Due to the increasing focus on mental health, sleep supplements showed significant growth in the first year of the epidemic and although it may have felt like a temporary trend, Euromonitor data shows that this category will continue to grow by 14.5% in 2021 and 14.9% in 2022.
And with that innovation – according to Mintel, new supplement product launches with stress or sleep claims will increase from 3.8% in 2020 to 4.5% in 2021.
Matejevs Ambrosic, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Pharmaline Limited, discusses the evolution of the innovation, where the products have evolved from being ‘me too’ products to science-backed, dual-purpose solutions.
“Brands have been quick to offer more solutions to consumers focusing on mental health or sleep problems and this has been reflected in the product offering.
“The market is frequently flooded with formulations using commercial melatonin, passion flower, valerian root or lavender, with little variation in formulation, delivery, positioning and communication.”
In the year It was in late 2021 and 2022 that the segment began to evolve and global pharma brands and smaller disruptors such as Neurohacker, Nature Med and Vitamin Shoppe launched premium products with popular and clinically studied ingredients such as Lactium, DailyZz, Sensoril and KSM. . -66.
Some brands have begun to combine positioning to provide benefits such as sleep+protection or sleep+vision, while others have begun to focus on specific target markets.
As estimated by doctors and psychologists, up to 30% of children may have sleep disorders at some stage of childhood. According to the Nutritional Business Journal, children’s sleep supplements achieved an impressive 32.8% yoy sales growth in 52. Weeks ending July 10, 2022.
“For example, Holland & Barrett launched a sleeping gum for children in the UK in 2022. Pranarom, meanwhile, introduced a sleeping gum intended for use by all family members to the French market in 2022.”
Many aspects of sleep quality
“It’s a fascinating field of research with many unknown areas, but the obvious measure of sleep quality isn’t just the time it takes to fall asleep. There are many measures of sleep quality. If not more: sleep duration, sleep efficiency, distribution between stages like REM or deep sleep, nighttime sleep.” Number of awakenings, subjective sleep quality, sleepiness, rest time, daytime sleepiness, and insomnia.
“Consumer awareness of sleep, awareness of different stages of sleep and importance of different measures of sleep quality seems to be moving forward and this has been smartly discovered and used by international brands in recent product launches.”
In the year In January 2023, STADA announced that Germany’s Hogar Night has expanded its brand by introducing Hogar Melatonin DUO capsules.
“The product contains 2-phase capsules for targeted release, the outer phase contains lavender oil for relaxation before sleep, and the inner phase contains melatonin, vitamin B6 and passion flower to help you fall asleep faster and support healthy sleep. Phases the capsule and supported sleep parameters are included in the packaging and all main marketing materials. are spoken on.
“In the same month of this year, Bayer Lunalife Gutter Schlaf launched Combi Depot in Germany. The product is based on melatonin, valerian and papaya and comes in tablets. It helps to relax, reduce sleep latency, reduce arousal and improve restful sleep.
“Spain’s Angelini Pharma recently launched Sonodina Advance tablets, a tablet with one phase to induce sleep and the other to ensure restful sleep throughout the night.”
Smart sleep
This trend goes hand-in-hand with the development of wearable technologies, with many consumers getting smartwatches and apps that allow them to track their sleep patterns.
STADA’s 2022 health report found that 75% of Europeans aged 18 to 34 use health-related apps, and tracking sleep quality is the second most common purpose (17% of health app users).
This opens up an endless opportunity to collaborate with tech and apps for truly functional additions.
“People now track how long they sleep, how long they wake up, how rested they feel in the morning, how much time they spent in each stage of sleep, etc. This is a significant development for sleep supplement products. It affects their relationship. It puts pressure on the positioning and effectiveness of the product.
“More importantly, it offers the opportunity to be included as part of a package, as is the case with real sleep supplements.” Supplement brands are growing by offering adjacent products like results tracking apps, telehealth and subscriptions, and sleep is no exception. Hogar Night has its own collection of Spotify playlists.