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What’s your supplement stack? Maybe it’s a pre-workout line-up, featuring creatine, caffeine, L-citrulline, and beta-alanine. Or perhaps you’re focused on gut health, turning to sea moss and peppermint oil. Whatever your health concern, chances are there’s a supplement stack on TikTok tailored to it. Audiences are leaning in: on TikTok, 2.8 million videos have been created using the #supplements hashtag to date.
Once the domain of bodybuilders and wellness purists, supplement stacks — complex, multi-step routines layered across drinkable blends, pills, tinctures, effervescent sachets, and gummies — have become something of a status symbol, with users online flexing regimens costing upwards of $1,000 a month. At the same time, an influx of celebrity-backed brands are accelerating the category’s cultural cachet. Just this month, Kylie Jenner launched K2o, a drink stack infused with electrolytes, hyaluronic acid, and collagen peptides to support smoother firmer skin. This follows a slew of celebrity supplement launches, from Mel Robbins’s Pure Genius Protein to Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed debuting The Absorption Company. Kourtney Kardashian’s Lemme vitamins line has experienced 25% month-on-month growth since its launch in 2022 to January 2024, according to Glossy, as well as six product sell-outs.
“The days of a one-and-done multivitamin are long gone,” says Suzanne Scott, global associate beauty director at PR and strategy firm Seen Group, which works with the likes of Shiseido, the British Beauty Council, Dove, and Byoma. “Now, we’re cocktailing mushrooms like reishi and lion’s mane to counter mental fatigue and symptoms of perimenopause, taking bovine and marine collagen to help with joints and skin and hair health, as well as natural DHT blockers like saw palmetto and pumpkin seed oil to help with hair loss.”
That dominance is reflected in sales. UK drug store Superdrug reports a 163% increase in beauty supplement purchases so far this year, according to the retailer, with gut health supplements doubling in demand. Globally, the supplements market shows no signs of slowing, with the global consumer health market, including supplements valued at $338 billion in 2025 after growing 4%, witnessing strong growth driven by “beauty from within” and preventative health measures, according to Euromonitor.
The supplements market is benefiting from a post-pandemic upswing, as consumers take health and self-optimization into their own hands. “We’re still riding on a post-pandemic high of prevention, with health and wellness thinking becoming as much about fending off illness, as it is about being healthier,” says Scott. “We’re also an aging society. With people living longer and declining birthrates, naturally attention swings toward remaining as healthy as possible, for as long as possible. This is one of the major factors behind the interest in longevity — and, in turn, biohacking — which is fueling innovation across beauty and wellness in general.”
But with an onslaught of new brands, viral claims and evermore elaborate routines, which brands will ultimately cut through the noise? In a saturated market, visibility alone is no longer enough, and credibility is equally becoming harder to prove as influencer-led #sponcon muddies the water. At the same time, loyalty is increasingly fragile. In an era shaped by GLP-1s and fast-acting peptides, consumers are primed for near-instant results, making the slower, cumulative benefits of supplements a tougher sell — and the likelihood of consumers jumping from brand to brand a bigger chance. How, then, should brands proceed?
No results, no repeat purchases
As the supplement space becomes saturated, a new class of brands is pushing back against the excess of supplement stacks to establish credibility and engineer products for ease over excess.
Shreddy, a UK-based fitness and wellness brand launched by influencer Grace Beverely, has also been focusing on designing products that slot seamlessly into everyday life. “The supplement space can feel quite overwhelming. There’s a lot of choice, and a lot of mixed messaging, so a big part of our focus is creating products that feel easy to use, effective, and worth adding into her already busy routine,” says Shreddy’s head of brand marketing Lottie Woolley. That thinking underpins its all-in-one approach. For example, Shreddy Supergreens consists of 30 greens, antioxidants, pre and probiotics, and key vitamins in a single daily drink targeting gut health as well as hair, skin, and nail support — an approach that drove a 30,000-person waitlist when the product launched in November 2023.
This emphasis on ease is also key to retention. “If it earns a place [in someone’s routine], customers stick with it,” Woolley says, noting triple-digit subscription growth over the past year as users build consistent habits rather than treating supplements as one-offs. Crucially, the brand also resists chasing every trend. “Everything starts with a real customer need. If that isn’t there, we’re not making it, regardless of how big a trend might feel at the time.” Instead, Shreddy focuses on targeted innovation, as seen with Superwoman, an all-in-one blend designed to support hormone health. Launched last November, the product quickly proved demand, with a capped subscription drop selling out in just 28 minutes.
Launching a supplement in the US or UK doesn’t require pre-approval from regulators like the US Food and Drug Administration or Food Standards Agency, but brands are legally responsible for ensuring ingredients are safe, properly labeled, and compliant with existing rules. Unlike pharmaceuticals, supplements don’t need to prove efficacy before launch, though any health claims must be substantiated and cannot be misleading.
“The [supplement] category has become crowded because it is easy to launch a product, but much harder to create something with integrity. The strongest brands are not those launching more SKUs, but those building fewer, more considered and more credible products,” says Sofia Downing, who founded liquid supplement brand Inora Health after burning out. The resulting range features just liquid supplements tailored for sleep, energy, and longevity. “It shouldn’t be about encouraging consumers to take more, but about helping them understand what they actually need,” Downing continues. “That means identifying gaps in their lifestyle, recognizing potential deficiencies, and supporting defined outcomes. There’s a simplicity to good health that often gets overlooked.”
She also argues the issue lies not just in ingredients, but in how products are tested. “I think too many brands rely on ingredient-level, third-party research to validate their own finished formulations. Testing their own final product, at the dose and in the format it is actually delivered in, should be the standard. At Inora, we have an internal commitment to continue to invest in research,” says Downing.
