Fueled by consumer demand for health and wellness products, the U.S. dietary supplement market has been estimated at approximately $50 billion in annual sales. Brick-and-mortar retailers, e-commerce platforms, direct-to-consumer brands, network marketing/MLM companies, and health practitioner recommendations offer consumers access to a diverse menu of product options—including vitamins and minerals, herbal/fungi formulations, and specialty ingredients like omega-3s, probiotics, proteins/amino acids, and more.

COVID-19 accelerated demand for immune health products while also disrupting global supply chain networks, leaving businesses scrambling to meet demand. The cost-of-living crisis and tightening financial conditions, along with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing reverberations from COVID-19 have weighed on the global economy. However, with a new baseline of consumer demand reset by the pandemic, dietary supplement companies have reported positive outlooks for 2023 and beyond.

Methodology

There are more than 100,000 products listed in the Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) developed by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These labels were sourced from products reported in national population-based surveys and through voluntary submissions by dietary supplement manufacturers and marketers. While the database includes products both on and off the market, the 100k+ figure demonstrates the breadth of an expanding marketplace. 

So who are the major players in today’s industry? What brands do they own and what business strategies underlie their performance? How are they navigating the complexity of economic conditions and market trends? What makes a company a “top company”?

First, let’s start with what this report is and is not. It is not a “complete” picture of dietary supplement companies and it is not a ranking of brands. In a dynamic industry where companies and brands are acquired, merged, spun out, renamed and revamped, business is constantly evolving. The fact that most industry companies are privately held also complicates sales rankings.

So what’s the value of this report? Our coverage includes an overview of companies and brands that have a significant impact on today’s industry—through market share, size and scale, legacy, etc. First, we offer a review of large, publicly listed companies, and a few notable private entities, to look at who’s behind some of the most popular mainstream brands commonly found online and at retail.

We’ve also included a set of profiles on select companies that represent a range of business types, including family-owned companies and large international businesses, to get a glimpse of how they are navigating today’s marketplace. The intention of our reporting is to be cumulative over time, meaning we will continue profiling top newsmakers and legacy brands. In other words, this report represents the starting block of our “Top Companies” reporting, not the finish line. We welcome feedback. You can email us at Nutraceuticals@RodmanMedia.com.

Business with a Mission

What trends have we gleaned from research and analysis? Brands that are breaking through a noisy market have gained a strong consumer base through open communication, traceability, and transparency of product formulations, ingredient sources, and environmental and social impact.

Confronting climate change in an industry reliant on natural resources has garnered more attention from market leaders. With greenwashing a common problem across industries, top companies have started to leverage transparency as a means to separate themselves from the crowd, showing their work, including successes and areas where they are falling short. This sort of reporting to stakeholders (customers) is a growing trend we expect will continue.

The B Corp movement is growing. There is no planet B, and a select group of companies are moving the needle on environmental stewardship, validating their efforts through rigorous third-party assessments and standards like that of B Lab, the nonprofit network established in 2006 known for certifying B Corporations as companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

There are currently more than 6,000 Certified B Corporations in more than 80 countries and over 150 industries, according to B Lab. In the dietary supplement market this list, to name a few, includes: Herbalist & Alchemist, Banyan Botanicals, Traditional Medicinals, Gaia Herbs, Herb Pharm, Pukka Herbs, Garden of Life, New Chapter, MegaFood, HerbaLand, OLLY PBC, Fungi Perfecti, Ritual ... and the list is growing.

Beyond the label though, efforts related to emissions reduction, regenerative agriculture, elimination of waste, and impactful community programs are setting these companies apart from the crowd.

Going Big, Going Public

Figure 1 offers a view of sales for publicly traded companies that sell dietary supplements, though reported sales/revenue includes the entirety of the company’s product portfolio. For example, Amway is the largest direct-selling company in the world, and its Nutrilite nutrition brand reportedly accounts for about half of net sales, but we report Amway’s total revenue for 2022 as declared on financial statements. 



