Supplement users are confused.
What’s happening: A new Thorne report details the growing confidence gap among wellness consumers, with over half unsure which supplements will actually meet their needs.
Decision fatigue. With most younger consumers saying supplements make them healthier than Rx meds, precision wellness has become a form of personal responsibility.
But, navigating an increasingly complex category is overwhelming. Thorne found 65% of Americans feel more confident filing their taxes than picking a supplement, while 50% of Gen Z and 40% of millennials make purchases based on what’s trending online instead of what aligns with their biology.
Wish list. Customers want transparency, citing science-backed formulas (37%), clear labels (33%), and clean ingredients (33%) as supplement must-haves. Under scrutiny, brands are investing in clinical research to uphold claims, but regulatory oversight continues to erode trust.
Rxbot. Simplifying decisions, AI-powered tools help cut through the noise, earning trust from 41% of Americans. Not a catch-all, the winning approach could combine a diagnostics-driven Personal Health OS with human guidance — but industry compliance and third-party testing remain a bottleneck.
Punchline: The global supplement market is approaching $500B, but trust issues are creating a gap in transparency and efficacy. Establishing consumer confidence will depend on personalized biological guidance and scientific certainty.
