Chill and experiential: What’s trending in stress management supplements

17-Sep-2024 - Last updated on 17-Sep-2024 at 15:02 GMT

According to SPINS market data for the 52 weeks ending July 14, 2024, the stress management supplement category was valued at nearly $3.9 million, up 8.2% from the year prior © We are / Getty Images

Consumers continue to supplement mood to counter modern influences like ultra processed foods, lack of sleep, screentime and demanding schedules in a still stressed-out society increasingly focused on mental health as part of overall well-being.

While there has been a slowdown in both mood support supplement dollar sales and product units since 2022, the category is maintaining a strong selling position across a variety of formats, according to insights firm SPINS, which tracks wellness-focused data across multi outlet and natural retail channels.

“When I look at the mood support space, it's clear that consumers are showing interest in a variety of different formats, from traditional supplement formats like gummies and powders to relaxation beverages that may even replace their nightcap alcoholic drink,” said Scott Dicker, senior director of market insights at SPINS.

In a global stress management supplement market expected to reach over $1 billion by 2034, both ingredient suppliers and manufacturers continue to look to the science, innovative product delivery and combination formulas to satisfy the growing consumer taste for experiential and easy-to-consume benefits.

The trending mood ingredients

According to SPINS market data for the 52 weeks ending July 14, 2024, the stress management supplement category was valued at nearly $3.9 million, up 8.2% from the year prior. Adaptogenic botanical ashwagandha continues to lead the category with over $72 million in sales but has seen a 16% decline year on year (YOY), following a 7.6% decline from a year prior.

Other supplement ingredients trending in the top five over the last few years include signal blocker and chemical messenger GABA ($22.8 million, down 2.1% YOY), HPA-axis regulator magnesium ($10.2 million, up 13.8% YOY) and amino acid and serotonin booster 5-HTP ($9.3 million, down 25.3% YOY)—each regulating stress factors through their own mechanisms. Others appear to be creeping their way into the top rankings including kava ($3.6 million, up 125.7% YOY) and theanine ($2.6 million, up 49.8% YOY).

“Two ingredients that I have been looking out for and are showing strong growth are magnesium and theanine,” Dicker said. “Both are staple ingredients with a long history of use but are finding new heights as innovation extends across the category.”

He added that theanine in particular is interesting to watch due to its versatility as both a standalone relaxation ingredient and in energy product formulations as supportive ingredient to smooth out the energy and limit the crash.

California-based Ethical Naturals, which supplies Alphawave L-theanine, says it has seen sales build strongly over the last three years across different dosage forms, from supplements to functional mushroom coffees and other beverage products.

Within this period, the company has completed and published three clinical studies reporting increases in alpha brainwave activity and reduced salivary cortisol levels, accompanied by significant relaxing benefits with improved mental acuity but without the drowsiness.

“AlphaWave is somewhat unique in nutritional supplements in that it provides an immediate experiential benefit; something that people are looking for these days it seems,” said Cal Bewicke, CEO at Ethical Naturals.

Brands incorporating the ingredient in their products include NOW Foods, Doctor’s Best, Life Extension and iHerb.

Mushrooms in the mix

For mushrooms in the category, reishi registered $572,320 in sales (up 14.6% YOY), followed by chaga with $521,880 (up 1,256.3% YOY), cordyceps with $370,089 (down 72.9%), and a mushroom “other” line item with $83,893 (up 29.7% YOY).

Although chaga has shown the most growth overall, lion’s mane and reishi have the most clinical data to support healthy levels of stress and anxiety, said Skye Chilton, CEO at mushroom ingredient supplier Nammex.

“Traditional use of mushrooms has been primarily for immune support, with reishi to promote relaxation and cordyceps to help with fatigue,” he explained. “A growing body of research, though, supports use of mushrooms like lion’s mane and turkey tail as well. We should see more of this as understanding of the relationship between inflammation and mental health increases.”

The stress and anxiety modulating properties of lion's mane and reishi are attributed to bioactive constituents like ganoderic acids (in reishi), beta-glucans and ergothioneine that confer a range of antitumor, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity.

“Properly grown and extracted lion’s mane, reishi and turkey tail contain high levels of beta-glucans, which provide a lot of today’s most in-demand benefits,” Chilton said. “This market continues to grow quickly, so to make this an established category and not just a trend, it’s important to earn trust in our products. We need to ensure that products have an adequate dose of properly extracted mushrooms, so consumers have higher potential to experience benefits, and we need to be transparent about labeling.”

He shared that supplement brand Gaia Herbs (which categorizes lion’s mane and reishi as hero ingredients) and mushroom extract powder provider Real Mushrooms both source Nammex ingredients, as do a variety beverages companies ranging from boutique specialty to major manufacturer.

Sunny moods and chill pills: ‘not a one size fits all’

Beyond the influx of calmative beverages choices on the market, consumers have increasingly more to choose from across other supplement formats as well in what may be a trial and error approach.

Gaia Herbs, for one, offers some 20 stress support products—from its bestselling Adrenal Health Daily phyto-caps (with adaptogens rhodiola, holy basil, ashwagandha, schisandra and oats) to the newer Stress & Sleep gummies—with additional formulas in the works.

Meg Lyons, brand manager at Gaia Herbs, explained that rather than reaching for single herb solutions, most consumers are seeking out combination formulas that can confer multiple health benefits. She highlighted the continued importance of adaptogens like ashwagandha in the space and noted the increased interested in mushrooms and minerals like magnesium.

“It’s also important to think about the halo effect that stress management has on other categories—specifically, cognitive and sleep support,” she added. “These three areas have a lot of overlap and frequently a shopper will look at this as one master category.”

Natural product manufacturer NOW Health Group has dozens of single ingredient and combination products across nervous system support and sleep and mood categories. As the company's senior nutrition education manager Neil Levin explained, stress can build up and cause other issues in the body like inflammation and take a toll on the immune system—with implications for weight gain, the digestive system and cardiovascular health.

These include combination formulas Adrenal Stress Support formula (Relora herbal blend with added vitamin C, pantothenic acid and other botanicals), Calm & Focus (Zembrin Sceletium tortuosum in a GABA base), True Calm (amino acid blend with B vitamins and valerian root) and single standardized ingredients like rhodiola, ashwagandha and saffron, along with magnesium products in the development pipeline.

“Stress is a constant in all our lives, and the list can be endless to what causes it; therefore, we want to provide a variety of options for all consumers regardless of gender and age to help them address it in their daily lives,” Levin said. “It’s not a ‘one size fits all’ so they need to do their due diligence, talk to a healthcare provider and even reach out to the manufacturer if they have questions.”