Accelerating Health Innovation™

Nutritional supplements - a fast-growing factor in health care - a $22.5B industry

According to a report titled "Just What the Doctor Ordered" that appeared in the April issue of the Mercanti Group's Chronicle, more people are moving to alternative solutions to general wellness issues. Mercanti, which closely follows the health and wellness industry, says this is in part because of high health care costs, concern over quality of care and a distrust of pharmaceuticals. Nutritional supplements are becoming more credible as the FDA institutes more "stringent product quality and testing procedures" and federal agencies such as the National Institute of Health increase their research. The report notes the increased interest in overall health and wellness has led growth in a wide range of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services, including acupuncture, naturopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine. In nutritional supplements, the greatest growth is among traditional and CAM health care practitioners, with the practitioner channel growing at almost twice the rate of traditional retailers. The report values the practitioner market at $1.7 billion and looks at several companies in the supplement market. Two leading players are Metagenetics, a pioneer in nutrigenomics, which offers products "aimed at affecting genetic expression and that help prevent or manage chronic diseases," and an 80-year old firm, Standard Process, which offers "a full line of whole food and herbal supplements, as well as veterinary items." The report also discusses Allergy Research Group, Atrium Innovations, Designs for Health, Integrative Therapeutics, Seroyal International and Thome Research. According to the report’s writer, the market is ripe for future growth. The full report can be found at www.mercantigroup.com.

Nutraceuticals International
5/1/2008