9 supplement trends we found at Expo West show innovation is still firing

Ever-changing supplements product trends show the industry to be as nimble as ever to respond to consumer needs.

Todd Runestad, Content Director, SupplySideSJ.com

March 16, 2022

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At Natural Products Expo West 2022 that just concluded in Anaheim, row upon row of supplements companies showed innovation remains the coin of the realm.

Among the trends seen at the show are the continuation of the movement to non-pill formats like beverage shots and gummies. Shots have traveled far afield from the traditional energy drinks and now are suitable for a broad range of health conditions from sleep and stress to immunity and cognition.

The hemp CBD sector in particular has fully embraced gummies. This is great news for consumers because the OG tincture bottles with oils for consumers were a little messy plus shoppers could not be counted on to get the dosage exactly right when squirting oil from a dropper under the tongue.

The hemp world continues to innovate at a rapid clip—in some areas even lapping traditional supplements as with supply-chain traceability and transparency as with QR codes that lead consumers to testing lab results vouchsafing ingredient quality. But that’s not all. Some CBD companies, seeing the bloom come off the rose, have pivoted to become straight-up supplement companies. It started with formulating CBD with complementary ingredients, then brand-new SKUs that contain no hemp at all.

Outside of hempland, in addition to new delivery formats, new ingredients—and new uses for old ingredients—are being discovered from around the world.

Related:Natural Products Expo West 2022 NEXTY Awards winners named

In this time of the Covid pandemic, one of the leading health conditions consumers are clamoring for is the nootropic areas of stress, sleep and anxiety—and in particular, the relatively soft benefit of mood.

Check out this gallery for product emblematic of these new shifts in the supplements market. 

We even included one product that's not a supplement, but is notable for how they engage the up-and-coming Gen Z demographic. You'll love it! 

About the Author

Todd Runestad

Content Director, SupplySideSJ.com, SupplySide Supplement Journal

Todd Runestad has been writing on nutrition science news since 1997. He is content director for SupplySide Supplement Journal and its digital magazines. Other incarnations: content director for Natural Products Insider (now rebranded to SupplySide Supplement Journal), supplements editor for NewHope.com, Delicious Living!, and Natural Foods Merchandiser. Former editor-in-chief of Functional Ingredients magazine and still covers raw material innovations and ingredient science.

Connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Specialty

Todd writes about nutrition science news such as this story on mitochondrial nutrients, innovative ingredients such as this story about 12 trendy new ingredient launches from SupplySide West 2023, and is a judge for the NEXTY awards honoring innovation, integrity and inspiration in natural products including his specialty — dietary supplements. He extensively covered the rise and rise and rise and fall of cannabis hemp CBD. He helps produce in-person events at SupplySide West and SupplySide East trade shows and conferences, including the wildly popular Ingredient Idol game show, as well as Natural Products Expo West and Natural Products Expo East and the NBJ Summit. He was a board member for the Hemp Industries Association.

Education / Past Lives

In previous lives Todd was on the other side of nature from natural products — natural history — as managing editor at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. He's sojourned to Burning Man and Mount Everest. He graduated many moons ago from the State University of New York College at Oneonta.

Quotes

"There is not a colds-and-flu season. There is a vitamin D-deficiency season."

"There is no such thing as inclement weather. Only improper attire."

Link answers question, "When taking magnesium, should you also take vitamin D3 2,000 IU?"

"Cannabis is nature's most nearly perfect plant."

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