As the winter months approach, consumers are increasingly looking to prioritise their mental health and overall wellbeing. Cognitive and emotional wellbeing are gaining traction as consumers seek support for areas such as stress management, sleep, focus and memory.
Alongside these needs, consumers are increasingly interested in maintaining focus, concentration, memory and mental clarity, while recognising the connection between cognitive health and other areas of wellbeing, such as gut health.
Consumer demand for focus and brain health is driving a 4% annual growth in cognitive supplement launches from 2021 to 2026, according to Nutrition Insight, which highlights the growing opportunity for innovation within the cognitive health category.
The Role of Emotional Wellbeing, Stress and Sleep
Stress, sleep, emotional wellbeing and cognitive health are increasingly recognised as interconnected aspects of overall wellbeing. According to FMCG Gurus, 28% of global consumers rank emotional wellbeing as their health focus for the year ahead meaning that supporting emotional wellbeing is becoming more important.
Sleep and stress are closely linked, with disrupted sleep contributing to fatigue, while stress can affect both sleep quality and cognitive performance. As a result, consumers are increasingly looking for ways to support these areas together, rather than viewing cognitive and emotional wellbeing as separate aspects of health.
The Ingredients Shaping Cognitive Health Innovation
As cognitive health awareness grows, innovation is creating new opportunities for brands to differentiate within the market. While vitamins and minerals remain well-established within cognitive health supplementation, growing interest in botanicals, adaptogens and mushrooms is opening up opportunities for more targeted formulations that contribute to cognitive function alongside emotional wellbeing, stress management, and sleep.
Popular and emerging ingredients include:
- Lion’s Mane: a mushroom ingredient that has grown in popularity within cognitive health and brain health supplement formulations.
- Ashwagandha: a well-established adaptogenic botanical that is increasingly featured within mind, mood and wellbeing supplement formulations.
- L-Tyrosine: an amino acid increasingly seen within the supplements positioned around mental performance, focus and cognitive health.
- B Vitamins: well-established ingredients within the cognitive health category, with certain B vitamins having authorised health claims relating to areas such as normal psychological function and the normal functioning of the nervous system.
Key Formats & Formulation Opportunities
Capsules and tablets are traditionally the most popular supplement format, however with consumer demand growing for more convenient and accessible products, this is creating opportunities for brands to explore alternative delivery formats. Gummies are gaining traction within the mind and mood category with gummy supplement launches growing at a 16% CAGR.
The increased demand for convenient formats provides brands with an opportunity to move beyond traditional supplementation and create products that are easier to incorporate into everyday routines. For cognitive health products, this can also help make targeted supplementation more accessible to a wider range of consumers, whilst giving brands the opportunity to differentiate their products through format, flavour and formulation.
As demand for cognitive and emotional wellbeing support continues to grow, exploring a variety of delivery formats can allow brands to diversify their product ranges in line with evolving consumer preferences.
Developing A Cognitive Health Supplement with Opalbond
With format innovation being a key driver in the cognitive health and emotional wellbeing category, it is important for brands to offer diverse products. We offer a range of formats to help brands meet growing demand for innovative, functional, convenient formats, including:
- Bespoke gummies & white label gummies
- Drinking powders
- Stick packs
- Effervescent tablets