The Takeaway: A Q&A With Garyth Stone on the Rise of Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements

What’s driving the surge in consumer demand across the VMS category?

There’s a structural shift underway in how people think about health. Historically, supplements were something you reached for when you were already unwell—a reactive purchase, typically associated with older generations. Today, however, there’s a growing preventive mindset, seen most prevalently among Millennials and younger consumers who view wellness as an ongoing investment rather than a reaction to illness.

Vitamins and supplements are now integral to a broader lifestyle centered on long-term wellbeing—alongside other considerations such as fitness, nutrition, anti-aging, and mental health. This shift in consumer behavior not only broadens the consumer base but also extends the engagement horizon. Consumers are entering the category earlier in life and staying engaged for longer periods, creating a stickier customer base.

Emerging brands are reliant on social media marketing, effectively targeting younger consumers and normalizing supplement use from an earlier age. From an investment perspective, this evolution significantly expands the total addressable market and drives enhanced customer lifetime value. What was once a category primarily dominated by older adults taking multivitamins has now transformed into a dynamic, multigenerational market, with health-conscious individuals across various age groups incorporating daily wellness into their routines as a long-term habit.

Are these trends consistent globally, or are there regional differences?

The direction of travel tends to be the same globally, but the pace varies. The U.S. is often the tip of the spear—most of the major consumer trends start there and ripple outward. The preventive mindset has been well established in North America for quite some time now and is gaining traction in the U.K. and across continental Europe.

The same goes for product formats. Health-focused gummies, for example, have exploded in the U.S. and now account for roughly 30%–40% of VMS sales. The U.K. is following suit at 10%–15%, while continental Europe is still in the early stages at around 3%–5%.

An exception to this trend is the direct-to-consumer (DTC) model, which actually took root in continental Europe, particularly in markets like Germany and the Netherlands, and is now growing rapidly in the U.S. too.

How resilient is the VMS sector when the economy slows down?

Clearly, the volatility and uncertainty we’re witnessing at the moment are not helpful in any respect, but the VMS sector is highly resilient. Vitamins and supplements fall into a relatively small group of consumer categories—alongside pet care and baby products—where spending remains remarkably consistent, even during economic downturns.

Whether in times of inflation or recession, consumers continue to prioritize health-related purchases, which means the VMS sector benefits from sustained demand. This provides upside growth potential while minimizing downside risks, unlike more discretionary sectors like fast fashion, where consumers often pull back when times are tough.

We’re currently seeing how the sector holds up against the threat of a global trade war. The impact on the majority of European VMS businesses is very small to nonexistent. It is an issue—to an extent—for U.S. businesses because certain products and raw materials are imported into the U.S. But for European brands, very few of them sell into North America, and therefore, the impact is limited.

What’s the opportunity for private equity? What should they look out for?

Private equity loves the VMS sector, as evidenced by deal activity in recent years; the opportunity is real—and timely.

Private equity firms are sitting on significant dry powder, and in the current volatile environment, there’s a premium on resilient, cash-generative businesses with defensible consumer demand. The VMS sector fits squarely into that thesis.

Of course, not every brand is created equal. One of the biggest challenges in the sector today is brand proliferation—there are hundreds of lookalike players, many of which lack any meaningful product differentiation. Companies can just outsource the manufacturing of products with no real science backing, and this will harm consumer trust. So, private equity must identify businesses supported with real clinical validation and proven efficacy.

Take Vitabiotics, for example: a U.K.-based brand with science-backed products proven through independent, double-blind studies paired with consistent, high-quality marketing. That’s the kind of platform that stands out—and that PE should be looking to back.

So, what’s The Takeaway?

The VMS sector sits at the intersection of some of the most powerful trends in consumer health—preventive wellness, demographic tailwinds, and economic resilience. For private equity, it offers an unusually attractive blend of structural growth, limited downside risk, and the potential to create value through brand-building and consolidation.

This is a category with real momentum and one where smart capital will make a meaningful impact.