTok and its thriving community, it was an absolute no-brainer to launch on TikTok Shop. We see TikTok Shop as an integral part of our growth in the coming years and we are very excited about putting energy, creativity and resources to achieve our brand objectives on the platform,” Yousaf Sekander, Managing Director of Wellgard, stated.
The expansion of VMS products into retailers that are rarely associated with such products is also pushing the SKUs to a new range of consumers. In January, Nutrafol entered Sephora, its first physical retailer after being predominantly DTC, available on its website, in selected hair salons, and on Amazon. "Eighty percent of our audience is women, and Sephora's audience is mostly women as well, so it made sense for us within the retail environment, as we're testing it now, to only launch the women's core products," Nutrafol co-founder and CEO Giorgos Tsetis said at the time of the expansion. The choice to launch at Sephora for these reasons opens up the opportunity to expand the brand's customer base while still targeting the typical consumer, as many women who shop at Sephora may not have seen or heard of the brand, and may wish to try its products when they see it in-store. The decision to enter Sephora furthers the narrative of VMS products becoming a lifestyle choice. Because VMS SKUs are now expanding into cosmetic retailers, the product categories' reach is being upscaled to a more luxury feel, and relaying the narrative of a more holisitc approach to beauty, which of course is a lifestyle choice for consumers as opposed to a necessity.
The rise of VMS success across the beauty industry can also be attributed to the tightening of scientific R&D. For several years, VMS products with beauty claims were frequently not taken seriously due to the lack of scientific evidence behind their claims. In 2020, Luca Bucchini, owner of Hylobates Consultancy, a scientific and regulatory consultancy in the food and cosmetic sectors, stated that the industry "needs more science, more studies, and cooperation on the way we evaluate evidence. We need the industry to come together with more understanding." Since then, many brands have begun to focus more on the scientific intricacies of their VMS products, making them more efficacious, and therefore more likely to sell. "Everything is about setting people up for success with the solutions that we offer, and science is at the root of that. Science is a part of our DNA, and we continue to just double down on that," Tsetis said of Nutrafol's foundations when entering Sephora. The brand is known for infusing a science-first approach into their formulation process, which has been proven to work on several occasions. When consumers are able to trust brands' claims with backed-up evidence, it makes sense that they would then trust they would get their money's worth when investing in such products.
Unilever focuses on a science-first approach and aims to continue to do so, hoping its VMS categories continue to grow. "In the next few years, we want Health & Wellbeing to make an even more material contribution to Unilever's overall business through organic growth in the US, international expansion in China and Europe, and new M&A opportunities. We see a continued focus on benefit-led spaces, such as sleep and stress, functional hydration, beauty from within, kids' health, and nootropics. All of which we are uniquely placed to do well in," Solheim concludes.
Overall, several factors contribute to the rise of VMS products within the beauty space, from the approach of VMS being a lifestyle choice while still being rooted in science to genuine personalization and social media/celebrity influence. The VMS market opens several opportunities for beauty brands to grow their business, if done so correctly, by approaching existing and potential products with clear scientific evidence and clarity for consumers. With big corporations such as Unilever heavily investing in the category, other businesses are sure to follow suit, adding a further boom to the market's value and success.
