Sports Nutrition Market Size in the USA and Expected Trends Until 2025

The sports nutrition industry has developed into one of the fastest growing sectors on the planet in recent years and that trend looks guaranteed to continue for the foreseeable future.

According to Grand View Research, the global sports nutrition market size was valued at $40 billion in 2021 and is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5 percent from 2022 to 2030.

The United States dominated the market at $16.8bn, with the high adoption of supplements and awareness regarding health and wellbeing contributing to the growth.

With the US market predicted to rise at a CAGR of 8.6% over the next eight years, their position at the top of the tree will remain unchallenged.

We take a closer look at some of the trends that are expected to power the growth of the sports nutrition industry over the next few years.

Living a healthy lifestyle

Numerous research projects have highlighted the various benefits derived from using sports nutrition products alongside the consumption of a healthy diet.

Growing understanding of how these elements combine has had a significant impact on the way people view health and wellbeing.

Several studies have shown that more people have taken up cycling, running and walking over the past couple of years, and the trend looks set to continue.

Research from PreWorkout.org highlights the popularity of healthy sports nutrition amongst regular gym-goers and elite athletes, and this has contributed massively to the growth of the healthy energy drinks industry.

The increased awareness regarding health and adopting a healthy lifestyle is predicted to drive the demand for sports nutrition products in the future.

With around half of the US population predicted to have obesity by 2030, weight management will be another factor that influences growth in the industry.

Product development

Another factor which will power the sports nutrition sector forward over the coming years is the availability of an increasing number of products.

Manufacturers are working hard to broaden the scope of their offering across ready-to-drink, gels, bars and powder-based formulations.

The addition of innovative flavours and functional ingredients to enhance the nutritional value will have a major impact on sales in the next few years.

Many brands are adding natural ingredients and low sugar content in ready-to-drink products, which will make them more appealing to athletes at all levels.

Manufacturers are increasingly forging new partnerships with retailers, which serves to increase product adoption and drive sales figures.

While established markets such as the US and Europe are already booming, there is plenty of scope for potential expansion in several regions around the world.

Research impact

While plenty of research has been conducted into the benefits of sports nutrition products, it would be fair to say that more can be done to gain a greater understanding.

This point is particularly pertinent where pre- and post-workout supplements are concerned, with studies in this area often producing conflicting results.

Supplements have been found to offer benefits such as muscle gain, maintenance of muscle mass, repairing damaged muscles and recover.

However, as the research improves and more is known about producing the optimum formulations, growth in adoption and sales will naturally follow.

Some people remain wary about consuming supplementary products to support a healthy lifestyle, highlighting why the industry still has work to do.

With high-class research currently been conducted globally into sports nutrition, many of the concerns should be addressed over the next few years.

Moving towards natural ingredients

As we mentioned earlier, many sports nutrition brands are adding natural ingredients and low sugar content to their range of products.

Increasing demand for sugar-free, plant-based, vegan and convenient sports nutrition formats and the growing trend of general wellbeing will drive future growth in the sector.

One of the biggest areas of concern for the sports nutrition industry has been the over-reliance on using artificial sweeteners in their products.

Artificial sweeteners are viewed as a simple solution in the fat loss process and helping to maintain a healthy weight in the future.

However, as the body breaks them down differently to natural sugars, they can have a negative impact on other important bodily functions.

On that basis, the use of natural sweetening ingredients is likely to become more commonplace within manufacturing processes in the future.

The final word

As we highlighted at the outset, the sports nutrition industry is on a steep upward curve and that trend should continue for the next few years.

Increased awareness of the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and the availability of more products will be key factors in driving significant growth.

Advancements in research and a shift towards using more natural ingredients will also help keep the cash registers ticking over in the sports nutrition industry.