Supplement ingredients are no longer confined to the supplement aisle, according to recently released data from NIQ and Spate. As detailed in the “Blurring Wellness Boundaries: When Supplements Meet Food and Beverage” webinar hosted by NIQ and Spate last month, US consumers are increasingly reaching for snacks and drinks that deliver the same functional benefits formerly focused on capsule, powder, or gummy formats.
TikTok Shop pushes wellness into the mainstream
A core focus of the webinar highlighted TikTok Shop’s growing influence in health and wellness purchasing behavior. As of Q3 2025, 79% of TikTok dollar sales were attributed to health and beauty, with vitamins and supplements ranking as the platform’s top-selling category.
Wellness content reached an average monthly popularity of 34 billion views across social platforms, and functional beverage content alone averaged one billion monthly popularity index points as measured by Spate analytics. Functional snacks, meanwhile, logged over 100 million.
“When we look at online conversations, wellness is absolutely dominating,” said webinar moderator and presenter Alyssa Williams, category insights manager, wellness functional food at Spate. When specifically looking at TikTok Shop, she highlighted that 15.5% of TikTok Shop views are attributed to wellness, and 60.8% of supplements and ingestibles views are attributed to the e-commerce platform.
“That means more than half of the attention in this category is happening directly inside the shop environment, and that is a huge shift,” she said.
“That tells us that consumers aren’t just discovering products on TikTok any more, they’re buying them right there in the moment of highest excitement and intent…for brands that means TikTok isn’t just about sparking awareness any more, but is collapsing the path from inspiration to purchase," she added.
From capsules to cookies: format innovation accelerates
Vitamin D3, magnesium, omega-3, ashwaganda, and creatine, once staples of supplement regimens, are now driving popularity spikes in functional snack foods.
According to the data, creatine saw a 78.6% year-over-year increase in online popularity, while berberine rose 117.8%, largely driven by consumer searches around weight management.
In functional snack formats, ingredients like lion’s mane mushroom and ashwagandha experienced triple-digit growth in popularity, pointing to an increased consumer appetite for food-first delivery of wellness benefits.
“The reason functional snacks are booming is that they combine indulgence with purpose,” said Williams. “Consumers don’t want to choose between enjoyment and wellness; they want both, and snacks are really the perfect vehicle for this because they are already built into daily routines…we are predicting a double digit growth rate in this category’s popularity year over year,” she added.
Functional beverages show sustained growth
While snacks have seen strong gains, functional beverages continue to lead in overall consumer engagement, and Williams characterized functional beverages as “one of the biggest growth crossover formats in wellness right now.”
Spate reported an average monthly popularity index score of one billion for functional beverages, with year-over-year popularity growing 56.6%. Top-performing ingredients include collagen, theanine, and electrolytes, each seeing triple-digit gains in search and social view metrics.
The key driver in this growth, she explained, is that “consumers love the idea of getting wellness benefits in a form that feels easy and enjoyable...drinks are already part of their daily routine, so adding functionality like protein, collagen, etc. feels like a natural upgrade.”
The data shows momentum has been steadily increasing across social media platforms, with a 35.4% predicted year-over-year growth rate demonstrating this category really has staying power, she added.
Formats like protein soda, chlorophyll water, and electrolyte drinks are gaining traction, with protein soda alone showing a 13.3 million increase in average monthly popularity. In beverages, ingredient-led functionality is closely tied to performance, beauty, and hydration benefits, all of which align with high-interest wellness goals.
Beauty, mood, metabolism top trend categories
Ingredient trends also align with top wellness goals: anti-aging, beauty-from-within, energy, stress, and metabolism.
For example, nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a compound associated with cellular repair and longevity, jumped 104.5% in popularity year-over-year. Functional snack formats containing collagen rose nearly 330%, according to NIQ’s data.
“Consumers aren’t just looking for general wellness: they’re increasingly searching for functional benefits that help them perform better, stay sharp, and manage their daily lives,” the presentation noted.
Influencers shift from promotion to co-creation
Brands are no longer just leveraging influencers to market existing products. Increasingly, creators are being brought into the early stages of product development, contributing to formulation, positioning, and even packaging decisions.
According to NIQ, this strategy has become core to digital shelf performance. “Social-first innovation requires fluidity,” the presenters stated. “Building positioning and product simultaneously” is now essential for brands competing in dynamic wellness categories.
In an increasingly algorithm-driven commerce environment, NIQ presenters emphasized the importance of retail search optimization. Over 80% of in-basket products appear in the top 10 search results, and TikTok’s seamless buy-now interface is accelerating impulse purchases.
Data also revealed strong purchase intent across age groups, with TikTok Shop engagement nearly equal between 65+ users and Gen Z.
“The challenge for brands is loyalty…the path to purchase is now seconds, as you see the continued growth/emergence of livestream shopping, it’s changing the engagement with consumers,“ said Sherry Frey, vice president of total wellness at NIQ.
One important element, Frey noted, is “the influence of influencers,” citing NIQ data that 18% of consumers surveyed reported that social media influencers have an impact on purchasing decisions.
Looking ahead, hydration health, digestion, energy, and stress support are expected to drive the next wave of functional crossover. NIQ data shows hydration-related products, including electrolyte-enhanced beverages, grew 21% in dollar sales and 22% in unit sales year-over-year, signaling ongoing consumer interest in wellness benefits delivered through convenient, everyday formats.
