Category Potential

• The global turmeric market is projected to grow at a 7.2% CAGR from 2020 to 2026. Its key ingredient, curcumin, has been found to be beneficial in the prevention of inflammation and chronic ailments, which is expected to drive growth for turmeric-based products over the forecast period.
• Aside from medicine and skincare, turmeric is found in food and beverage products such as "canned beverages, baked items, yellow cakes, sauces, dairy items, popcorn, sweets, cereals, cake icings, ice creams, orange juices, and biscuits."
• Curcumin in food products was estimated at $21.4 million in 2019, reaching $52.0 million by 2027 (11.7% CAGR).
• The overall market is fragmented, with some key players including Biomax Life Sciences, Synthite Industries Ltd., SV Agro Foods, and Arujno Naturals Ltd.
• North America is the largest market for curcumin, and the science behind curcumin (to help joint health, inflammation, immune health, and aches and pains) will continue to drive growth in its various applications, including supplements, functional foods and beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
• While a separate market projection for turmeric-based functional food was unavailable, the overall global functional foods market is estimated to reach $268 billion by 2027 (CAGR of 6.7%), suggesting that turmeric-based foods should be able to capitalize on the growing demand for functional foods.
• Next Data and Insights, which tracks new product trends prior to launch, reported 12% growth of new turmeric-based products between 2017 and 2019. The areas with the most significant growth were cookies and candy (+8% in new products) and beverages. Supplements grew 11% in terms of tracked new products prior to launch.
• Recent (March 2020) research by Buzzback, an innovation consultancy, found that turmeric and curcumin were considered among the most "trendy" ingredients for health and wellness foods. 66% of UK consumers were "extremely" or "very" open to turmeric, while 69% of US consumers were "extremely" or "very" open to curcumin in products in the "fast-growing wellness space."
• SPINS highlights some recent innovations in the turmeric/curcumin space, including yogurt and RTD beverages.

Turmeric-Based Beverages

• The turmeric-based beverage market is expected to grow significantly through 2022, with Technavio forecasting a global CAGR of 21%. According to this research firm, the market is highly concentrated.
• Key players in this segment include Dunn's River Brands, Unilever, Gaia Herbs, House Foods Group, Numi, Rishi Teas, and Buddha Teas. BevNet notes that Golden Tiger is a recent industry disruptor.
• Category growth is driven by innovation (such as turmeric tea, latte, and juice, as well as alternative flavors), the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties of turmeric, and the growing influence of veganism.

Turmeric Supplements

• Allied Market Research finds that pharmaceutical applications of curcumin represent 50% of the market, followed by food and beverage. Popular supplement forms include capsules, powders, and syrups.
• A 2018 survey found that 20% of US supplement users over 55 were using supplements which included turmeric/curcumin. A Nutraceutical World article notes the potential for targeting millennials and baby boomers. Brian Appell, marketing manager at OmniActive Health Technologies, says of curcumin,"... its functionality across a wide range of product applications and you have a health ingredient that has great potential to serve a lot of different consumers at the right place, at the right time."
• While top-selling turmeric supplements have historically been "marketed for non-specific health conditions," there is increasing demand for "condition-specific" turmeric products, with brain-health turmeric products on the rise.
• Given category fragmentation, there are numerous key players in the turmeric supplement market. Some of these include Gaia Brands, Source Naturals, Thorne, Life Extension, Swanson, and BioSchwartz, Qunol, Organifi, PuraTHRIVE, Prime Health, and Nuzena.

Gaia Herbs

• Gaia herbs is a US-based national manufacturer of herbal extracts. Zoominfo estimates its annual revenue at $57 million.
• The company's stated mission is "Connecting people, plants & planet to create healing."
• Gaia Herbs focuses on "purity, potency, and integrity" in their ingredients and has a high-quality product focus: "We grow organically, sustainably, and intentionally. Because quality plants yield quality products."
• Healthline featured Gaia Herbs Turmeric Supreme Extra Strength in their "picks of the best turmeric supplements" in 2020. According to Gaia, the product is a liquid concentrate that is "more easily digested and better absorbed by your body than powdered extracts of turmeric."
• Gaia offers a "traceability tool on its website that allows you to discover the origin of the herb and view validation of the product’s quality."
• A 120 capsule count is available at Amazon for $29.44.
• The growth of Gaia Herbs, which sells turmeric and non-turmeric-based products, is attributed to science-based innovation, expansion across brick-and-mortar and online retail distribution channels, and focus on key target audiences (such as "holistic hopefuls", described in this Inc. article).
• In keeping with their innovation focus, in 2019, the company revealed a "New Modern Consumer-Tested Packaging Design" and three new product lines.

Summary of Early Findings

• In this initial research, we were able to find some information about industry growth, size, and drivers for turmeric overall and some segment-specific information, including turmeric-based beverages. Please note that turmeric and curcumin (the active anti-inflammatory ingredient in turmeric) were generally referenced interchangeably in the resources we reviewed, and therefore we have referenced both and used both interchangeably in this research.
• We highlighted a number of key players in the turmeric-based food, beverage, and supplement segments, based on industry overviews and industry-expert product recommendations (though one cohesive summary of top players was unavailable). Market share for specific brands was unavailable, due to the large number of competitors in the space, the prevalence of private companies (that are not required to report revenues), and the diversity and fragmentation of the industry players. Some industry reports did reference market share as a deliverable behind a paywall.
• We were unable to find marketing spend for new or existing products in the category, though this metric is typically unavailable when many of the key players are privately held.
• To provide a perspective on one market leader, we profiled Gaia Herbs, a company that attributes its success to innovation, distribution, and targeting (along with their messaging focused on science-backed ingredients).
• Our recommendations for further research are based on an assessment of information availability in this early research.