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The cold-and-flu seasonal sales spike has blossomed to 365 wellness. Get busy
The cold and flu season has always been gravy days for selling immune-support supplements. The COVID-19 pandemic that hit in 2020 accelerated supplement sales like never before, with sales in the immunity supplement category spiking more than 70% year-over-year to reach nearly $6 billion in 2020, according to Nutrition Business Journal data.
But you had a sense of that already.
While the rush of sales has obviously fallen from the 2020 boom, what has remained is a prevailing consumer sentiment around purchasing supplements to support a healthy immune system.
In 2020, just about any product with an "immune" label was selling hot. In fact, the immune shelves in many stores were as empty as the paper tissue aisle. Immune supplement manufacturers were scrambling overtime to restock inventory shortages.
In 2021, immune supplement makers naturally raised their forecasts and production ramped up to meet the ongoing global consumer immunity demand.
Now in 2022, two new things are afoot: Immune supplement sales remain in record territory compared with the same months pre-2019, and sales demand is maintaining an unprecedented 12-month cycle. "Seasonal wellness" is now "yearround immune support."
As an example, Natural Path Silver Wings, manufacturer of colloidal silver liquid immune supplements, changed its slogan in Q4 2020 to "Year-round Immune Protection-Covered!"
"We're seeing year-round steady sales - even in the summer," said Andreas Koch, Natural Path Silver Wings' marketing director.
The pandemic has solidified within the consumer's mind the notion that supporting and maintaining immune health is not just a winter-time necessity; rather, immune system health and support must be pursued year-round.
Immunity supplement sales overall are strong and growing due to media, new and younger users entering the category, and consumers looking for preventive types of products due to COVID-19.
"In Q1 2022, immunity sales were greater than they were a year ago and segment-level trends looked similar to years prior," said Tisha Winters, brand manager at Olly, "indicating immunity supplements are a 365-days-a-year game."
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