Prebiotics, Probiotics and COVID-19

by Carlett Spike | August 2, 2021

The prebiotic and probiotic market experiences significant growth during the pandemic.

Digestive issues remain one of the top problems plaguing U.S. consumers. Digestive diseases affect 60 to 70 million people each year, according to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Another survey found heartburn/reflux, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation to be the top issues consumers suffer with. As a result, digestive health remains top of mind and consumers often turn to prebiotics and probiotics as a solution.

Once the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and left to grapple with its impacts, consumer demand for prebiotics and probiotics grew even stronger. In 2020, probiotics remained one of the top selling supplements in the U.S. and the market was valued at $2,971.87 million last year, according to a 2020 report. Additionally, according to data by Meticulous Market Research, the probiotics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6 percent from 2020 to 2027 and reach $75.9 billion by the end of that timeline.

What’s driving the continued growth? “This growth is driven by the expanding consumer inclination toward preventive health care in conjunction with the development of efficient probiotic strains and effective prebiotic fibers,” said Jay Levy, director of sales of the California-based Wakunaga of America. “The ongoing clinical research into the benefits of probiotics has also enabled the category to grow as consumers are seeking out products with real science behind them.”

The Impact of COVID-19

Interestingly, the pandemic has had a largely positive impact on prebiotic and probiotic supplements. Studies have shown that COVID-19 has caused a rise in demand for products that can help boost immune health and digestion as consumers believe these measures could help ward off catching the virus.

“Gut health and immune health are so closely tied that COVID definitely drove additional sales to the probiotic category,” said Jordan Rubin, co-founder and CEO of Tennessee-based Ancient Nutrition. “We saw large spikes in the space in the spring of 2020 and continue to see consumer value for probiotics as immune health stays top of mind. We believe certain probiotics act as frontline defense for our bodies and believe that even though there was a bump in sales, the market has under-appreciated the ability of certain probiotics to activate our bodies’ defenses.”

In line with the newer focus on overall wellness, Jennifer Montgomery, global health brand manager of New York-based International Flavors and Fragrances, said consumers in recent years have also expanded their wellness routines to be more holistic. “Probiotics in particular have really evolved to address health concerns beyond digestive health,” she said. “In this past year, we have seen a surge in demand for immune health probiotics, as consumers sought to improve their immune health during the pandemic. This is a big change from just two years ago, when consumers only thought about their immune health when they felt a cold or flu coming on. We have also seen the emergence of consumers using probiotics to help manage stress and mood symptoms.”

The increased usage is backed by data. In May 2020, International Flavors and Fragrances conducted a consumer study to better understand “usage and compliance” of probiotic supplements in the United States, China and Italy, Montgomery said. It found increased usage and compliance across the board. Within a six-month period, consumers increased their usage in the U.S. by 66 percent, in Italy by 188 percent, and in China by 108 percent. “These results imply that consumers are becoming more aware of how cultivating good gut-health can affect their overall health, including immune support,” Montgomery added.

Though there are still some unknowns about the virus, COVID-19 is linked to a plethora of health complications including respiratory issues, heart conditions, pneumonia and blood clots, to name a few. Consumers are obviously concerned. As those concerns around immunity and health continue, manufacturers and retailers are adjusting to address these needs. “With COVID-19 bringing health and immunity to the forefront in an unprecedented way, the probiotic and prebiotic market has become top of mind to the mainstream customer as they realize the well-known benefits they present on immunity and overall wellness,” said Dana VanBrocklin, CEO of South Carolina-based NutraLink USA. “This is evidenced by the shift in many successful probiotic brands’ focus from overall wellness, gut health and weight loss branding, to immunity focused branding specifically in product naming and strategy. The direction the market is heading in is the formulation of products that contain both prebiotics, probiotics and finally postbiotics.”

One other factor that may have contributed to the overall growth in the category is celebrity influence. Trisha Sugarek MacDonald, senior director of research and development and national educator of Texas-based Bluebonnet Nutrition, said she’s noticed growth particularly among millennial consumers. “Probiotics and enzymes are being consumed by people of all age groups. However, the major consumption is observed among Millennials, due to the growing awareness regarding health and wellness through multi-channel publicity, which has influenced their consumption pattern to a large extent,” she said.

