Topics Analysed in this Report
- The impact of the cost of living crisis on the sports nutrition industry.
- Usage of different types of sports nutrition products, and frequency of usage.
- Key trends in new launch activity in the sports nutrition market and high-protein products.
- Behaviours related to using and buying sports nutrition products, including the potential to engage users with a wider range of natural variants.
- Attitudes towards sports nutrition products, including boosting value perceptions through simplifying on-pack messaging and brand communication
Sports Nutrition Industry Overview
Sales of sports nutrition through major supermarkets and chemists grew in 2022/23, however, this was largely driven by prices rises. Factors like ingredient, energy, transport, and packaging costs fuelled inflation in the sports nutrition market.
Brands in the sports nutrition brands face intense competition, over half of consumers agreeing that mainstream food and drink products can deliver the same benefits they offer. Communicating the unique value that sports nutrition products offer to consumers is crucial
Sports Nutrition Market Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
Interest in natural sports nutrition
There is a growing demand for a wider range of natural sports nutrition products. This echoes strong interest in naturalness in food and drink generally amid a backdrop of media focus on UPFs.
- Sports nutrition market growth: 50% of consumers agree that a wider range of natural sports nutrition products would be appealing.
Demand for more guidance
Helping consumers to identify the best sports nutrition products for them holds potential for brands or retailers to support sales. Websites can enable brands to provide information about the benefits of sports nutrition. Consumers also show openness to gaining guidance from AI, pointing to the new holding potential for brands to drive engagement with the sports nutrition industry.
- Sports nutrition industry statistics: 57% of consumers agree that brands should offer more guidance on which sports nutrition products would be most beneficial to take.
Purchase our UK Sports Nutrition Market Report to receive a five-year forecast, consumer behaviour analysis, and recommendations for market opportunities. Readers of this report may also be interested in our UK Attitudes Towards Healthy Eating Market, or our range of Food Market Research.
Brands Featured in the Full Report
Grenade, Mars Wrigley, Barebells, Warrior, Protein Works, Applied Nutrition, Myprotein, UFIT and many more.
Expert Insights from a Food and Drink Analyst
This report, written by Claire Finnegan, a leading research analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight sports nutrition industry trends and add expert context to the numbers.
Inflation has propelled sales in 2023. Re-emerging health focus will support sales. A keen interest in a wider range of natural products holds untapped potential.
Claire Finnegan
Food & Drink Analyst
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Executive Summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Opportunities for the sports nutrition market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: value sales in the sports nutrition and high-protein active lifestyle products market^, 2020/21-22/23
- Graph 2: leading brands’ value sales of sports nutrition and high-protein active lifestyle products^, 2020/21-22/23
- Graph 3: overall exercise participation and participation more than once a week, 2019-23
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 4: usage of sports nutrition products, 2023
- Graph 5: frequency of usage of sports nutrition products, 2023
- Graph 6: types of sports nutrition products eaten/drunk, 2023
- Graph 7: behaviours related to purchasing and eating/drinking sports nutrition products, 2023
- Graph 8: attitudes towards sports nutrition products, 2023
- Innovation
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Graph 9: value sales in the sports nutrition and high-protein active lifestyle products market^, 2020/21-22/23
- Market share
- Graph 10: leading brands’ value sales of sports nutrition and high-protein active lifestyle products^, 2020/21-22/23
- Macro-economic factors
- Graph 11: GDP, 2021-23
- Graph 12: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 13: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months? Please select all that apply.”, 2023
- Graph 14: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- Graph 15: the financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- Graph 16: how often people try to eat healthily, 2017-22
- Graph 17: overall exercise participation and participation more than once a week, 2019-23
- Graph 18: types of exercise done, 2023
- Graph 19: motivations for exercise, 2022 and 2023
- Graph 20: consumption of products before/during/after sports to support performance/recovery, by exercise types, 2023
- Graph 21: trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2018-28
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Usage of sports nutrition products
- Graph 22: usage of sports nutrition products, 2023
- Graph 23: usage of sports nutrition products, by gender and age, 2023
- Graph 24: frequency of usage of sports nutrition products, 2023
- Graph 25: types of sports nutrition products eaten/drunk, 2023
- Behaviours related to purchasing and using sports nutrition products
- Graph 26: behaviours related to purchasing and eating/drinking sports nutrition products, 2023
- Graph 27: percentage of plant-based claims in new product launches in sports nutrition, 2018-23
- Attitudes towards sports nutrition products
- Graph 28: attitudes towards sports nutrition products, 2023
- Graph 29: agreement with selected consumer attitudes towards sports nutrition, by older age demographics who exercise, 2023
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Innovation Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
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Appendix
- Supplementary data
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
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