Condition-specific versus multifunctional. This juxtaposition in product development approaches has been on mind for a while now. There are so many considerations at play here coming from both the brand-level and supply side of the supplement industry, but also with how it all interacts to consumer behavior. So, what’s the future of product development within the supplement industry heading towards?

In today’s business world, it’s hard to come up with an original thought. Once you acknowledge that, you start seeing things through a remix-filled point of view. The secret behind current innovations at CPG brands like Quest Nutrition and Snickers are that they’re rooted in remixing the past…their own past, well before most of its fans today knew about the original product offerings.

If you mention proprietary blends (aka prop blends) in the supplement industry social media groups, you tend to get a visceral reaction. In any other CPG category, a “prop blend” is considered a highly valuable trade secret. Do you know what goes into a can of Coca-Cola? How about that Oreo cookie? And the list goes on…Those formulas are a main part of what makes them $1B CPG brands. Which side is right? Is the supplement category unique? Should “prop blends” still be around today or not in the supplement industry?