Conducted by CBD Marketing in Chicago, this study analyzes consumers across different generational segments and how their unique preferences can impact the marketing strategies of dietary supplement brands.

1. Don’t Assume…
How Generational Preferences
Affect Audience Engagement
for Dietary Supplement Brands

2. CBD Marketing Fast Facts
Celebrating our 30th
Chicago-based
Full-service agency
@LoriColman
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3. An industry with incredible growth
The global dietary supplements market to reach $278 billion by 2024.
76% of U.S. adults report taking dietary supplements.
That’s more than 170 Million Americans.
1 Grand View Research, Inc.
2 Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 2017 Survey on Dietary Supplements

4. A Trend Spanning Generations
72% of industry professionals say
Baby Boomers
are the most important consumer group
Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 2017 Survey on Dietary Supplements
Individuals ages 55+ saw the highest increase
in dietary supplement usage
80% in 2017 from 74% in 2016

5. A Trend Spanning Generations
Yet 75% of Gen X’ers
(ages 35 to 54) report
taking dietary supplements, too
… as do 74% of
Millennials
(ages 18-34)
Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) 2017 Survey on Dietary Supplements

6. How do Boomers, Gen X
and Millennials feel
about dietary
supplements?

7. To find out, we dove into what each group says and does online
Online conversations from July 1, 2017 – July 1, 2018
436,429 posts from social media and blog sites
Search terms relative to “dietary supplement”
20%
33%
47%
Conversation by Generation
Baby Boomers
Gen X
Millennials
44%
56%
Conversation by Gender
Male Female

8. The majority of consumers engage on social media
Social media is a hub for sharing
thoughts and opinions – and it’s
where people are talking most often.
The lifestyle blogging trend
influences and drives online
conversations about health, wellness
and supplements.
Top conversation sources
Twitter
Instagram
Blogs
20%
16%
64%

9. Supplements are a key element of today’s consumers’ diets
Eating well makes us feel better
– both physically and mentally
– and ‘health’ and ‘wellness’
terms drive supplement
conversations.
Prevalence of vegan, plant-
based, and free-from in
conversation, trends
transforming the supplement
category.

10. Mentions of natural, organic attributes lead the conversation
Conversation Breakdown by Attribute

11. Most supplement conversations
are positive…
…but there are still some skeptics.
15%
85%
Negative
Positive

12. How can marketers
tailor messaging to
influence these diverse
audiences?

13. Boomers
55+
The largest demographic age group
47% of consumer spending
49% spend at least 11 hours week online
“researching” and “shopping” are important
online activities
Healthy aging: skin/muscle, joints, eye care,
heart health, digestion, brain/memory

14. Preventative health benefits
Healthy aging
Condition-specific
Natural
Vitamins
Pills
Weight management
Artificial ingredients
Side effects
Boomers& Supplements

15. Proven Benefits
Drive Boomer
Supplement
Conversations

16. Boomers are benefit-focused and wary of adverse health effects

17. Health and wellness blog
Health, aging, diet and weight-loss,
among other topics
Goal is health education
Audience is women, ages 50+
6.1K Twitter followers
3.3K Pinterest followers
504K Facebook followers
Boomer Influencer Spotlight
Fab Over Fifty

18. Messaging to Boomers
Focus on specific health benefits – condition specific if possible
Be positive; don’t play off fears of aging or declining health
Boomers are experimenters
Understand Boomers will want to do research, so give them the
information they need and make it easy
Here’s how (Product) helps you feel better and stay healthier longer, and how
you can easily incorporate it into your diet.
Key Message:

19. Gen X
35 - 54
Time pressed, and seeking balance
between work, personal life
7 hours per week on social media
31% of U.S. income
Triple their share of wealth by 2030
Middle age maladies: Weight gain,
muscle loss, menopause, skin sag

20. Supplements as a food ingredient
Protein (especially plant-based)
Workout or weight-loss benefits
Collagen
Bad taste or aftertaste
Artificial ingredients
Vitamin pills
Gen X & Supplements

21. Gen X Supplement
Conversations are
Food-Focused

22. Gen X’ers are mostly positive
22%
78%
Negative
Positive

23. Food, health, lifestyle blogger
Recipes, resources, research
Goal is consumer education
New York Times Best-Selling Author
Named one of the most influential
people on the Internet by Time Mag
Wide ranging audience, skews female
185K Instagram followers
104K Twitter followers
Gen X Influencer Spotlight
Food Babe (Vani Hari)

24. Messaging to Gen X
Time is precious; offer convenience
Bodies are changing; becoming aware of conditions and
seeking new ways of prevention
Taste is a huge differentiator
Show them how to use your product in everyday meals
Key Message:
(Product) can help you get the nutrition and benefits you need quickly just by tweaking
your current diet. Also, it tastes good!

25. Millennials
18 – 35
80 million in the U.S.
35% of the U.S. workforce – 75% by 2025
48% are parents
Will spend $1.3 trillion annually by 2020
71% engage with social media daily
Tend to distrust large institutions
Setting the stage: holistic, sports nutrition,
energy, sleep

26. Protein powder (especially plant-based)
Protein drinks/shakes
Natural, clean label
General health and wellness
Fitness
Innovative delivery
methods
Gritty texture, aftertaste
Multivitamins
Incomplete proteins
Pills
Big Pharma
“Dieting”
Millennials& Supplements

27. Millennial
Supplement
Conversations are
Personal and
Protein-Driven

28. Millennials enjoy the way supplements make them feel
21%
79%
Positive
Negative

29. Regularly promotes brands in her blog
Recipes, fitness challenges and personal
wellness tips, + shares details from her life
Written for a female audience
Instagram influencer: 75.6K followers
37.4K Twitter followers
74K Facebook followers
Millennial Influencer Spotlight
Simply Taralynn

30. Messaging to Millennials
Show how your product can be personalized to match unique
dietary or wellness needs
Sustainable, transparent, natural
Cause-affiliated
Packaging, design, labeling and copy that “gets” the audience
Instagram and Snapchat
Key Message:
We get you. (Our Product) is personalized to match your unique, individual needs,
allowing you to be your happiest, healthiest, best self.

31. The New Normal

32. Speaking of messaging …
Disruptor brands
Selling against the traditional
Offering personalization even
stemming from DNA and blood tests
Emphasize transparency,
sustainability, community
On-staff medical and science experts
“You have a category that’s
a miserable customer experience,
with one of the biggest reasons
being that people are confused.
Now there are digital brands
coming to the category with an
outsider’s perspective and shaking
things up.”

36. These new brands described the response
to their products along the lines of
“wonderful” and “overwhelming”
“People are constantly tagging us on
Instagram, with captions like, ‘Is it weird to
get so excited over vitamins?’”
Goop Wellness hit $100,000 in sales on
launch day, much more than expected.
The new normal
“People are surprised by how it’s making
them feel, and also by how cute the
packaging is.”

37. 5 Action Steps to do Today
Consider your product messaging. What words and phrases
does your target audience want to hear?
Tailor your marketing and advertising approach to target
subgroups within a generation.
Pick the right platform for your target audience.
Look for influencers who will connect with your audiences
and subgroups.
Keep monitoring! Get real-time insights to inform your
messaging and marketing strategies as your customers’
preferences and needs change.

38. Want more insights?
Contact CBD Marketing!
Bob Musinski
EVP, Public Relations
(312) 661-1050
bmusinski@cbdmarketing.com
Lori Colman
Co-CEO
(312) 661-1050
lcolman@cbdmarketing.com