Hermoni told the audience consumers are looking for food-like experiences, while also expecting transparency in ingredients and dosing.
She presented data showing that, across various health categories, people want sensory or indulgent components to their supplements. She noted that this showed a merging of wellness and pleasure, where improved taste and texture enhanced compliance, and including a ritual added an emotional appeal for consumers.
“It’s about habit integration,” she said. “Products that fit naturally into daily routines have a higher chance of long-term use.”
Consumer demand spurs cross-category shift
What started in one category, like gummies for sleep support, spread to others like beauty and weight management, Hermoni explained. She noted that a cross-pollination in consumer expectations occurred: once consumers experienced innovation in one area, they began to want it everywhere.
She observed that in the beauty sector, many early adopters seek new delivery forms, noting that the same applies in weight management, where people are looking for indulgent experiences even while restricting their diet in other ways.
She also noted that female consumers made up the majority when it came to reporting pill fatigue, and when selecting a delivery format that would work for the consumer, the key was creating user experience.
Next wave of supplement innovation
Hermoni explained that while traditional formats like capsules and tablets were still the majority, food-like forms were growing in popularity.
“It’s clear that gummies are leading the charts when it comes to alternative delivery formats,” she said, presenting data that showed gummies were most favoured by Gen Z.
“There are also other innovative approaches emerging. For example, millennials tend to prioritize liquids and powders, while Gen Z is all about gummies, chewables, and now shots.”
Yet as people increasingly want easy, on-the-go solutions that are cleaner, have no added colors or sugar, and are ideally vegan, this is driving category growth outside of gummies. She explained that plant-based gummies can be difficult to formulate and some ingredients, such as creatine, struggle to work in that format.
Because of these limitations, shots are gaining popularity as they are perceived as fresh ‘real food’ while maintaining a concentrated and functional feel.
“This perception is inspiring new ideas about what the next generation of delivery systems could look like,” Hermoni said.
Hermoni referenced several emerging format trends to watch, noting the rise of ‘candyceuticals’, sour flavor profiles, smart coffee, functional mushroom energy products, and chocolate-based delivery systems.
She also referenced the growing innovation in drinkables and concepts like waterless hydration, and forecast an increase in melts and strips.
