Issue:
111
Page: 67-73
Sales of Herbal Dietary Supplements in US Increased 7.5% in 2015
Consumers spent $6.92 billion on herbal supplements in 2015, marking the 12th consecutive year of growth
by Tyler Smitha, Kimberly Kawab, Veronica Ecklb, James Johnsonc
HerbalGram.
2016; American Botanical Council
aHerbalGram, American Botanical Council; Austin, Texas
bSPINS; Chicago, Illinois
cNutrition Business Journal, New Hope Natural Media;
Boulder, Colorado
Introduction
Consumer spending on
herbal dietary supplements in the United States reached an all-time high in
2015. Retail sales of herbal supplements totaled an estimated $6.92 billion in
2015 (Table 1), a 7.5% increase in sales from the previous year. Consumers
spent approximately $480 million more on herbal products in 2015 than in the
previous year — an increase that marks the 12th consecutive year of growth for
these products.
These figures, and
the rest of the data* presented in HerbalGram’s 2015 Herb Market Report, were
generously provided by the following organizations: SPINS LLC, a market
research firm based in Chicago, which collaborated with IRI (Information
Resources Inc.), also a Chicago-based market research company, to determine mainstream
multi-outlet retail sales of herbal dietary supplements, and the Nutrition
Business Journal (NBJ), a publication of New Hope Natural Media, a
specialty media company with headquarters in Colorado.
For the seventh year
in a row, sales of herbal supplements increased in each of the three market
channels — mass-market (“mainstream channel”), natural and health food (“natural channel”), and direct sales
(Tables 2 and 3). Although the natural channel generally outperforms the other
two channels in terms of percent growth, in 2015, the mainstream channel
experienced the highest sales increase of 7.9%. Sales growth was slightly less
for the natural (7.7%) and direct sales channels (7.2%).
Mainstream Retail
Channel
Sales of herbal
dietary supplements in the mainstream channel totaled $943 million in 2015, as
determined by SPINS and IRI. This figure represents a 1.5% increase over 2014
sales in this channel of approximately $929 million. NBJ — which includes
convenience store data in its mass-market channel — estimated higher total
mainstream sales of $1.2 billion.
Horehound, for the
third year in a row, was the top-selling herbal supplement in the US mainstream
multi-outlet channel. Sales of horehound supplements in 2015 reached almost
$115 million (see Table 4), an 8.5% increase from the previous year. Since
2013, horehound supplement sales, which include lozenges with horehound as the
primary ingredient, have increased by a total of almost $8 million in
mainstream outlets, indicating strong, continued growth for this member of the
mint (Lamiaceae) family.1
The first documented
medicinal use of horehound was in the 1st century CE, when Roman physician A.
Cornelius Celsus noted that horehound juice could relieve respiratory issues.2
Almost two millennia later, 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper
recommended a horehound syrup preparation “as an excellent help to evacuate tough
phlegm and cold rheum from the lungs of aged persons.”3 Horehound
has also been used to relieve digestive and other issues, but, today, horehound
supplements are still used primarily to support respiratory health.4
Consumers are perhaps more familiar with horehound in the form of cough drops
or lozenges. In recent years, the herb has been revived as an ingredient of
cocktails, particularly the “Rock and Rye,” a classic American whiskey cocktail popular
in the 1930s.5
Boswellia, commonly
known as Indian frankincense, also had a remarkable year in 2015. Although it
ranked 39th on the list of top-selling herbal supplements in the mainstream
channel, the herb experienced a 673.6% increase in sales from the previous
year. Native to parts of India, the Middle East, and northern Africa, the
boswellia tree contains an oily gum resin that can be extracted from the trunk
and made into a highly prized incense. For thousands of years, the resin has
also been used for its anti-inflammatory properties in the traditional Indian
medical system of Ayurveda (see “Natural Channel”
section for more about Ayurveda).6 Today, boswellia supplements are
marketed primarily for their anti-inflammatory properties.7 In
clinical trials, various boswellia preparations have shown promising effects in
subjects with osteoarthritis,8 asthma,9 and colitis10
(an inflammatory condition of the colon).
An article from the
November 30, 2015, issue of The New Yorker described inflammation as the
year’s latest medical “craze,”
noting a significant increase in coverage by both popular news media and
scientific publications. “This explosion in activity has captured the public
imagination,” the article noted.11 “In best-selling books and on
television and radio talk shows, threads of research are woven into cure-all
tales in which inflammation is responsible for nearly every malady, and its
defeat is the secret to health and longevity.”
Boswellia was just
one of the herbal ingredients that benefitted from this “cure-all craze” in 2015. Many
boswellia supplements promoted for their anti-inflammatory actions also are
formulated with turmeric. In 2015, turmeric had the fourth highest percentage
increase in sales (+117.7%) of the mainstream channel’s 40 top-selling herbal
supplements. This yellow-orange spice contains curcumin, which, among many
other properties, is an antioxidant, and which is thought to be responsible, in
part, for turmeric's anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric and/or curcumin
preparations have been studied for their ability to relieve a number of
inflammation-related conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory
bowel disease, and various neurodegenerative disorders.12
Other herbal
ingredients in the mainstream channel with greater than 100% increases in sales
in 2015 include ivy leaf (+129.4%), beta glucans (+127.4%), and fenugreek
(+106.2%).
