Why is there a supplement craze if they don’t even work?
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This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, catch up on the week's big primary election news, how things played out with newly drawn districts in California, and an increasingly competitive Senate race in Iowa. Plus, we unpack the latest redistricting news that may benefit Republicans in the fall. Listen every afternoon to the NPR Politics Podcast. Find us on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Planet Money from NPR.
You may have noticed we're living in the midst of a supplement craze. People are Vitamaxing, biohacking so they can live longer. Everyone's talking about gut health.
I feel very aware of my gut health right now. It's true. The supplement industry is a $70 billion industry in the United States and growing fast. We are talking... Protein powders, pre-workouts, probiotics, fat burners.
There's joint health, gut health. There's glowing skin. I love glowing skin.
Better sleep, stronger nails, all of that.
75% of Americans take supplements. A lot of people.
Like 100,000 different options you can choose from. Now, supplements are everything from creatine or bovine colostrum, sometimes put in a martini, to your daily vitamin C gummies or echinacea. And because there are so many supplements out there, we kind of wanted to see, like, how easy it is to get a new supplement pill or gummy on the market. Like, could we make a supplement? Okay, what if we want to make a supplement?
Okay.
Like a real... NPR, Planet Money, branded supplement.
Awesome.
This is Frank Cantone, the chiseled CEO of S&P Nutra's supplement manufacturing partner. They make supplements.
What is driving the supplement craze in America?
Capsules, tablets, powders, soft gels, gummies.
And then brands or influencers or podcasts sell them under their own labels.
I think it would be cool to have like a little microphone-shaped gummy or a little planet or a little money gummy.
Okay.
A money gummy?
We could do those.
Or maybe we do a powder that you just like add water to and down it real quick. And it's called the money shot. The money shot is the perfect name.
First and foremost, I think what's important would be to define the market.
Frank really wanted us to think about our Planet Money audience and what supplement you find people might want. You know, smart, busy, capable people.
So, do we want something that helps people focus, right? Do we want to help people have more energy? Is that the type of product that we want to offer? That sounds great.
I'm always tired. There are so many supplements already out there that claim to help with brain function or focus. There's ashwagandha or kundalini. Theanine.
But for our potential focus gummy or shot, Frank actually suggests creatine or lion's mane or other mushrooms if we want focus.
Focus would be awesome. Also, I would like thicker hair.
Okay.
Can I do that?
Yeah. I mean, we could add collagen to this cocktail, which would help with hair growth and hair thickness.
Hold on. We're going to have a gummy that's like, it gives you focus and it gives you thicker hair?
It's doable for sure.
Is it smart?
I feel like it hits two needs that everyone really has a problem with, right?
I love how Frank just wants to make things happen for us. I know. If there is something that you want your mind or your body to do, Frank will find the ingredient for you. Like, you want to burn fat? Maybe throw some green tea in there. Frank says people associate it with weight loss.
It's typically found in weight management products, so they can kind of put it in that boat if they want to. But the green tea is really there for some energy benefits.
We walked through all the things. Ingredients, shapes, flavors. Kiwi.
For sure.
Honeydew. Honeydew is a super good flavor.
How has the supplement industry grown in recent years?
No one does just kiwi. Oh, it's not good on its own. They do strawberry kiwi.
We talked colors. Ours would be green, of course. And right there on the spot, we got an estimate. For the smallest possible order of our fully customized, I would argue very tasty, supplement.
It's going to be around 8,333 bottles. Based upon the ingredients we're talking about, it's going to range from like $4.50 to $7.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:44
2
What is driving the supplement craze in America?
1:44–3:57
3
How has the supplement industry grown in recent years?
3:57–6:56
4
What are the challenges in regulating supplements?
6:56–30:29
5
What happens when supplement regulations are proposed?
30:29–33:42
6
What are the risks associated with taking supplements?
33:42–36:29