Still crawling out from under the shadow cast by bad publicity surrounding controversial ingredients over the past several years, particularly ephedra, the herbs and botanicals market has been struggling to regain just a fraction of the glory it once knew. But with FDA's final cGMPs around the corner, the ceaseless innovation resulting in high quality proprietary extracts, the opportunities presented by the brave new world of functional foods and a stronger desire from consumers interested in using herbs as an alternative means of preventing serious health conditions, could things possibly be looking up? Just maybe.
According to Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ), San Diego, CA, herbal and botanical supplements grew 2% to nearly $4.3 billion in 2004 from just under $4.2 billion in 2003. While herbal and botanical supplements were down 4% to $740 million in the mass market channel in 2004, they were up 3% in the natural health food channel, which accounted for almost $1.38 billion of 2004 sales. The direct-to-consumer sales channel and other outlets were responsible for over $2 billion of 2004 sales. Unfortunately, 2004 did not bode
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