A New Generation of Supplements

There is a growing trend among supplement brands to begin creating products that specifically target millennials. As a millennial myself, I am noticing first hand that their has been a shift in the way we buy products, and that more people are starting to educate themselves on brands prior to making a purchase. Part of this education includes reading blog reviews, looking at trends, and making judgements based on the brand’s overall presentation. With all this information readily available at our fingertips-literally it is very challenging for a supplement brand to truly stand out among the pack. For this roundup I looked at 3 factors that contributed to my review for each of these brands.

1. Presentation: Examining the way each brand presents it’s line including the branding and packaging.

2. Delivery System: Looking at how these supplements are taken, favoring novel and innovative concepts over traditional delivery systems.

3. Education: Looking at how each brand educates the consumer on their product, and why it should work better over other brands in the same space.

I decided to do a roundup on brands that really understand the millennial mindset and deliver on quality, efficacy and overall presentation.

1. HUM Nutrition: You may have seen HUM in your local Sephora, this brand is definitely interesting in that it fits in both the beauty and supplement categories. The presentation is what initially sold me on HUM. The delivery to our Eco18 office came in a gorgeous box along with a personalized note card. I decided to review the OMG (Omega The Great) Ultra-Pure Fish Oil for 2 reasons. One, that fish oil is a very typical supplement you can find in most drug stores-so it was interesting to see a brand present a completely unique concept- and that I thought the name was very clever. I have been using OMG now everyday for the past 2 weeks and I have definitely noticed a slight difference in my appearance and I feel like their is more balance in my overall well-being. I am excited to see what the results will be like after one month, since the bottle is meant for 30 days. In terms of delivery system OMG is not very unique, however Fish Oil is much more palatable as a pill, so I understand. I think HUM does a great job at making their products feel very approachable. The bright colors and overall design of the packaging has a very friendly feel, and their website is full of valuable information. They even give you the opportunity to directly communicate with their on-staff nutritionists.

2. Fountain Beauty: I came across this brand on a design blog, and for good reason-the packaging is gorgeous. It took me a while to fully understand what these products were but essentially each of the “Molecules” provide a variety of different health benefits depending on what you are looking for, and are meant to be ingested. On the packaging it was suggested to mix 2 TBSPs of your molecule each day, in your favorite beverage (I take mine in hot water and treat it like a tea since it is apple flavored). I decided to try the Phyto-Collagen Molecule-because it has an interesting combination of Hydrolysed Collagen + Fountain’s Hyaluronic Acid Matrix to support healthy collagen formation. Since taking it I havn’t seen a huge change yet in my appearance, but again like most supplements, it takes at least 1 month of daily use for the products to fully kick in with their benefits. I do like that their healthy formula of ingredients which also include Wild Phytoplankton, fish collagen and L-Glutathione is easily masked by the apple flavor. I would definitely suggest diluting this with water before ingesting, because the flavor is a bit on the tart side if taken alone. The price point for these products are pretty reasonable, since the packaging is very nice-they would be great gifting items to someone who appreciates health and wellness. I like how the brand combines the world of supplements with a more fashion-forward approach. Definitely a sexier product, then what you would typically find at a drugstore. I would be interested to see how my body responds to the other formulas, to learn which ingredients would work best for my skin type. Right now in the U.S. you can find fountain in stores like Urban Outfitters, as well as online at Beautybar.com and Netaporter.com

3. Vega Sport: Vega Sport is a bit different from the previous two brands I have mentioned in this review since the  products fall in the sports nutritional and wellness category. One of the unique differences between this brand and a lot of the sports nutritional supplements out their right now is the ingredient profiles. Vega Sport was created and formulated by Brendan Brazier, a vegan, professional ironman, triathelete and bestselling author and as a brand prides itself on being completely plant-based, which means you are getting all natural ingredients-rather then fancy sounding chemically engineered ingredients. Their products are also dairy, gluten and soy free and contain no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners. For this review I decided to try their Raspberry Endurance Gel prior to my daily workout. The active ingredients in their endurance gel include: Coconut Oil, Dates, Sorghum, grape-juice for energy and their on proprietary blend of electrolytes. In terms of taste, it definitely was a unique flavor that I will say wont be to everyone’s liking, but you have to keep in mind-this product isn’t like a GU which contains preservatives and caffeine-it is much more green. In terms of presentation I do think their packaging has a very “fresh” feel and does stand out among other sports nutritional products. Overall Vega Sport’s line is definitely as effective as anything else out there on the market, but do not contain any of the bad ingredients-a win for all. They can be found in places like GNC, Vitamin Shoppes and Whole Foods Market.

 4. WellPath Solutions: I came across this brand in a Facebook ad, which just goes to show how the easiest way for millennials to find out about new products is through social media. The concept is simple. You take a survey on their website which goes into 5 key areas of your wellness-the basics, your body, your mind, your soul and your lifestyle. At the end of the survey WellPath will identify your wellness needs and provide you with a monthly formulated powder blend of ingredients made just for you and taken only once daily.  They then monitor your performance based on your feedback to them and will adapt and change the formula each month if needed to help adjust to your body or your changing goals and needs. Their website is a great resource to learn more about this supplement program, providing WellPath users with recipes that can be made using the powders, as well as information on their ingredients and their online blog, The Path.