The surge in demand for support with sleep, mental wellness and stress is well documented.
In its recent study of 18 to 30 year olds in the USA, China and the UK (January 2026), Lumina Intelligence reported that 60% of respondents globally rated their stress levels between six and eight out of 10. Against this backdrop, well-informed consumers are searching out products that support these health needs.
This increasing demand is driving rapid growth in the adaptogen category, particularly in ashwagandha. This plant-derived ingredient is thought to modulate the body’s stress response system – the HPA axis, with clinical studies showing reductions in cortisol levels.
Sales of ashwagandha – which has been studied in relation to stress, sleep and other health needs – are only set to grow. In 2024, the global ashwagandha market was valued at $725m and it is predicted to rise to $1.4bn by 2033 – a CAGR of 8.2% for the period.1
As the consumer demand drives market growth, scrutiny is intensifying. While producers compete to supply this sought-after ingredient to product manufacturers, attention is shifting beyond clinical efficacy to production practices, supply chains and product labelling.
As the category expands, regulatory expectations around safety substantiation, plant-part identification, product labelling and quality documentation are becoming increasingly important across markets. Robust scientific, quality and regulatory documentation is central to substantiating safety, quality and intended product positioning.
At the same time, questions around product integrity are increasingly being raised.
Concerns about adulteration have emerged, including reports of undeclared or substituted plant material in products marketed as ‘root’. These concerns raise important questions about label accuracy, plant-part disclosure and supply-chain transparency.
In response, the industry is beginning to formalize definitions and standards. Industry bodies have been set up in order to bring clarity to standards and definitions. The Coalition for Ashwagandha Regulatory Advancement (CAGAR) and the Ashwagandha Standards Alliance are just two of these.
As industry discussions evolve, product consistency is becoming critical. Standardised extracts are vital for formulators who must trust that finished products will replicate the effects recorded in clinical trials. Robust clinical evidence is essential and, with ashwagandha studied across so many aspects of health and wellbeing, a growing body of data exists to support decision-making.
For formulators, the question is no longer simply whether ashwagandha belongs in a product. It is whether the ingredient can be clearly identified, consistently standardised and reliably linked to the evidence used to support its positioning. Transparency increasingly means being able to show which plant part was used, how the extract was produced, how it is standardised and whether the commercial ingredient is aligned with the material evaluated in clinical research.
Join our event
To explore these questions and where the ashwagandha category is heading, Ixoreal Biomed – the company behind KSM-66 – sets out the science behind its root-only extract ingredient and answers many of the important questions formulators, regulators and consumers are asking.
In an era where proactive consumers are seeking health solutions, robust scientific evidence, quality and regulatory documentation can strengthen product credibility and support long-term success. In our Spotlight On broadcast, you will:
- Hear more about the consumer demand from Ewa Hudson, director of Insights at Lumina Intelligence.
- Dive into clinical trial results across sleep, sexual health, stress and sports performance with Dr Tieraona Low Dog, MD, ABOIM.
- Understand more about the regulatory landscape from Mari Lyrra, regulatory affairs manager from Medfiles.
- Learn why Tom Johnsson, founder of Swedish brand Medicine Garden, chooses KSM-66 for his products
- Track the growth trajectory of KSM-66-related products with supplement innovator Jordan Rubin.
Join us for Ashwagandha: Science, regulation and transparency on 30 June at 11am CDT to discover more about KSM-66’s science-backed ingredient.
References
- Market Data Forecast. Ashwagandha Market.
