Nutraceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Vitaquest International has predicted the top supplement trends for 2026 in a new forecast.
This is the third consecutive year Vitaquest has published its forecast, with the company being the first CDMO to release a report of this nature for 2026.
Of the current trends shaping the nutraceutical and supplement spaces, Vitaquest highlighted plant-based proteins and nootropics as the fastest-growing and most popular niches that will shape 2025–2026.
Plant-based protein's rise to fame comes at a time where vegetarians and vegans look for a more sustainable alternative to animal-derived proteins due to their environmental impact or ethical profile.
In this category, Vitaquest notes that pea and rice are particularly popular.
Meanwhile, nootropics that enhance memory, focus and overall cognition are particularly popular amongst students, gamers and those with busy lifestyles.
Ingredients like lion's mane, Bacopa monnieri, sage and Rhodiola rosea are gaining ground for their capacity to help the body maintain balance, while adapting to physical, emotional and environmental stressors.
Other key foci include:
- Gut health: Postbiotics are quickly gaining ground as a next-generation option for digestive and immune health. Unlike probiotics, they offer no stability concerns, and are suitable for a wide range of delivery formats and combination products.
- Women's health: Wellness products for everyday support are particularly popular in the dietary supplement market, with solutions targeted towards menopause, urinary health and fertility proving particularly popular. These solutions aim to address the lack of natural, hormone-free products available to women specifically — especially in the menopause category.
- Beauty from within: Supplements targeting everything from skin hydration to hair health and UV protection are currently experiencing a boom; primarily driven by the increasing research touting the benefits of ingesting key beauty ingredients like collagen and hyaluronic acid.
- Longevity: Driven by the 'healthspan versus lifespan' trend, consumers are looking to boost their health in the latter years through cellular health, inflammation and muscle-targeting products that help them feel their best. This also expands to the younger generations, who are taking preventative measures before the ageing process properly sets in
- Sports nutrition: With an increasing number of consumers getting active, the sports nutrition market has diversified away from the traditional audience of athletes, bodybuilders and avid gymgoers to include the average active individual who wants to boost their performance and feel great doing it. Products like post-workout muscle builders, recovery products and pre-workout energy boosters are particularly popular.
- Hydration: Linked to the sharp rise in sports nutrition interest, hydration is also making a splash. Consumers purchase these products to support skin moisture and complexion, while ensuring they stay hydrated during their active lifestyle. A balance of electrolytes is also key to muscle function, so hydration formulas are commonly used for recovery during and after exercise.
- Personalised supplements: Products that cater to individual, unique health needs are particularly popular at the moment, though fully personalised solutions are not yet widely available. In the meantime, there's a growing interest in demographic, condition or lifestyle-specific options that cater to specific areas of health.
Meanwhile, data from SPINS suggests that capsules and powders are making their way back into the limelight after the significant rise in gummy formats, with powder and capsule sales up 8 and 5.3% respectively — compared with an 8% decline in gummy sales.
"For brands looking to optimize product format based on consumer preferences, powders and capsules are currently the most promising conventional options,” states Patrick Brueggman, President and CEO of Vitaquest.
"As some experience difficulty swallowing pills, or even pill fatigue, a growing proportion of supplement buyers are seeking out alternative, more user-centric delivery formats like chewable, effervescent and fast-melt tablets," he adds.
"Consumers are becoming increasingly informed, and they're now favouring products that combine efficacy, transparency and convenience," Brueggman concludes.
