In recent years, the global plant extracts market has maintained a strong growth rate. Among them, functional plant raw materials used in food and beverages and dietary supplements have the fastest growth. In 2020, the U.S. botanical supplement market grew by 17.3% to achieve sales of over $11.2 billion.
Recently, ClearCut, an American data research company, released a report, based on the sales data of plant dietary supplements on the Amazon platform, to summarize the sales situation and market trend changes of the top ten popular plant ingredients in the past year.
1 Top 10 popular ingredients by sales
According to specific sales, Amazon’s top 10 botanical supplement ingredients by sales in 2021 are turmeric, elderberry, green superfood powder (including green grass, leaves, fruits and vegetables, and algae), mushrooms, saw palmetto, Ashwagandha, Black Seed Oil, Hemp Oil, Blackcurrant, Aronia, etc. Except for hemp oil, which fell by 27%, all other raw materials showed rapid growth. The highest increase was black currant, followed by ashwagandha, black seed oil, and saw palmetto, all of which increased by more than 60%.
2 Traditional hot ingredients: getting a new lease of life
2.1 Turmeric: Innovative applications for weight management and brain health
Turmeric became a star ingredient a few years ago. Although its rise has gradually slowed down, the high profile still attracts a large number of consumers to buy. Data from the ITC Insights 2020 Consumer Survey shows that 86% of supplement consumers are familiar with curcumin/turmeric. According to the 2020 Herbal Market Report published by the American Botanical Council, turmeric is the third most sold herb in the natural channel with sales of $41.5 million. It ranks fourth in mass channels. Sales in 2020 were $97 million.
As a more comprehensive raw material, turmeric can enhance the body’s antioxidant capacity, while also stimulating the body’s antioxidant enzymes. This makes it useful for everything from immune support to emotional health. In recent years, scientists have found that curcumin also has an excellent performance in weight management, sports nutrition, and brain health. In one experiment, researchers recruited 90 healthy overweight subjects between the ages of 50 and 69 and randomly assigned them to receive turmeric extract or a placebo for 12 weeks. The results showed that the turmeric extract group had significantly lower body weight and body mass index after 4, 8, and 12 weeks compared to the placebo.
Curcumin has poor water solubility and low structural stability, resulting in poor absorption. In recent years, raw material companies have further improved the bioavailability of turmeric by compounding curcumin with soybean phospholipids or using advanced forms of curcumin prosthetic groups. This makes it possible to apply in more fields. The patented products include Longvida, BCM-95, C3Complex, Meriva, Theracurmin, CurcuWin, CurQfen, Turmacin, etc. According to Innova, from 2015 to 2019, food and beverage launches involving turmeric grew by 10% annually. Among the most popular applications are beverages, snacks, sauces, and dressings. As more brands launch turmeric products in different categories, consumers will become more familiar with turmeric, laying the foundation for future segment growth.
2.2 Blackcurrant: a rising star in sports nutrition
Although a smaller subcategory, the growth of blackcurrants has been steady and rapid, up 91% year-over-year, and won’t slow down anytime soon. Sales of the ingredient hit an “all-time high” in November 2020 and are still growing steadily. In terms of form, liquids accounted for 35% of the market, up 126% year-on-year. Dried fruit saw the highest year-on-year growth at 297%. In addition, consumers are increasingly interested in organic products from this ingredient, with organic blackcurrant products increasing by 199% year-over-year.
Blackcurrants are commonly used in dried fruit, jams, and juices. It is often used as eye care and beauty ingredients in the field of health care. In recent years, blackcurrant’s unique anthocyanin components C3R (delphinidin-3-rutinoside) and D3R (cyanidin-3-rutinoside) have attracted attention of the industry. New research on improving blood flow, promoting collagen production, relieving muscle pain, and improving brain function continues to advance, and it has begun to be used in sports nutrition, brain health, digestive health, and other fields.
Research published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition confirms that the polyphenol anthocyanins in blackcurrants can significantly improve exercise performance (0.45%). It was higher than the caffeine used by the average athlete (0.41%) and peaked in the bloodstream within 2 hours of consumption. It activates the body’s cellular defense system to help athletes better prepare and adapt to peak performance and recovery.