For decades some of the biggest companies and brands in consumer health have been capitalizing on consumer thirst for nutrition products and dietary supplements, acquiring a significant share of the VMS market.

For example, Reckitt Benckiser (LON: RKT) (OTCMKTS: RBGLY) bought Schiff Nutrition for $1.4 billion in 2012, whose brands today include Airborne, MegaRed krill oil, Neuriva (brain health), Move Free (joint health), and Digestive Advantage (probiotics).

One of the largest consumer healthcare businesses in the world, Haleon (LON: HLN) (NYSE: HLN) was formed in July 2019 with the merger of GSK and Pfizer’s consumer healthcare businesses. It was spun out and listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 2022. The company’s VMS brands include Centrum, Emergen-C, and Caltrate. With £10.9 billion in total revenue in 2022, Haleon reported that its VMS brands accounted for 15% of that figure, equating to about £1.635 billion.

Alongside pharmaceuticals and personal health products, the life sciences and agrochemical giant Bayer AG (OTCMKTS: BAYRY), with sales of over €50 billion in 2022, offers several nutritional brands including: One A Day multivitamins, Elevit prenatal vitamins, Redoxon for immune health, Berocca effervescent tablets for energy, and Supradyn multivitamins.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) reported $80.2 billion in net sales in 2022. In 2012, P&G acquired New Chapter, the Vermont-based supplement company founded in 1982 that earned Certified B Corp status in 2014. P&G also sells Align probiotics, MetaMucil fiber supplements, ZzzQuil sleep solutions, and VÖOST vitamins.

Unilever (LON: ULVR) (NYSE: UL) has been active in its acquisition of supplement and beauty brands including: Pukka Herbs (acquired in 2017); Olly Nutrition (acquired in 2019); Liquid I.V. (acquired in 2020); Smarty Pants Vitamins (acquired in 2020); Onnit (acquired in 2021); and Nutrafol (acquired in 2022).

Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD) owns Vitafusion, L’il Critters, and PB8 Probiotic, while The Clorox Company’s (NYSE: CLX) wellness brands include Neocell, Rainbow Light, Renew Life, Natural Vitality Calm, and Burt’s Bees.

Abbott (NYSE: ABT), the maker of Ensure, Glucerna, Pedialyte, Similac, and Zone Perfect bars, has been a leader in medical nutrition and diabetes care, as well as medical devices and diagnostics.

On the brick-and-mortar front, after filing for bankruptcy in 2020, GNC was acquired by its largest investor, Chinese firm Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Holding Co., for approximately $760 million. Vitamin Shoppe was acquired by the Franchise Group (then Liberty Tax) in 2019 for $208 million. In May of 2023 the Franchise Group announced it will be acquired by members of its senior management team led by CEO Brian Kahn in a $2.6 billion deal in which the company will go private. Stockholders approved the deal in August and the company is no longer listed on the Nasdaq exchange. The company reportedly said it plans to keep its brand portfolio.

Among private companies, Pharmavite, whose parent organization is Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Japan, stands out with more than 50 years in the market and its best-selling Nature Made brand. The company also owns the Certified B Corp MegaFood, as well as personalized nutrition brand Nurish. In 2021 Pharmavite acquired urinary health brand Uqora to complement its Equelle women’s health supplement. And in 2023, Pharmavite broke ground on its fourth production facility. The new 225,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Ohio will support growth of the Pharmavite and MegaFood brands, the company said.

Founded in 1968 by Tom Murdock, Nature’s Way has offered herbal supplements for more than 50 years. The company was acquired in 1999, operating under the Schwabe Group (Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, one of the oldest pharmaceutical manufacturers in Europe).

And in 2020, New York-based private equity firm New Mountain Capital acquired Jarrow Formulas and Natrol LLC, bringing them together last year under a new company name, Vytalogy Wellness, led by CEO Nina Barton.