For emerging brands, expert partnerships are becoming another key way to signal legitimacy. “The science alignment is a huge selling factor and especially important for building trust in a category where there’s still inconsistency in testing and scrutiny,” says Seen Group’s Scott. She points to YLW founders Joe Bloomfield and Anthony Plom as standout examples. “[They] were shocked at the lack of oversight in the industry, so their approach was to enlist the best of the best when it came to experts, to eradicate any doubt in their customers’ minds that they were buying something truly exceptional,” says Scott. “[YLW] works with Glenn Gibson, professor of food microbiology at the University of Reading, who has published more than 500 scientific papers, and is a world-renowned gut health expert, on its probiotic formulas.” She also points to brands like Nuchido Time+, led by molecular biologist and longevity expert Dr. Nichola Conlon.
The aesthetic of optimization
If credibility is the foundation for supplements, branding is increasingly the hook. Gone are the days of sterile pill bottles, today’s supplements are expected to sit comfortably alongside skincare and fragrance on a bathroom shelf, as well as featuring in aesthetic morning routine vlogs. That means they need to look good.
Notably, this marks a shift from just a few years ago, when the category skewed more clinical and prestige, with apothecary-style glass or metal bottles and muted, “serious” color palettes. Now, supplements are borrowing directly from the skincare playbook, embracing brighter, confectionery-coded hues and more playful, sensory-driven design alongside more engaging, social-first content.
Sult is an interesting case study. Co-founded by Milly Goldsmith and Henry Porpora, the brand has built its following through unfiltered storytelling on social media, sharing everything from how the founders matched on Hinge, reconnected a year later, and ultimately began developing the idea for an electrolytes brand, each investing £10,000 before launch. Visually, Sult leans into bold, high-impact branding, with a bright green logo and blue packaging designed to stand out on the shelf. But its cultural traction has been built just as much online as offline. The founders have documented the journey in real time, from the evolution of their branding, featuring real screenshots of notes, drawings, and diagrams from their Miro board to reading reviews of the product and behind-the-scenes looks into how the product is made from manufacturer to packaging.
“As the vitamin and supplement category evolves, customers now expect them to be as visually appealing as skincare and cosmetics products, whereas in the past this was considered a more commodity area,” says Emma Monaghan, head of own brand and exclusives at Superdrug. “However, while branding and positioning help to bring in customers, our product efficacy and expertise is what builds trust and drives our customers to purchase.”
Of course, there have been countless A-listers cashing in, which is an obvious brand-builder, but as Scott warns: “The celebrity angle on its own isn’t enough. There needs to be substance behind the endorsement, whether that’s clinical backing or proprietary innovation.” She points to brands like Epetome, founded by UK-based influencer Emily English (@EmTheNutritionist), which pairs strong founder-led messaging with its Synbiotic Duo Cap technology, designed to protect ingredients en route to the gut. Similarly, David Beckham’s IM8 draws on expertise across medical research, nutrition, sports science, oncology, and even Nasa.
Innovations in the space
As the supplement category matures, innovation is increasingly being defined not by what supplements do, but how they fit into everyday life.
“Gummies are currently the fastest-growing global format, with around 20% annual growth, largely driven by convenience and ease of use,” says Rachel Chatterton, director of product and global brand at UK health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett. She chalks it down to a broader behavioral shift. Many people cite fatigue, time pressure, and lack of motivation as key barriers to maintaining healthy habits, so they are increasingly drawn to formats that are simple, accessible, and easy to incorporate into daily routines, she says. “We are also seeing growing interest in powders, liquids, and functional drinks, particularly where they fit seamlessly into existing habits.”
Hydration has emerged as a standout sub-category, becoming a core driver of innovation, with sachets, soluble electrolyte tablets and ready-to-mix blends transforming how consumers engage with daily supplementation. “Hydration has been a standout category, building momentum throughout 2025 and continuing into 2026,” confirms Chatterton.
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For more established players, innovation is being approached with greater caution. Rather than reacting to trends, brands like Thorne, which was established in 1984 and is known for its clinical research and practitioner partnerships, position development around scientific rigor and clearly defined consumer needs. New formats are introduced only when they align with both clinical evidence and real behavioral shifts. “A good example of innovation and consumer demand in action was the introduction of our single serving line in 2025, including Daily Electrolytes,” says Mary Beech, Thorne’s chief growth officer. “We saw a growing need for performance support in convenient, on-the-go formats — whether people are training, traveling, or just managing a full day. It wasn’t about following a hydration trend; it was about recognizing a shift in how people live and making sure our format evolved to meet that.”
Looking ahead, longevity and personalization are expected to define the next phase of growth. Ingredients such as NAD+, collagen, and peptides are likely to become more mainstream, while innovation will increasingly mirror developments already seen in beauty, where life-stage targeting and preventative optimization are key drivers, according to Scott. “Whether that looks like collaboration between testing services and supplement brands, or outsourcing control of your supplement regimen to a concierge of sorts who will arrange appropriate blood tests and adjust your supplement program accordingly,” she adds.
Still, despite growing sophistication and increasing competition, the category shows little sign of slowing. “While parts of the market are becoming more competitive, there is still clear room for expansion,” says Chatterton. “Only around half of people say they actively manage their health today, while 78% say they only go to the doctor when it feels absolutely necessary. That highlights the role everyday health solutions can play. Supplements are increasingly acting as a gateway to more proactive habits, and demand continues to be driven by the broader shift toward preventative health.”
In other words, while formats, branding and science are rapidly evolving, the underlying opportunity remains vast. The supplement industry is still in the midst of expansion, with its next phase likely to be defined by how effectively brands can balance innovation with trust.