Retailers confirmed that they also experienced growth in sales due to the pandemic. Kimberly Abreu, who works in operations and marketing for Clarity Prime on the kid’s product line “Clarity Kids,” said parents were particularly mindful about boosting their children’s immune system during this time. “They were so eager to find products to help boost their kid’s immune system. With 80 percent of your immune system residing in your gut, maintaining proper gut health was a no-brainer,” she said. However, there were still challenges. “The only downside to the pandemic was shipping logistics of getting our inventory into our warehouses in a timely manner and out. There were so many delays across the country.”

Retailer Bryan Bradford, cofounder and certified nutrition and health coach of Texas-based Sunflower Shoppe Vitamins and Natural Foods, said he did not notice much of a negative impact from the pandemic and the store saw a 2 percent increase in probiotic sales. Compared to five years ago, just about every customer is taking probiotics for gastrointestinal and immune health, Bradford said. What has been challenging is guiding customers to the best option. For example, “there are still many people confused by the difference between probiotics and digestive enzymes,” Bradford said.

E-Commerce Boom

The market size of online vitamins and supplement sales is expected to increase to 9.5 percent by the end of this year, according to IBISWorld. Although online growth has occurred yearly, many experienced a notably rapid increase in sales once the pandemic hit and lockdowns were in place across the world. It makes sense—more people were staying home and avoiding public places, so they turned to the online market. Andrea Burton, technical advisor of Florida-based ADM Protexin, said recent market research by Lumina Intelligence helps illuminate some of the reasons behind the increase. “Suggestions for the dramatic rise include health and well-being interest due to the pandemic,” she said. “Weight management was highlighted as the largest growth in engagement, thought to be the result of increased weight gain and stress during lockdowns. It was suggested that the sparked interest may have been due to the link between obesity and the severity of COVID-19. The specific interest in natural products targeting weight management is thought to be because weight gain is linked with anxiety, both of which were exploited throughout the pandemic.”

For all businesses across the board, the increased online activity sparked unforeseen issues. “The obstacles came in many forms, whether it was shipping delays or manufacturing delays due to sick employees and skeleton crews, or even the shipment of raw materials stuck in transit,” said VanBrocklin of NutraLink. That said, given the volume of the global crisis, they chose to focus on offering support and helping those in need. “My team worked tirelessly to successfully aid in navigating our valued customers through this pandemic. Our hearts go out to everyone who has been directly or indirectly affected by COVID-19. We feel grateful to have had the privilege of being on the giving end when it came to getting people the immunity enhancing products they desperately needed.”

Many did use the rise in online shopping to their advantage in unique and creative ways. Particularly with lockdowns leading to isolation and loneliness, online connection was a valuable tool to leverage. Estefania Arosemena, brand manager of Bio-K International based in Canada, said probiotic brands used the online space to develop virtual communities. She found this particularly attracted and allowed brands to engage with younger consumers—who in the past tended to be the most uninterested group. “In the case of Bio-K+, we launched earlier this year our new ecommerce website to leverage this trend and have an active presence and engagement with consumers on social media channels that include Facebook and Instagram,” she said.

Tips for Merchandising

Your merchandising matters. The way you promote and sell prebiotics and probiotics is crucial. First and foremost, you can always get help from your manufacturers. Many offer a variety of support. VanBrocklin of NutraLink shared some examples: “The biggest way we can assist in increasing sales is by contributing with a high level of support from our team of doctors, formulators and chemists in order to make superior, highly effective formulations and offer unique raw material sourcing options and unique product delivery systems. Our objective is to provide fast manufacturing lead times to meet our customers’ ever-changing demands as well as to find creative ways to help them manage their inventory and shipments.”

Levy added that Wakunaga of America makes educational and research resources available for all of their customers. “We have invested deeply in probiotic research for over 30 years,” he said. “Our educational materials include printed handouts, clinical reviews and 16-page resource booklets. We even have a dedicated website for probiotic education—not just commercial promotion. www.probiotics.com is a resource for consumers to learn all about probiotics and prebiotics. They can ‘ask the experts’ questions and get personalized responses.”

Manufacturers also offered a few specific merchandising tips including:

• Place probiotics alongside other immune beneficial products and digestive supplements, digestive enzymes and inflammation supplements. “We have seen those products are most commonly purchased together and would be good options for end caps to drive larger basket sizes,” said Rubin of Ancient Nutrition. “Think having a diverse set of claims and benefits that are prominently displayed is very important for the probiotic customer. Definable objective benefits in a quantifiable amount of time—people are looking for that.”

• Renovate the digestive health department. Make it more attractive, interactive and informative, said Sugarek MacDonald of Bluebonnet.

