August 26, 2025 – Supplements have become a part of modern consumption habits, from daily doses designed to boost vitamin intake to habitual consumption for lifestyle-specific goals, supplements are clearly more commonplace. Brands, aware that consumers are taking more supplements than before, have a balancing act to manage from nutrient delivery to alternatives for vegans; a tricky compromise has to be found for sustainable and healthy intake. Innova Market Insights takes a look at what brands can do to strike a careful balance delivering clean, effective, and bioavailable formulas.
Addressing Nutrient Gaps in Vegan Supplements
For certain diets, while they may contain important vitamins and minerals, they sometimes lack other vital nutrients not found in the food and beverages. Varied dietary planning can manage a lot of the necessary intake, but for those who need a quicker or more efficient solution, supplements hold significant value.
This is evident by certain diets like vegan, which lack key vitamins despite fruit, vegetables and fiber being prominent. Pernilla Berg, PhD, MB, MSci, Head of Research and Development at AstaReal, furthers this claim by saying “All vegans require a reliable source of vitamin B12, as the vitamin is mainly found in foods from the animal kingdom. Vitamin B12 is a vitamin produced by microorganisms, accumulating in animals in the food chain.”
Compensating for this can be done by vegans upping their intake of protein through plant-based protein products. Although barriers exist with plant proteins being typically 25–50% less accessible. Most vegans get all the protein they require, but athletes must pay closer attention to their diet.
In general, the average person requires significant nutrients and vitamins regardless, so well-balanced diets cater to this need. Key areas of consideration are balanced iodine intake and levels of salt in food and beverages. It is also important to bear in mind for those on a vegan diet that not all vitamins are vegan friendly. Certain supplements, including those from AstaReal, offer vegan-friendly formulations are more likely to follow suit.
Is There a Risk of Supplement Overload?
Supplements are essential to fill nutrient gaps, but overloading on them can cause issues. Vitamins such as A and D or minerals like iron and zinc are particularly harmful if not taken carefully. Dr. Chanté Wiegand, VP of Science and Education at The Synergy Company, warns of the risk of supplement overload in this case of “preformed vitamin A can cause liver and bone issues, excessive vitamin D may raise calcium to dangerous levels, and high iron intake can stress the body.”
At the same time, many people feel better when their nutrient levels are optimized, not just meeting the minimum to prevent deficiency. Therefore, finding a balance between too little and too much should be an important consideration for formulators.
Can Formulation Considerations Benefit Everyone?
Experts are keen to stress that while supplements are beneficial, they should be considered as additional factors to nutrition rather than replacements in diets. Everyone is different and considering how supplements can support an individual’s goal is crucial to maximizing their use. Factors to consider for this are diet, activity level, environment, medical history, and more.
Sara Lesina, general manager at Sirio Pharma Europe, spotlights a vegan soft gel technology that “suspends complex blends of oils, vitamins, and botanicals within a single softgel.” This gel is said to enable multifunctional vegan supplements that deliver wider nutrients. Products such as this can offer something different on the supplement market, delivering micronutrients that may be deficient in certain diets, while also improving taste and sensory appeal with flavor-enhancing properties.
Is There Increasing Demand for Vegan Supplements?
Demand for vegan supplements is on the rise as interest develops in health and sustainability. Products that have transparent ingredients and supply chain information are more sought after over time. The reality is that consumers are becoming more conscious of what they eat and drink, especially if they have specific dietary constraints or preferences. Consumer demand for vegan and plant-based supplements will grow as they are considered more natural, clean, and no longer just for vegans.
Berg points to research showing that softgels based on non-animal excipients like carrageenan and gellan gum alternatives are increasing and expected to grow. “Traditionally, some vegan ingredients and end products have suffered from unpleasant taste or sensory issues, limiting their appeal. But in a competitive market full of choice, consumers expect plant-based options to match or exceed the experience of their conventional counterparts.”
Challenges Facing Supplement Formulation
Vegan formulation challenges, including sourcing vegan nutrients, creating vegan capsules and binder options, are still top of mind. While ensuring vegan certification through rigorous scrutiny of ingredients and processes is more important than ever. Meanwhile, vitamins such as D3 and omega-3s, which were once only animal-derived, are now available from lichen or algae. There are issues facing these kinds of vitamins though, with the likes of lichen which is a plant-based alternative but is often unsustainably harvested.
Some companies, like The Synergy Company, now use algae derived vitamin D3, a more sustainable and solvent-free option. Vitamin B12 is often microbial produced, making it vegan compatible. On capsules and binders, Wiegand says that gelatin alternatives like pullulan, cellulose, and pectin enable vegan capsules and gummies, which mimic traditional formats without animal ingredients.
As for vegan certification, it involves a thorough examination of ingredients and processes, including manufacturing equipment, to ensure transparency and trust. Experts also discuss challenges like competition from gelatin, costs, and flexibility issues in developing vegan supplements and solutions to address them.
In some cases, omnivores do not accept the taste of vegan protein powder as the texture is not as smooth as whey or casein protein powder. However, the demand for vegan-friendly supplements are witnessing a slow but steady growth, especially among the well-educated and eco-conscious consumers. Meanwhile, the difficulty of vegan supplements offers limited formulation flexibility.
The Importance of Delivery Systems
Capsules and dosage form solutions are designed to protect sensitive ingredients, such as those that are reactive to oxygen, moisture, or light. Avoiding them from breaking down and still preserving bioavailability. This affects the amount of substance entering the bloodstream but also the effectiveness.
Timed-release capsule technologies help brands deliver ingredients to the right place and at the right time. For instance, one manufacturer of capsules suggests that their product can protect sensitive ingredients, such as probiotics, enzymes, multivitamins, and prenatal supplements, as they pass through the acidic stomach for optimal effectiveness.
Enhancing Bioavailability in Vegan Supplements
Innova Market Insights sought the opinion of a number of experts for what they believe will enhance the bioavailability of vegan supplements. Lauren Cafiero, associate director, at Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients (CHI) says that by combining polymer science and capsule technology, brands can optimize ingredient delivery for better bioavailability. While Berg of AstaReal says that vitamins like B12 have a bioavailability that is not typically an issue as supplement doses are high.
Supplements of poor quality can often contain high doses of various vitamins. For example, too much iron in certain forms can cause stomach pain and constipation. So brands have adapted by creating a supplement such as encapsulated iron, or nano-iron with higher bioavailability and fewer side effects.
Berg of AstaReal mentions that formulations that do not offer the essential fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) and linoleic acid (omega-6), can be covered easily by diet. Similarly, Sirio Europe’s Plantegrity technology, which is designed to ensure stability due to improved heat and humidity resistance and a stronger oxygen barrier, means key nutrients like vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3s can all be encapsulated.
What’s Next for Formats of Vegan Supplements?
To stay relevant, brands must go beyond basic plant-based formulations as consumers try to use the product throughout their diets. Vegans will continue to increase protein in their habits and varying ways of how this is done will be formulated. We are likely to witness the proliferation of gels to deliver multifunctional vegan supplements with wider nutrients values. Gum alternatives are advancing and expected to grow with the development of improved taste and sensory elements. Challenges facing the category however are the same as before, with costs, and flexibility issues in developing vegan supplements and solutions to address them proving difficult but not impossible.
This article is based on Innova’s Delivery Formats: The Vegan Supplement Balancing Act – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more