Total sales of ivy
leaf supplements in 2015, particularly as children’s syrups, were more than
double the amount from the previous year. The German Commission E approved ivy
leaf for the treatment of respiratory inflammation, and the herb has been a
popular component of cough-relieving formulas in Europe for years.1
In previous years, HerbalGram has chosen not to
include beta glucans, but it was added back into the data set for 2015 to
reflect the American Botanical Council’s (ABC's) increased coverage of
beneficial fungi and their constituents. Beta glucans are a class of
biologically active compounds that are typically derived from mushrooms,
yeasts, barley, oats, etc. Beta glucans have been studied for their
immune-enhancing and anti-inflammatory properties, among others.13,14
In the top-40 list of the mainstream channel’s bestselling ingredients, several
other herbs known for their immune-enhancing effects also saw increases,
notably elderberry (+27.3%) and echinacea (+7.4%).
Fenugreek
supplements were the fifth product in the mainstream channel that saw a
more-than-100% increase in sales from 2014. The seeds and leaves of the sprouts
are often used in Indian and other cuisines.15 Fenugreek has been
used traditionally to increase breast milk production, for sexual health, to
relieve digestive symptoms, and, more recently, for blood sugar control in
patients with type 2 diabetes.16 In 2015, the results of several
human studies of fenugreek were published, including one that found that a
fenugreek seed extract could increase “sexual arousal and desire” in healthy women,17
and another that suggested an enriched fenugreek seed extract could “enhance testosterone levels and sperm
profiles” in men.18
Mainstream sales of
many well-known herbal supplements, such as the seven originally targeted in
the New York attorney general’s investigation that began in February 2015,
remained fairly stable in 2015. There was a less-than-15% change from 2014
sales for each of the following of these herbs: echinacea (+7.4%), garlic
(+8.4%), ginseng (-10.7%), ginkgo (+14.8%), St. John’s wort (+8.4%), saw
palmetto (-6.4%), and valerian (4.0%).
Green coffee extract
experienced the greatest percentage decrease in mainstream sales from 2014,
with a 40.7% drop in 2015. Although it ranked 11th in overall sales, green
coffee extract was one of numerous weight-loss supplements that experienced
reduced sales in 2015. In the mainstream channel, consumers purchased fewer
green tea (-23.4%) and garcinia (-23.3%) supplements in 2015 than they did in
2014. Notably, beginning in 2012, each of these three products has been
promoted by Mehmet Oz, MD, on his daytime talk show “The Dr. Oz Show.”19 In a
widely publicized hearing of the US Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection,
Product Safety, and Insurance in June 2014, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
criticized the evidence supporting these popular weight-loss products. Since
that time, the “Dr.
Oz Effect” that once boosted sales of these herbs has diminished significantly.
Still, garcinia and green tea ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in terms
of overall 2015 sales in the mainstream channel.
Other herbal
ingredients in the mainstream channel that saw significant percentage sales
decreases in 2015 include isoflavones (-27.6%), rhodiola (-25.3%), and acai
(-24.6%). Sales of rhodiola, an herb with clinically supported cognitive health
benefits,20 may have been impacted by another Senate hearing led by
McCaskill. In July 2015, she chaired a subcommittee hearing on dietary
supplement products that claim “to provide protection against Alzheimer’s, dementia,
stroke, memory loss and cognitive decline.”21 Although rhodiola
supplements were not implicated in the hearing,22 their decline in
sales may reflect consumers distancing themselves from this product category in
the second half of 2015, although this potential association is difficult to
establish with any certainty.
In addition,
researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign published mixed
findings in April 2015 related to soy (Glycine max, Fabaceae)
consumption and cancer.23 Their negative findings surrounding
purified isoflavones may partially explain the drop in sales for this
ingredient, which is typically derived from soy.
Finally, acai’s
diminished sales in 2015 — its third consecutive year of reduced sales — may,
in part, be due to the proliferation of new “superfoods” rising to take its place.24
Sales figures for
the categories “Chinese herbs”
and “whole food
concentrate” were not included in HerbalGram’s top-40 mainstream channel rankings
due to their relative broadness. Had they remained on the list, Chinese herbs
would have been the second top-selling supplement (with a 10% decline in sales
from 2014) and whole food concentrate would have ranked 43rd in this channel
(with an 11% sales decline from 2014). Individual formulations not primarily
derived from botanicals — such as biotin (a B vitamin found in some plants) and
blue-green algae (a type of cyanobacteria) — also were excluded. As the only
branded supplement on the list, Relora (InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc.;
Benicia, California), a proprietary blend of magnolia (Magnolia officinalis,
Magnoliaceae) and phellodendron (Phellodendron amurense, Rutaceae) bark extracts,
was removed as well.
