The US Botanicals Market: Back on Track as a Range of Health Goals Take Center Stage

New Growth Drivers

A newcomer category, “Mushrooms (other)”—that includes sales of mushrooms and other fungal supplements—entered the mainstream channel’s top 40 list for the first time in 2024 after a 76% sales increase. Beet root, rhubarb, and St. John’s wort also had double-digit mainstream sales increases, while ginkgo saw the sharpest sales decline.

The fastest-growing ingredient? “Algae (other),” sales of which more than doubled, likely fueled by the popularity of “green powders” and so-called superfood blends. Mullein, moringa, and rhodiola also had notable sales gains in natural retail stores in 2024, while wheatgrass/barley grass had the largest decrease.

Among the three primary retail channels tracked by NBJ, the direct-to-consumer segment once again led in overall sales, totaling $7.50 billion in 2024—a 6.8% increase from the previous year. The mass-market channel (including supermarkets, drugstores, and other large retailers) also experienced strong growth, rising 4.9% to $2.61 billion in sales. The natural, health food, and specialty channel saw a more modest increase of 2.7%, totaling $3.12 billion in 2024. 

“Once again, the ABC Herb Market Report documents in great detail the almost consistent increase in consumer demand for herbal dietary supplements,” said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “As we have shown for over 30 years, a growing body of millions of health-conscious consumers has indicated their strong interest in safe, natural, and beneficial herbal supplements for an expanding range of health conditions. This is an enduring trend, not a fad. Herbal medicine and herbal dietary supplements have become an important component of informed self-care.”

Issues Impacting Growth

While ashwagandha root and root-leaf combinations were among the top five herbal dietary supplements in both the US Mass Market and Natural Expanded channels in 2024, recent international regulatory changes may impact future sales.

Traditionally, and as prescribed in Ayurvedic Medicine, only the ashwagandha root was used internally; more recently, supplements containing the root and leaf material have appeared on the market, including some products that don’t declare the leaf material on the label. Leaf material costs less than the root; its concealed, undeclared presence in a product is a form of economic adulteration.

On April 15, the Indian government issued an advisory restricting the use of ashwagandha leaves in food products, including dietary supplements, based on concerns raised in an Indian government report. However, in mid-May, an Indian state court issued an interim stay on the enforcement of the order. This is a developing story. India is the primary producer and exporter of most ashwagandha.

The ashwagandha leaf adulteration issue is top of mind for the botanical supplement industry. The history of food adulteration is as old as commerce, characterized by the intentional, concealed addition of lower-cost substances, sometimes toxic, to increase profit margins. In the botanical supplements category, this can lead to less effective products and a loss of consumer trust. 

As has also been the case with ginseng root, both ashwagandha and ginseng powders and extracts are subject to adulteration with concealed, lower-cost leaf and other aerial parts that contain some of the same chemicals found in roots. That is, the seller does not declare their presence to the potential buyer. (This does not apply to transparently labeled combinations of ashwagandha root and leaf formulations.)

“Based on our research, an estimated 50% of the top 22 products in the Mass Market channel are subject to adulteration, with 59% in the Natural Expanded channel also subject to adulteration,” said ABC’s Blumenthal. “This in no way suggests that they are all adulterated—there are many authentic and reliable herbal products on the market—but based on solid scientific review, some products are subject to adulteration. That is, laboratory testing has identified some commercial ingredients and samples as adulterated via various means.”

In September 2024, ABC staff authored a paper, “Estimating the extent of adulteration of the popular herbs black cohosh, echinacea, elderberry, ginkgo, and turmeric—its challenges and limitations,” published in the highly regarded, peer-reviewed journal Natural Products Reports,  on how challenging it is to document how much adulteration occurs in botanical supplements. “Based on the clinical evidence from laboratory studies, quantifying the amount of adulteration is much more difficult than confirming that something is or is not subject to adulteration,” Blumenthal said.

Actual levels of adulteration, based on analytical testing data, reveal that adulteration rates can be as low as a few percentages up to 25-30% of the products that were tested, Blumenthal said. “It’s Important to note,” he added, “don’t misinterpret the 59% or 50% numbers as how many products are, in fact, adulterated. It’s hard to tell how much is actually adulterated.”

In response to ingredient and finished product adulteration in the marketplace, in 2011, ABC enlisted the partnership of the nonprofit American Herbal Pharmacopeia (AHP) and the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) to initiate a large-scale program called the Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP). BAPP focuses on extensive research and education to reduce adulteration in botanical ingredients and finished products sold as dietary and food supplements, conventional foods, cosmetics, OTC drugs, herbal medicines, and other natural health products.

In that time, BAPP has won multiple awards and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed documents, including laboratory guidance documents and ingredient bulletins. In November 2022, BAPP formally introduced its Best Practices Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Disposal / Destruction of Irreparably Defective Articles, a voluntary set of guidelines for use by suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors to rid the global supply chain of adulterated and/or contaminated ingredients and finished products, including for dietary (food) supplements, conventional foods, cosmetics, and other natural health products that are “irreparably defective”, i.e., not subject to lawful remediation, and that should not be resold under any circumstances.

BAPP is supported by a growing number of responsible companies that want to see clarity and transparency in the ingredient and product space, Blumenthal said.

Responsible Industry Leads the Way

“It’s important to emphasize that there are many high-quality, responsible companies in the market,” Blumenthal noted. “These are people and organizations that really care about the quality of the ingredients, how they’re processed, how they’re packaged, labeled, and promoted and communicated to the customer.”

“At the end of the day, they care about the experience of their customer and the benefit they’re getting from the product, which is exactly why the customer bought it in the first place,” he added. “Herbs and dietary supplements are a benefits-driven category. People don’t take them for flavor or fragrance, generally; they’re there for an intended or expected health benefit.”

And, except for the sales dip in 2022 attributed to a post-COVID market adjustment, the 2024 Herb Market Report shows a 20-year, continued trend of increase in the herbal dietary supplements category. “This isn’t just a fad, it’s a long-term, continued trend,” said Blumenthal.

As the 2024 Herb Market Report noted: “Amid political divisions and digital overload, consumers spent a record amount on herbal supplements—not only for stress relief and focus, but also to support foundational health needs, like cardiovascular and cognitive function, areas with broad, cross-generational relevance. As people continue to seek stability and practical support during uncertain times, herbal products that offer multiple benefits and convenience seem well-positioned to remain cornerstones of the dietary supplements market.”

Article by Frank Lampe, a long-time natural products industry and integrative medicine media and communications executive, and is currently director of the American Botanical Council’s HerbTV Program, the organization’s educational YouTube channel. The program also includes the production of short- and long-form educational videos on medicinal botanicals, including for ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb Video Program.