Key industry-related market statistics:

• The UK vitamins and supplements market enjoyed growth in 2015, with value sales rising 2.2% to £414 million
• Usage of vitamins and supplements increased in 2015-16, with 65% of all adults having taken some form of vitamin or supplement either daily or on an occasional basis in the 12 months ending June 2016, vs 63% in the previous year
• The market has also benefited from an increase in the number of daily users, with the proportion of people taking supplements every day up 5 percentage points from 2015-16
• Whilst men are less likely to use vitamins or supplements than their female counterparts, the proportion of men taking them on a daily basis increased significantly from 2015-16, illustrating men’s increased engagement with their own health and personal care
• Demographic-specific supplements proved a key contributor to total category value sales in 2015, with strong growth in value sales of products targeted at men (+29%), women (+3%), children (+9) and the over-50s (+6%) in the year to May 2016
• The overall category is predicted to see a steady rise in value sales in the long term, driven in part by the ageing population, as well as increased engagement with male audiences
• The best- and worst-case forecasts take the value of the vitamins and supplements market from an expected £421 million in 2016 to £475 million (best case) and £439 million (worst case) in 2021. Based on predictions of the population of adults, however, Mintel estimates the market to achieve a total of £457 million in value sales in 2021

Source: Mintel – ‘Vitamins and Supplements’ report, UK, Sept 2016

On occasion the UK media calls into question the amount spent by UK consumers on food supplements annually (c. £400m), questioning the value gained. When doing this it is perhaps worth considering the following:

Compared to what they spend on food supplements, British consumers spend*:

• 25 times that on tobacco
• 15 times on chocolate
• 7.5 times on their caffeine habit
• 2.5 times on pies
• Twice as much on Valentine’s Day
• The same on gin

More specifically, compared to the annual spend on multivitamins:

• More than 3 times is spent on gin
• More than 6 times is spent on Valentine’s Day
• More than 25 times is spent on pies

And, the annual spend by women on folic acid supplements*, is exceeded by:

• More than 20 times on gin
• More than 40 times on Valentine’s Day
• More than 50 times on pies

(*HFMA estimates)

Sales of food supplements may reach £500m by 2022

30m adults now take food supplements every week, 45% of these on a daily basis

The natural health industry supports over 20,000 UK jobs