The Vitamin Shoppe releases Health & Wellness Trend Report

With the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency in May 2023, the wellness landscape in the U.S. has seen a significant shift in consumer activities, priorities and purchasing behaviors. Compared to a year ago, there has been an evolution of focus from categories like immunity protection and foundational health towards products that enhance fitness and active lifestyles, such as energy drinks, hydration formulas and creatine.

These trends and more are evidenced in this year’s Health & Wellness Trend Report from The Vitamin Shoppe, which contains proprietary insights from the wellness retailer and its expansive, proprietary data on what Americans are searching for and buying to support their health and wellbeing.

The report’s key findings include both internal analytics from The Vitamin Shoppe’s stores and vitaminshoppe.com, as well as industry-wide sales data from research partner SPINS.

Additionally, The Vitamin Shoppe commissioned an exclusive May 2023 Consumer Survey by OnePoll to provide further context to the numbers behind these trends, with key findings included in this report.

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“As a destination for health and wellness solutions for millions of customers annually, The Vitamin Shoppe has a unique window into the behaviors and preferences of the American wellness consumer,” said Muriel Gonzalez, president of The Vitamin Shoppe. “Understanding these patterns is a central part of our mission to provide the highest quality products, latest innovations and industry-leading expertise to the customers and communities we serve. We are proud to offer the largest assortment of vitamins, supplements and sports nutrition products at retail in the United States, giving us a wealth of data on what kinds of trends are driving the wellness industry forward.”

These trends have surfaced against the backdrop of a consumer population that is increasingly focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the post-pandemic environment. According to The Vitamin Shoppe Consumer Survey, 59% of Americans are now more engaged with proactively managing their health in the areas of diet and nutrition, exercise and sleep when compared to pre-pandemic years. Only 21% said they are less engaged now, while 16% said there has been no change.

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Moreover, 59% of Americans say they are more engaged now with proactively managing their health than during pre-pandemic years.

According to sales, search, and consumer survey data from the past year, five key health and wellness trends of 2023 include:

• Energy Drinks: New brands, flavors, and popular influencers are turbocharging this already booming category;
• Hydration Trend: Focused brands are making hydration fun and flavorful, elevating demand for electrolyte fluids, especially among young consumers;
• Fit Lifestyle: Sports nutrition brands and their gym-going fans are expanding into wellness supplements that address holistic health needs;
• Creatine Expansion: Athletes and bodybuilders aren’t the only ones sold on the multiple benefits of creatine; now it’s also women and older consumers; and
• Magnesium: Social media influencers are drawing attention to the powers of magnesium and generating renewed interest in its varied wellness benefits. 

For this 2023 Health & Wellness Trend Report, The Vitamin Shoppe commissioned leading market research company OnePoll, to conduct a survey on health and wellness behaviors and attitudes. OnePoll completed a random, double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans, conducted from May 25-May 31, 2023.