Natural Channel
The natural channel
saw a 4% increase in sales in 2015, with a total of $365 million spent on
herbal supplements (Table 5), according to SPINS. This increase is slightly
smaller than 2014’s 5.2% increase1 and 2013’s significant 9.9% increase in sales.25
Sales in the natural channel tend to come from what marketers call “core shoppers,” who are committed to a
more natural lifestyle, including natural-health modalities. So-called “peripheral shoppers,” who have less of
a personal commitment to a natural-health philosophy, are more likely to
purchase dietary supplements in the mainstream channel.
For the third year
in a row, turmeric was the top-selling herbal dietary supplement in the natural
channel in 2015, with total sales of $37,334,821. It also had the
second-highest percentage sales growth (+32.2%) over the previous year’s sales.
Ashwagandha
experienced the highest percentage growth in the natural channel; sales of this
traditional Indian herb in 2015 were 40.9% higher than they were in 2014.
Ashwagandha has been used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for thousands of
years for a variety of purposes: to reduce stress, combat fatigue, strengthen
the immune system, reduce inflammation, and boost cognition, among many others.26
Ashwagandha sales likely benefitted from a number of positive studies published
at the end of 2014 and during 2015 that supported some of these traditional
uses. Published in December 2014, a systematic review and meta-analysis of five
randomized clinical trials of ashwagandha for anxiety concluded that subjects
taking the herb had “greater
score improvements (significantly in most cases) than placebo in outcomes on
anxiety or stress scales.”27 In addition, an eight-week randomized
controlled trial published in December 2015 found that an ashwagandha root
extract increased strength and muscle mass in 57 males undergoing resistance
training.28 In vivo and in vitro studies published in 2015 suggested
ashwagandha’s potential use in conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s disease29
to cancer.30
The popularity of
turmeric and ashwagandha in the natural channel — as well as boswellia’s 674%
sales increase in the mainstream channel — reflects a broader trend in herbal
dietary supplements in 2015: increased consumer familiarity with and acceptance
of Ayurvedic herbs. These herbal ingredients, which have been used for
millennia in India, have been formulated in a range of products, from herbal
supplements to cosmetics.
Garcinia and chia
seed/oil had the only two significant percentage sales drops in the natural
channel in 2015. Garcinia sales in 2015 were 47.9% less than sales in 2014.
Chia sales during the same period dropped 33.0%. This was the second
consecutive year with reduced sales for chia; in 2014, chia sales had declined
1.2% from 2013 sales. Like acai in the mainstream channel, chia sales may have
declined, in part, due to an oversaturation of newly-hyped superfoods (e.g.,
hemp, kelp, and matcha powder).31 Furthermore, in January 2015, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked a salmonella outbreak that
sickened 31 people in the US to organic chia seed powder;32 chia was
again linked to a salmonella outbreak, this time in Canada, in December 2015.33
Both incidences may have impacted sales. In addition, one small human study
published in May 2015 found that chia seed oil had no positive impact on
distance runners,34
but an association of this study with chia sales declines cannot be made.
Direct Sales Channel
In 2015, direct
sales of herbal supplements in the US increased by 7.2% to a total of more than
$3.36 billion, according to NBJ. Growth in this channel was slightly more
pronounced than the 6.4% sales increase in 2014 from the year before. Direct
channel sales of herbal dietary supplements include multi-level marketing
companies (also known as network marketing companies). This channel also
encompasses mail and internet order sales companies, direct response TV and
radio sales, and sales by health practitioners.
Single vs.
Combination Herb Supplements
Overall, total sales
of single-herb supplements (monopreparations) were higher than those of
combination herb supplements in 2015, but combination products outpaced
single-herb products in terms of sales growth, according to NBJ (see Table 6).
Combination supplement sales in all channels grew 10.7% compared to the
previous year, and sales of monopreparations increased by 5.5% from 2014.
Combination herbal supplements have outpaced single-herb supplements in terms
of percentage sales growth since 2011.
Combination formulas
generally use a blend of herbs that are marketed for a specific benefit,
including maintaining healthy blood sugar and/or blood lipid levels, and easing
the effects of menopause, among many others. Herbal blends, such as those used
in traditional Chinese medicine, have a long history of traditional use, and
modern research continues to explore their efficacy.
Conclusion
In a period of just
three years, from 2012 to 2015, total annual retail sales of herbal supplements
increased by more than $1.3 billion. Despite frequent negative media coverage
of herbal dietary supplements in 2015, including coverage of the New York
attorney general’s investigation,35 the crackdown on illegal drugs
masquerading as “dietary
supplements” by federal agencies in November, and some publications associating
some products with potential adverse health effects36 — total sales
of the entire herbal dietary supplement category remained strong. In fact, 2015’s
7.5% increase in overall sales represents the second highest percentage growth
for these products in more than a decade.
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