Top-Selling Nutritional Brands of 2016

Photo © iStockphoto.com/dlewis33

Despite a few substantial speed bumps of negative press over the past year, 2016 appears on track to be another strong year of business for the dietary supplements and functional foods industry. The Council for Responsible Nutrition’s (CRN; Washington, DC) latest consumer survey indicates a strong 71% of U.S. adults reported taking supplements in the past year, and 85% of U.S. adults have overall confidence in the safety, quality, and effectiveness of dietary supplements. But which nutritional brands are seeing the most success?

At CRN’s recent The Conference, Robert Sanders, executive vice president and practice leader for market researcher Information Resources Inc. (IRI), shared new data from IRI indicating the top-selling nutritional brands and manufacturers from the past year.¹

At the top of the brand list for total dollar sales, Nature Made came in first with $1043 million in total sales over the course of the 52 weeks ending August 7, 2016, amounting to an 8.1% growth in dollar sales over the previous year. Sanders suggested some of Nature Made’s success may have to do with the “terrific job” it has done building trust with consumers.

“They’re really doing a nice job of creating that trust, that support via a credible source, and really advertising and making the consumer feel as though these products are safe and effective,” Sanders said. “Very, very important.”

Following Nature Made in the number-one spot, the next top-selling nutritional brands were:

2. Nature’s Bounty ($706 million in total sales and 12.4% growth)

3. Clif ($662 million in total sales and 10.4% growth)

4. Ensure ($620 million in total sales and 2.8% growth)

5. Atkins ($343 million in total sales and 3.3% growth)

6. Centrum ($333 million in total sales and 0.6% growth)

7. KIND ($318 million in total sales and -4.3% growth)

8. Schiff ($314 in total sales and -2.2% growth)

9. One A Day ($308 million in total sales and 6.7% growth)

10. Boost ($281 million in total sales and 22.4% growth)

Top Nutritional Manufacturers

Sanders also shared IRI data on the top-selling nutritional manufacturers over the same time period, with some of the biggest year-over-year dollar-growth percentages coming from food brands Nestlé (30.4%) and Post (29.8%).

Here is the full list of the top-10 nutritional manufacturers:

1.     The Carlyle Group ($1541 million in total sales and 3.1% growth)

2.     Abbott ($1332 million in total sales and -1.4% growth)

3.     Pharmavite ($1045 million in total sales and 8.1% growth)

4.     Clif ($662 million in total sales and 10.4% growth)

5.     Pfizer ($594 million in total sales and -2.6% growth)

6.     Bayer ($563 million in total sales and 0.0% growth)

7.     Reckitt Benckiser (RB; $536 million in total sales and -3.2% growth)

8.     General Mills ($465 million in total sales and -8.8% growth)

9.     Nestlé ($450 million in total sales and 30.4% growth)

10.  Church & Dwight ($354 million in total sales and 2.0% growth)

Aside from the manufacturers that boasted the most total sales in IRI’s data, some of the biggest dollar-growth percentages over the year previous came from Vega (375.1%), Epic (250.6%), GU (193.0%), Organic Valley (186.5%), and BSN (168.6%).

Sanders also noted that GMO-associated claims, dairy claims, and antibiotic claims were found to be linked with especially strong year-over-year sales growth of health and wellness products in IRI’s 2015–2016 data.

Read more:

SPINS, IRI Dive Deeper into Consumer Behavior in Natural Channel

Energy Is Number-Two Priority Among Supplement Users, 2016 CRN Survey Suggests

Shattering Shopper Myths: Identifying the Dietary Supplement Buyer in a Fragmenting Era

Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com

References:

1. IRI Consumer and Shopper Insights Advantage, including total of all U.S. outlets, over the 52 weeks ending August 7, 2016