"Usage of sports nutrition products is growing faster than exercise participation. To extend value perceptions, adapt to training needs beyond muscle growth, such as stress relief or athletic abilities."
Hannah Sandow, Associate Director - Food & Drink, Germany
Germans’ health and self-care prioritise act as protective factors for sports nutrition, keeping spend resilient and growth strong. Despite ongoing price pressure, sports nutrition usage is expanding faster than the share of Germans exercising regularly.
This highlights the increasing value exercisers put on sports nutrition, moving beyond just sports-driven use. 66% of category users think sports nutrition products have benefits beyond exercise support, but only 21% have used performance nutrition during occasions not related to sports.
Avoidance of UFPs is high on Germans’ agenda, and a greater commitment to balanced diets is eroding the perceived need for sports nutrition. Combined with the category’s artificial perception, these factors represent a key barrier to use and wider implementation into everyday occasions. The issue is made worse by performance nutrtion launches with natural claims falling from 29% in 2023 to 19% in 2025 .
At the same time, strong interest in performance nutrition that supports immune or bone/joint health highlights clear functional gaps, with claim penetration far behind demand. Closing these gaps – particularly in a protein-saturated landscape – offers the most immediate opportunity to differentiate and attract new users.
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