Sales in 2021 grew by more than $1 billion, making it the second largest annual increase in sales of these products after a record growth of 17.3% in 2020, mainly driven by immune support products. While immune-boosting herbs such as elderberry continued to enjoy strong sales, sales of herbs for digestion, mood, energy and sleep have grown significantly.
The best herbal products in the main and natural channels are ashwagandha and apple cider vinegar. The latter rose to No. 3 in the main channel with $178 million in sales. This is 129% more than in 2020. This is indicative of the skyrocketing sales of apple cider vinegar (ACV), which did not make it into the top 10 herbal sales on mainstream channels in 2019.
The natural channel is also seeing impressive growth, with sales of apple cider vinegar supplements up 105% to hit $7.7 million in 2021.
“Slimming supplements will account for the majority of ACV’s core sales in 2021. However, sales of this health-focused ACV product will decline by 27.2% in 2021, suggesting that mainstream consumers may switch to ACV due to other potential benefits.” explained the authors of the report in the November issue of HerbalEGram.
“Sales of weight loss apple cider vinegar supplements in natural retail channels rose 75.8% despite declines in mainstream channels.”
The fastest growing mainstream channel sales are herbal supplements containing ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), which is up 226% in 2021 compared to 2021 to reach $92 million. The surge catapulted ashwagandha to number 7 on the main channel’s best-selling list. In 2019, the drug took only 33rd place on the channel.
In the organic channel, ashwagandha sales rose 23 percent to $16.7 million, making it the fourth best seller.
According to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) monograph, the use of ashwagandha in Ayurvedic medicine dates back to the teachings of the renowned scientist Punarvasu Atreya and the writings that later formed the Ayurvedic tradition. The plant’s name comes from Sanskrit and means “smells like horses”, referring to the strong smell of the roots, which are said to smell like horse sweat or urine.
Ashwagandha root is a well-known adaptogen, a substance believed to enhance the body’s ability to adapt to various forms of stress.
Elderberry (Sambucus spp., Viburnum) continues to rank first among the mainstream channels with $274 million in 2021 sales. This is a slight decrease (0.2%) compared to 2020. Elderberry sales in the natural channel fell even more, by 41% compared to the previous year. Even this fall, elderberry sales in the natural channel exceeded $31 million, making the botanical berry the No. 3 bestseller.
The fastest growing natural channel sales were quercetin, a flavonol found in apples and onions, with sales up 137.8% from 2020 to 2021 to $15.1 million.
Hemp-derived CBD (cannabidiol) has again experienced its most notable decline as prices of some herbs rise and others fall. Specifically, CBD sales in mainstream and natural channels were down 32% and 24%, respectively. However, herbal CBD supplements retained the top spot in the natural channel with $39 million in sales.
“Natural channel sales of CBD will be $38,931,696 in 2021, down 24% from nearly 37% in 2020,” write the authors of the ABC report. “Sales seem to have peaked in 2019, with consumers spending over $90.7 million on these products through natural channels. However, even after two years of declining sales, natural CBD sales in 2021 are still significantly higher. Consumers will spend approximately $31.3 million more on these products. CBD products in 2021 compared to 2017 – 413.4% increase in annual sales.”
Interestingly, sales of the three top-selling herbs in the natural channel declined: excluding CBD, turmeric (#2) fell 5.7% to $38 million, and elderberry (#3) fell 41% to $31.2 million. The most notable decline in the natural channel occurred with echinacea-hamamelis (-40%) and oregano (-31%).
Echinacea sales also fell 24% in the main channel, but were still at $41 million in 2021.
In their conclusion, the authors of the report noted, “Consumers [...] seem to be more interested in science-based supplements, which may explain the increase in sales of some well-studied ingredients and the decline in sales of the most popular health-focused ingredient.
“Some of the sales trends in 2021, such as the decline in sales of some immune ingredients, may seem counterintuitive, but the data shows that this could be another example of a return to normalcy.”
Source: HerbalEGram, Vol. 19, No. 11, Nov. 2022. “U.S. Herbal Supplement Sales to Grow 9.7% in 2021,” T. Smith et al.