Herbal supplement industry sees sales increase for 2008

AUSTIN, Texas Herbal dietary supplement sales in the United States increased slightly in 2008, reaching a total estimated figure of $4.8 billion, according to a recent report published in the quarterly journal HerbalGram, the American Botanical Council announced Friday.

“Many people believe that herb sales may be somewhat recession-proof,” stated Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of ABC, editor of HerbalGram, and one of the authors of the herb market report. “It is highly likely — and the sales data support this — that many consumers, particularly those without health insurance to cover costs of conventional medicines, may be purchasing herbal supplements to help manage some of their health needs.”

The top-selling herbal singles of 2008 in the food, drug and mass market channel, according to IRI, are cranberry, soy, garlic, saw palmetto and ginkgo biloba. The five top-selling single herbal supplements of 2008 in the health and natural food channel, according to SPINS, were flaxseed oil, wheat grass and barley grass, stevia, aloe vera and milk thistle. These rankings do not include combinations containing multiple herbs.

“There is vast opportunity for innovative herbal products to move outside the category and into the food and beverage universe with the potential of attracting new shopper segments,” commented Mary Ellen Lynch, SPINS director of consumer insights and a co-author of the herb market report. “For example, the antioxidant turmeric, which continues to grow in the natural channel, has this potential due to its link to multiple health benefits, including cardiovascular/liver/brain health, that align well to the mainstream consumer's growing interest in health and wellness.”

The sales figure is based on data from multiple market research firms — including Information Resources, Inc., the Nutrition Business Journal and SPINS — and found that total herb supplement sales rose by nearly 1% over 2007 sales.

In mass markets, sales of herbal supplements increased more than 7.2% to $289.2 million in 2008, ABC noted, citing IRI year-end data. In the natural and health food channel, herbal supplement sales totaled $329.1 million, according to SPINS data.