The weight loss journey of consumers has evolved over the years. Historically, people who wanted to lose weight focused mainly on exercise and diet. Meal replacements and diet aids were later introduced followed by fat-burning supplements, and then sugar and fat sequestering supplements to prevent the culprits of weight gain from entering the body.
It stayed like that for a long time, but today people take a more holistic approach to weight management. They integrate whole-body wellness incorporating stress, sleep, exercise performance and recovery, joint health, and aging. The nutraceutical industry is responding by leveraging scientific discoveries and new modalities to adjuvant pharmaceutical interventions as well as offering value-added solutions to customers who want to improve their experiences with weight management supplements and limit the side effects of the journey toward healthy weight.
The weight management industry is now being driven by consumer demand for holistic solutions and supported by advancements in research and technology. As a result, the nutraceuticals market needs to send a clear message about the benefits of using dietary supplements for weight management while adhering to regulatory oversight.
The Rise of Semaglutides and the Opportunities for Supplement Brands
In line with the growing demand for holistic weight management solutions, the pharmaceutical industry has introduced innovative options that are shaping consumer behavior and expectations.
A notable example is the rise of semaglutides (GLP-1 agonists). Originally designed for people with Type 2 diabetes to help control their appetite, semaglutides result in better blood sugar control, improvements in Hemoglobin H1C, and eventually significant weight loss. Combining all these benefits reduces overall morbidity and improves quality of life. Today, there is a meteoric rise in the use of semaglutides being used off-label as a general modality to lose weight in non-diabetic consumers. This has put a greater focus on the side effects of semaglutides.
One of the mechanisms of action for GLP-1 agonists works by inducing satiety, which causes a reduction in overall caloric intake. As a result, users experience protein loss, which is fundamental for health and performance. As we age, protein assimilation naturally becomes compromised due to less efficient absorption through the gut, resulting in lower muscle mass, loss of stamina, and muscle weakness.
Other organs are also compromised including the skin, which becomes sallow and sunken giving an “advanced age” look, which is especially undesirable when you are considering the goal is to look and feel better. Both the protein loss and beauty aspects of GLP-1 use create opportunities for the natural product industry as there are viable solutions to correct both.
Semaglutide users complain of nausea, which leads to them not eating as much. In many cases, this is tolerable, or it goes away over time. As a result, alterations in diet may have a profound effect on the various microbiomes that colonize a person’s body, particularly the gut, which will affect other organs such as the brain, skin, and reproductive organs. This side effect creates changes in the gut microbiome and for some, gas, bloating, and diarrhea are new symptoms to manage. Furthermore, when a person’s gut isn’t happy, their brain isn’t happy. So, that’s yet another place the natural products market is looking to address.
Another opportunity lies in the consumer group that will eventually come off GLP-1 therapy as they have achieved their target weight or can no longer manage the side effects. In this case, weight gain occurs in the form of fat, primarily. This is especially concerning because the original weight loss achieved was from both fat and protein loss, so there is now a deficit in protein mass upon the new weight gain, which is troubling. As a result, transitioning off GLP-1 therapy could present yet another opportunity for the weight management supplement manufacturers, and something that we should pay attention to moving forward.
A third group of consumers are those who can’t or won’t take Semaglutide therapy but want to leverage the mechanism that these drugs employ. As a result, there are a lot of opportunities here for the natural products market to focus on, including but not limited to, supporting protein assimilation, gut health in terms of microbiome support, cognitive support to manage stress and mood, and beauty-from-within strategies to improve self-perception and appearance. Taken together, all our systems are integrated into the weight management category, so this holistic approach to weight management can be quite successful and is brought to another level of awareness by this pharmaceutical intervention, which ultimately drives the consumer to be more interested in our industry.
Pharmaceutical companies are starting to think about the second and third generations of this semaglutide revolution as they are starting to combine other mechanisms into this GLP-1 story, which will hopefully lessen the side effects of the first generation and make it more effective.
The industry will start moving into a better understanding of the gut-brain axis, the gut-skin axis, stress capacity and coping, and cognitive behavior health. The natural supplement industry is ripe with cool innovations and energy to address these areas, especially around adaptogens, functional foods, and natural forms of GLP-1 induction and biotics to stimulate healthy weight management using the body’s innate resources.
Research Interests of Manufacturers and Suppliers
To better serve this evolving market, brand owners need to stay ahead of the curve. Technology suppliers supporting manufacturers are focusing on conducting reproducible, validated, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies to have the data available to confidently support the health claims they make with their weight management dietary supplements. This creates new opportunities for manufacturers and their partners to innovate and support claims through well-designed clinical studies.
This research extends beyond traditional weight management to incorporate the support categories that roll into it, including sleep and mood, exercise support around bones and joints, and how to support a “new” metabolic status of being healthy. As society continues to evolve, a deeper understanding of how to effectively support weight management and a healthy lifestyle becomes increasingly important.
The good news is that the data generated today will serve as a control or baseline for tomorrow’s innovation, however, not everyone will understand it – so our industry needs to simplify it in a way that makes it attractive and understandable for people to comprehend and benefit from. We don’t want brands to make claims they can’t support by sound scientific research. At the end of the day, we want consumers to make smart choices.
This is one of the hallmarks of a responsible consumer goods manufacturer and one of the great things about working with Vitaquest. We purposely gravitate to the best-in-class technology vendors conducting fascinating research in their given areas of expertise. We encourage and talk to our vendors about what the market is looking for, and they come back to us with new and exciting data.
Our scientists are all about data, but what we are working towards is increasing and improving the quality of life of consumers and creating brand loyalty. Safety and quality are also important in the research that we do. We impose extremely high thresholds for our safety and quality criteria before releasing anything to our customers, as we test everything we touch from raw materials to excipients, to finished products. We do this because we see ourselves as an extension of our customers’ business. It’s not just their reputation on the line every day—it’s ours too, and we take that responsibility seriously.
How Vitaquest Can Help?
Vitaquest, a trusted supplement contract manufacturing and development organization with over 45 years of experience, has a comprehensive background in formulating and manufacturing innovative and effective weight management supplements and holistic health solutions. Our expertise extends to creating advanced products that support protein assimilation, gut health, cognitive support, and beauty-from-within strategies.
Not all contract manufacturers can produce these products. Vitaquest’s experience, guidance, and technical expertise ensure your product(s) will meet or exceed the standards for cutting-edge supplements. Our team is also committed to anticipating market trends to help you stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on upcoming growth opportunities. Read our 2025 Supplement Manufacturing Trends Guide to get our insights into what to expect in the dietary supplement market next year.
Vitaquest can help you create customized weight management supplements expertly formulated to stand out in this competitive and lucrative category. Call 800-526-9095 to speak with one of our knowledgeable sales executives or request a competitive nutraceutical manufacturing price quote if you’ve already finalized your project requirements.