Blackcurrants also boost cGP levels in the brain to improve brain memory and mood. Cyclic glycine-proline (cGP) is a metabolite of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which can regulate the bioavailability of IGF-1, provide nutrients to the brain and help the circulation of brain blood vessels, thereby To protect the cerebral nerves and repair brain damage.
3 Rapidly growing emerging hot ingredients
3.1 Green superfood powder: “grass-eating” is becoming popular
“Grass eating” has become a popular way of eating in Europe and the United States. For the convenience of office workers, health product companies have launched powders that incorporate a variety of green superfoods, which can be added to various food and beverages at will. It’s convenient to eat and used to supplement phytonutrients to boost immunity and overall health. These superfood powders are usually made from strong antioxidant green grasses (wheatgrass, duckweed), vegetables (broccoli, kale, green peppers, spinach), algae (chlorella, spirulina), leaves (moringa oleifera) leaves), etc.
3.2 Mushrooms: a high-profile immune raw material
With their outstanding performance in immunity, brain health, adaptogen, and other aspects, mushrooms have become a new generation of Internet celebrity functional raw materials in the European and American markets after turmeric, CBD, and Ashwagandha. It is starting to become a common ingredient in new food, beverage, and dietary supplement products worldwide, entering the beverage, coffee, creamer, and snack categories. Compared to 2019, mushroom sales in the U.S. market increased by 46% in 2020 to $14.7 million, SPINS data shows. In the immune health category, “mushrooms” grew 53.8% to $7.35 million. Immune and brain health are the main selling points of mushrooms as dietary supplements, and capsules and powders are the most common dosage forms of mushroom supplements.
3.3 Ashwagandha: The market continues to rise
An adaptogenic herb, Ashwagandha is commonly used to relieve stress, aid sleep, and boost immunity. This is very much in line with consumer demand during the pandemic. In addition, it has positive effects on anti-aging, balance endocrine, cardiorespiratory, and central nervous system health.
Ashwagandha grew 73% year-on-year on Amazon through June 2021, and sales continued to climb. Notably, 97% of ashwagandha supplements sold on Amazon are made from the root alone. In concrete form, capsules account for the majority of the 70% market share and are up 70% year-on-year. Plus, even though fudge only started rolling out gradually about a year ago, it already has the second-highest market share at 14%.
3.4 Saw palmetto: the star in the field of anti-shedding
Men generally have more male hormones in their bodies. About 10 percent of testosterone in all adults is converted to DHT with the help of an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase (5-AR). Once DHT is flowing freely in your bloodstream, it binds to receptors on the hair follicles on your scalp, causing the follicles to shrink and unable to support healthy hair. Inhibiting the production of DHT has a certain alleviation effect on hair loss caused by excessive hormone secretion. Saw palmetto extract is one of the most used raw materials. Studies have shown that saw palmetto extract has several anti-androgenic effects and is very effective in reducing the activity of 5-alpha reductase and preventing the conversion of testosterone to DHT.
4 Potential raw materials for niche and unpopular
4.1 Nigella Seed Oil
Nigella sativa seed oil (Nigella sativa) has grown in popularity in recent years. In 2020, Nigella was one of the top 40 best-selling herbal supplements in the U.S. natural channel, ranking 18th, according to the American Botanical Council. Its annual sales rose 21.6% to nearly $6.5 million.
The main active ingredients of Nigella Seed Oil are thymoquinone (thymoquinone), thymoquinone (thymoquinone) and thymol (thymol). It has strong bactericidal and antioxidant effects, and has certain effects on immune health, beauty and skin care, cardiovascular health, weight loss, and reproductive health.
4.2 Aronia
Aronia (Aronia nigra) is a berry that is very beneficial to human health. It is rich in vitamins and minerals and is also one of the richest plant sources of phenolic substances, mainly procyanidins and anthocyanins. According to an experiment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Aronia ranks first in antioxidant capacity among 276 antioxidant fruits that participated in scientific tests. Its ORAC value reached 16062 umol TE/100g, which is three times the index of blueberry and blackberry.
