Ingredient Spotlight — Vitamin D

June 19, 2020 

Vitamin D has been a hot topic among consumers the past few months due to the role it may play with immune health. When referencing Vitamin D, it is important to know that it is available in two forms, D3 (cholecalciferol) and D2 (ergocalciferol). The human body does produce its own Vitamin D with exposure to the sun, but due to that lack of sunshine during winter months and the increasing number of people staying inside working desk jobs, it has become difficult to get the amount we need. Therefore, we have seen an increasing number of supplements and fortified foods featuring Vitamin D as a main benefit. Consumers have been responding positively to this trend, as we can see by reviewing the Google Trend chart below. Looking over the past year we can see that searches in the United States for Vitamin D have hit a high. 

With an increasing number of consumers looking to add more Vitamin D into their lives, we have seen an increasing number of products in non-traditional formats featuring the ingredient. According to data from Innova Market Insights, if we look at 2019’s top 10 categories featuring Vitamin D in new product launches, 32.22% were in the traditional Vitamin/Mineral Supplement category. For the first 5 complete months of 2020, that number has dropped to 22.91%. Some new categories entering the top 10 that have helped diversify the market include non-dairy yogurts and Cereal & Energy Bars.

Source: Innova Market Insights

With the importance Vitamin D may play in immune health we expect to see this trend continue for the foreseeable future. Expect to see the market continue to evolve by launching new products featuring Vitamin D into new formats.

Sources: NutraIngredients-USA: Overwhelming evidence supports vitamin D’s immune function benefits; Google Trends; Innova Market Insights: Innova Database