HEALTH: VITAMINS, MINERALS AND SUPPLEMENTS
Delivering Differently Pill fatigue drives delivery format innovations By Taffel Sturgeon
Time was, capsules and tablets were the singular way consumers consumed dietary supplements. Place in mouth, add water, swallow. Twenty-five years ago, the Hero Nutritionals brand of children’s supplements came up with the novel idea of using gummy bears as a way to encourage supplement use in children. Sure, there were dosage limitations, and yes, sugar was a necessity, but, as Mary Poppins counseled, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. And then, perhaps because that generation of children grew up, the idea of gummies for adults began to catch on. Fast-forward to 2019 and an incredible milestone was reached: non-pill supplement delivery formats, led by gummies, overtook capsules and tablets as the primary means shoppers consumed supplements. Today, most brands use gummies. But that’s not all. Powders, shots and other beverages, tincture bottles of oils, pumps, nutrient-lined straws and more all vie for the affections of the pill-fatigued. “We have seen many changes since Windmill was established 50 years ago,” said Keith Frankel,
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In 2019, non-pill supplement delivery formats overtook capsules and tablets as the primary means shoppers consumed supplements.
president and CEO of Windmill Vitamins. “Certainly, delivery forms have expanded to include gummies, liquids, chews, powders, confections and more, which offer consumers more interesting nutritional options. Throughout the decades, we have embraced how the consumer continues to include vital nutrition in their dietary consumption. We are excited to thrive at the forefront of the development and distribution of these new and innovative products.” Some elderly shoppers have difficulty swallowing pills, while younger “smoothie nation” shoppers gravitate toward powders as part of their morning pick-me-up and go. Brands have responded. “While gummies are currently a smaller piece of the category in comparison to pills, they are the preferred format for Olly’s younger consumers,” said Giselle Balagat, brand director at Olly, a powerhouse hip and trendy brand for which 58 of its 77 SKUs are gummies. “Gummies are one of the fastest-growing formats in the category.” Even with today’s dosage limitations in gummies, brands are innovating their way around this issue. Fish oil leader Nordic Naturals has long had to
March 2022 DRUGSTORENEWS.COM
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