For an ingredient supplier, that's worth sitting with. Because when you actually listen to how people talk about their mental wellbeing, it rarely sounds like the language on a supplement label.
What people actually say?
Nobody says they'd like to modulate their stress response. They say they feel wired at night and flat in the morning. That their mind won't switch off at 2am. That they're coping, technically, but exhausted. What they describe is rarely a crisis. It's a long, low hum of pressure.
And there are a lot of them. In the European Commission's most recent Eurobarometer on mental health, nearly half of EU respondents (46%) reported an emotional or psychosocial difficulty, such as anxiety or low mood, in the previous twelve months. More than half of those had not received help from a professional.
The fact that so many haven't sought professional help deserves care. It isn't a gap for supplements to fill; serious mental health concerns belong with professionals, and responsible brands say so plainly. But it does tell us something about everyday life in Europe: a great many people are managing ordinary, persistent stress on their own, and looking for daily habits that help them feel steadier.
Stress and sleep are one conversation
Listen long enough and another pattern appears. People rarely talk about stress without talking about sleep. A difficult day makes for a restless night, and a restless night makes the next day harder to carry. Cortisol, the body's main stress hormone, sits at the centre of that loop, which is why the strongest formulation briefs in this space now treat calm and sleep as a single need rather than two separate products.
It also explains what consumers are wary of. Many have tried sedative options that left them groggy or worry about relying on something every night. What they're asking for is support they can take daily, without a dependency conversation attached.
The market is already listening
Those voices are showing up in the sales data. Grand View Research values the European nutraceuticals market at USD 131.9 billion in 2024, growing 6.9% a year to 2030, with demand for natural support for stress, sleep and healthy ageing among the drivers. Sleep is moving faster still. Fortune Business Insights forecasts the global sleep supplements market will grow 8.38% a year to reach USD 17.65 billion by 2034, and names Europe among the fastest-growing regions, pulled along by demand for herbal and clean-label options.
The mix is shifting towards plants, too. Nutrition Business Journal analysts estimate botanicals already account for almost a fifth of the global sleep market, with herbal combinations expected to lead its growth. And FMCG Gurus finds nearly half of consumers worldwide plan to lower their stress levels in the coming year.
Where Tulsi (Holy Basil) comes in
Holy Basil, or Tulsi, has been part of daily life in India for thousands of years, valued in Ayurvedic tradition for calm and balance. Its modern evidence base is now catching up with that heritage. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Ocitum, our standardised Tulsi extract, adults taking 300 mg a day for eight weeks saw a 35% reduction in serum cortisol and a 52% improvement in sleep latency, alongside better sleep efficiency. It is also non-habit-forming, which matters for anything people intend to take night after night. Ocitum is EFSA compliant, ready for formulations built for the European market.
That isn't a promise to fix anything. It's a well-documented botanical that fits the way people describe their days, and their nights.
Real voices, real formulation
This year's theme is about hearing people properly. For formulators, that's good practice too. The products that earn trust in mental wellbeing will be the ones built around how people actually feel, honest about what they can and can't do, and backed by data rather than mood-board promises.
If you're developing in stress or sleep support for the European market, we'd welcome the conversation. Visit www.phytoextractskp.com.
Sources
- World Federation for Mental Health, World Mental Health Day 2026 theme announcement (https://wfmh.global/news/2026.26-08-11_world-mental-health-day-2026)
- European Commission, Flash Eurobarometer on mental health, October 2023 (https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/3032)
- Grand View Research, European nutraceuticals market 2025–2030, as reported by Nutritional Outlook, May 2025 (https://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/view/two-ingredients-by-omniactive-health-technologies-launched-in-european-markets)
- Fortune Business Insights, Sleep Supplements Market 2026–2034, updated July 2026 (https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/sleep-supplements-market-118099)
- Nutrition Business Journal analysis, as reported in Natural Independent Expo magazine (https://niemagazine.com/thats-soporific/)
- FMCG Gurus, Unlocking Natural Resilience: The Rise of Adaptogens in Wellness, 2025 (https://fmcggurus.com/the-rise-of-adaptogens-in-wellness-in-2025/)
