Focus On Healthcare & Supplements inc Sports Nutrition: 22 May

Focus On: Healthcare & Supplements inc Sports Nutrition by Daniel Selwood

Download the synopsis here

Publishing: 22 May 2021

Advertising deadline: 7 May

Submissions deadline: 30 April

The Story

The past year has delivered a bitter-sweet pill for healthcare and supplements. Vitamin D shot off the scale with value sales up 103% to over £27m, according to Kantar. Cod liver oil was also up 40.9%. Yet other sectors fared less well. Vitamin E, for example, fell by 18%, despite its immunitystrengthening credentials. In light of the vaccine roll-out and Brits hoping for some much-needed sunshine to deliver their dose of vitamin D, what does the future landscape look like for the category? Which vitamins will continue to prove popular with consumers, and which will fall by the wayside as Covid becomes less of a threat? And how are brands gearing up for this change in mindset?

Key Themes

Vitamins C and D: How are vitamin brands continuing to push health messages and cash in against the backdrop of the vaccine roll-out? With immunity the buzzword of 2020, what health claims are now driving the category? Is there still a place in the market for the multivitamin?

Education: To what extent are consumers more savvy about the benefits of different vitamins following the pandemic? Do brands still have an education job on their hands?

In-store positioning: Shoppers are venturing back into stores but making quicker trips. This means presence on shelf is crucial and will remain the “key driver for growth and visibility” for the category, according Nielsen. How are brands making a noise on shelf to grab shoppers’ attention? And after shoppers turned to trusted brands over private label during the height of the pandemic, is there now an opportunity for private label to regain market share?

Kids’ heath: Brands that cater to the kids’ sector have seen strong growth with the sector up 31.4% (Kantar). And with schools once again open and social restrictions relaxing, parents are keen to keep kids healthy. What opportunities are there for brands to tap into this area?

Sports supplements: With fitness centres closed for much of the past year, which sports powder supplements have been snapped up by Brits? What opportunities lie ahead for the sector now that gyms are reopening?