Dietary Supplement Sales Increase

AUSTIN, TexasSales of herbal dietary supplements in the United States increased by almost 5 percent in 2009, reaching a total estimated figure of more than $5 billion, according to a new report published in HerbalGram, the nonprofit American Botanical Councils (ABC) quarterly journal (2010;86:62-65). Sales in the mainstream market channel (e.g., drugstores, etc.) experienced particularly strong growth, increasing more than 14 percent over 2008 sales.

This news is really remarkable, said HerbalGram editor Mark Blumenthal. In the most economically difficult market in over 70 years, when almost all consumer goods experienced a drop in sales, consumers voted strongly with scarcer dollars for herbal dietary supplements.

NBJ estimated the total herb supplement sales figure for 2009 based on data derived from company surveys, interviews with major retailers and industry experts, and various published and unpublished secondary material. IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, determined herb supplement sales in the mainstream market channel as being $335,585,700 for 2009, an increase of 14.4 percent over the previous year.

The 14-percent growth spurt is the largest sales increase in the mainstream market in recent memory, said Blumenthal, founder and executive director of ABC.

IRIs figure includes grocery stores, drugstores and mass market retailers, but it does not include Wal-Mart, Sams Club, other large warehouse buying clubs or convenience stores.

SPINS found sales of botanical dietary supplements in the natural and health foods channel to be $249,664,836, an increase of 4.5 percent over 2008 sales in this channel. SPINS figure does not include sales from the natural foods store Whole Foods Markets. In addition to the mainstream market and the natural and health foods channel, herbal dietary supplements are sold in the United States through mail order catalogs and Internet sites, radio and television direct sales outlets, multi-level marketing firms that sell directly to the consumer, health professionals who sell supplements from their offices and various other channels.

The 5 top-selling single herbal supplements of 2009 in the health and natural foods channel, according to SPINS, were aloe vera, flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum), wheat grass and barley grass (Triticum aestivum and Hordeum vulgare), açaí (Euterpe oleracea) and turmeric (Curcuma longa). The top-selling herbal singles of 2009 in the food, drug, and mass market channel, according to IRI, are cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), soy (Glycine max), saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), garlic (Allium sativum) and Echinacea (Echinacea spp.). These rankings do not include combinations containing multiple herbs.

According to the report, cranberry supplements, which were the top-selling herbal supplement product within the FDM channel in 2008, remained the leader in this category for 2009 with a sales increase of 23.3 percent in 2009.