This Thomas Index Report is sponsored by Bio Nutraceutical Inc., a leading contract manufacturer, custom formulator, and contract packager for nutritional supplements.
Hello. In this week’s Thomas Index Report, we’re going to take a look at sourcing activity for Nutraceuticals by users of the Thomasnet.com platform.
Our data shows that over the past 12 weeks, sourcing activity in this category is up 34% over its historical average. Our data also shows that sourcing activity is up 19% or more, month over month, in the related categories of Vitamins, and in Dietary, Food, Health, Herbal, and Nutritional Supplements.
Nutraceuticals are foods or fortified food products that are used as dietary supplements, and to assist in treating or preventing disease. While they are widely believed to provide medical benefits, they are not tested and regulated to the extent of pharmaceutical drugs.
That hasn’t stopped the market from exploding as the public trends toward more healthy dietary practices. In fact, while the global nutraceutical market was valued at more than $383 billion in 2017, analysts expect it to grow to over $560 billion by 2023.
Typically divided into the three main product areas of “functional foods,” “functional beverages,” and “dietary supplements,” nutraceuticals encompass everything from vitamins and minerals, herbal products, dietary fiber and enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics, and more.
It’s important to note that the users on our platform that are driving this sourcing trend are not consumers; they are organizational buyers, and in many cases are businesses looking for a contract manufacturer to help them create and bring their formulations to market.
In many other cases, they are businesses or distributors looking to get into this growing market by private labeling the products of the nutraceutical manufacturers on our platform. We expect this increased sourcing trend to continue, and as it does, there are a couple of interesting categories to keep an eye on.
The first is in nutraceutical pet foods, as businesses use this growing niche to try to grab a larger share of the 98 billion dollar global pet food market. We’ll also be watching cannabis-infused nutraceuticals, as the recent passage of the Farm Bill has opened up the possibilities in that market segment.
Moving on, here’s a look at the top 10 industrial product and service categories being sourced on the Thomasnet.com platform over the past four weeks.
- CNC Machining
- Steel
- Plastic Injection Molding Services
- Printed Circuit Boards
- Chemicals
- Automation Equipment
- Corrugated Boxes
- Metal Stampings
- Fasteners
- Precast Concrete
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Thanks very much for watching, and I’ll see you next week.