• Cross merchandise with grocery products too. “Retailers can incorporate signage on probiotic infused yogurt and fiber rich breads along with their digestive benefits,” said Sugarek MacDonald. “This will not only generate sales in the supplement department but also the grocery.”

Best Sellers

• ADM Protexin Bio-Kult Advanced Multi-Strain Formulation contains 14 probiotic strains, including various lactobacillus strains. Each capsule contains a minimum of two billion microorganisms per capsule. One study of 400 people found “that Bio-Kult significantly improved overall symptom severity in IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) patients and was well tolerated,” said Burton. “Abdominal pain and frequency were reduced by an average of 69 percent and 34 percent of participants were completely symptom free at the end of the five-month trial. Significantly though, as well as relieving IBS-D symptoms, Bio-Kult was also shown to markedly improve all aspects of quality of life. This includes psychological issues such as anxiety about health, depression, lack of enjoyment of life and feelings of having to avoid stressful situations.”

• Ancient Nutrition SBO Ultimate uses a “trifecta approach” offering a blend of prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics. It contains 50 million CFUs and requires no refrigeration. SBO Ultimate promotes healthy digestive function, supports normal breakdown of complex carbohydrates and helps maintain healthy gut flora. “The goal in creating our SBO Probiotics is to offer consumers unique formulas that support growth of normal microflora in the gut, healthy gastrointestinal function, positive digestive health and healthy immune system function in one convenient form,” Rubin said in a press release.

• Bio-K Fermented Dairy, Strawberry Drinkable and Fermented Rice, Blueberry Drinkable contain a minimum of 50 billion live and active bacteria. They support digestive health and an overall healthy diet. “Our Fermented Dairy, Strawberry Drinkable Probiotic has the natural flavor of fresh strawberries, making it a great option for those looking for the perfect combination of taste and wellness,” said Arosemena. “On the other hand, our Fermented Rice, Blueberry Drinkable Probiotic is a great vegan option with less sugar. Perfect for those who are looking for a fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAP) friendly and allergen-free drinkable probiotic.”

• Bluebonnet Advanced Probiotics Chewable Acidophilus contains a combination of DDS-1 acidophilus and bifido. This product, along with all of Bluebonnet’s probiotics, are scientifically supported, are made to survive, are DNA-verified and contain symbiotic probiotic strains. “Compatibility is essential,” said Sugarek MacDonald. “Tests have shown that dominant probiotic strains can kill off less resilient strains even before consumption. To ensure compatibility and efficacy, it is important that probiotic formulas combine multiple scientifically supported probiotic strains relevant to a specific demographic (e.g., women, children, etc.). Incorporating a prebiotic such as inulin that promotes their collective growth, is also an added bonus.”

• Essential Formulas’ Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics offers a blend of 12 strains of lactic acid bacteria, 10 vitamins, eight minerals, 18 amino acids, four organic acids, as well as naturally occurring fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and bacteriocins. The formula is non-dairy, non-GMO (genetically modified organism) and free of artificial additives, chemicals, preservatives, coloring, flavoring and animal by-products. Ross Pelton, science director for Texas-based Essential Formulas, added “Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics are the leading product that directly delivers postbiotic metabolites directly to the gut microbiome.”

• International Flavor and Fragrances lactobacillus acidophilus strains (NCFM and La-14) “are still some of our best-selling strains, because they have been so well studied and documented for safety and efficacy for decades,” said Montgomery. “La-14 has been documented in 50 scientific studies, including 19 clinical trials. NCFM has been studied in over 330 studies, including 60 human trials.”

• Wakunaga of America Kyo-Dophilus Max Probiotic provides a blend of 12 beneficial bacteria to repopulate the microflora. It includes L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, B. breve, B, infantis and L. rhamnosus, along with other compatible species. “We introduced our Max Probiotic with 50 billion CFU as a recovery probiotic for those [who] need to replenish and restore their microbiome after medication use, or while traveling, or under stress, as these conditions can deplete the balance of good bacteria in our system. We have a full line of probiotics, a blend for everybody: seniors, men, women and children,” said Levy.

• NutraLink manufactures and offers brand support. Although it does not directly sell probiotic supplements, VanBrocklin offered two recommendations from brands the company works with. Her recommendations included Clarity Kids Super Tummy, a probiotic made specifically for kids to help with digestion, alleviate tummy aches and ensure proper digestion; and Hello Healthy Belly Great, which includes 15 prebiotic and probiotic strains to benefit the brain-gut axis. VR