TABS Group’s Eighth Annual Vitamin and Sports Nutrition Survey (findings presented in a webinar in May 2015) showed some surprising trends and changes from prior years, particularly regarding shifts in long standing channel preferences among consumers. Coupled with the changes in consumption patterns discussed in our last blog post, these preferences may be showing the early signs of fundamental changes in the industry.
TABS Group‘s Eighth Annual Vitamin and Sports Nutrition Study uncovered some interesting shifts in consumer buying patterns. From the products bought to the channels chosen, nearly every metric has shown some change from a year ago. Here are a few of the highlights from the Vitamin (VMS) portion of the study that was presented in a webinar in May 2015. You can download the corresponding report at the bottom of this post.
Vitamin Sales by Outlet - An Overview
As part of the TABS Group 2015 Vitamin and Sports Nutrition Survey, we've published a vitamin infographic highlighting key outlet trend facts.
Some key areas highlighted include:
Last week, TABS Group's CEO, Dr. Kurt Jetta, challenged established estimates of the vitamin industry's sales in the U.S. John Bradley of the Nutrition Business Journal responded, defending NBJ's vitamin industry size calculations.
TABS Group's CEO, Dr. Kurt Jetta, took aim at established industry norms with research showing that the vitamin industry sales in the U.S. are $12 billion, not $35 billion, as claimed by Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ). Dr. Jetta based his conclusions on findings from TABS Group's 8th Annual Vitamin and Sports Supplement Industry Study conducted in April 2015.
This infographic highlights some of the results from our 2015 Vitamin & Sports Nutrition Study.
Shelton, CT – May 20, 2015 – Although the total of all online sales of vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) continues to outstrip all specific brick and mortar outlets, Amazon and other online retailers saw a share drop in category sales for the first time in eight years according to a survey by the TABS Group. In the “Eighth Vitamin and Sports Nutrition Study,” TABS Group found VMS sales were up 3 percent versus 2014 levels, and were being driven by gains in mass market outlets particularly from Walmart, Costco and Rite Aid. TABS Group estimates the US retail market size of VMS at $11.8 billion annually.
Dr. Kurt Jetta, Founder and CEO of TABS Group, was recently featured in an article on Drug Store News about the Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements (VMS) category.
“The three big success stories in the last couple [of] years have been [vitamins] B [and] D and probiotics,” Kurt Jetta, CEO of TABS Group, told DSN. “Adult [multivitamins] from last year are up, although that now has stopped in its tracks because of some negative PR [published in JAMA],” he said. “That usually has a disruptive effect for several months. ... Our research shows it’s up [significantly] due to overall usage.”
Kurt Jetta, CEO of the Tabs Group, an analytics firm that recently completed its seventh annual study of the vitamin business, sees an "overall lethargy" in the business this year that he attributes to the negative effects from the studies. Mr. Jetta still projects overall growth of 3% to 4% for 2014 in a business he pegs at $11.4 billion in all channels, though he's leaning more toward low end of that range, well below high-single or even double-digit growth rates in years past.
