Teens and tweens continue to be one of the fastest growing categories in the supplement industry, with research showing the market to have surpassed the 10 billion dollar mark in the last few years. This is great news for the health of our children, since there is often a considerable nutrient gap between what they need and what they typically get through diet.

Even though parents try their best to provide a healthy, balanced diet for their children, nowadays it often takes more than that. Depleted soils and intensive agribusiness practices, not to mention processed foods and missed meals, mean that most teen diets can come up short. Studies show that on average many teens and tweens don’t get enough of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, zinc, or iron. A high quality multivitamin providing these nutrients and others is crucial to ensuring nutritional needs are met during these crucial years of rapid development, when nutritional deficiencies can have serious and even lifelong health consequences.

The rapid growth of the teen category also means that there are more and more choices available, which can be overwhelming for both retailers and parents. Retailers can play an important role in reducing the confusion for parents, both through education and through stocking only high quality supplements for teens—products that are third party tested for purity and potency, and free from additives like artificial sweeteners, colors, and preservatives. A successful product must be geared to both teens and parents. Parents do most of the buying in this category, but teens often strongly influence their parents’ buying choices. Also, no matter what, teens will not take a supplement everyday unless they like it. Taste is key, and retailers can help by offering samples.

Delivery system choices continue to increase in this category as well. Gummies have grown as alternatives to traditional chewables, and powders that can be mixed into foods and beverages and be undetectable are also increasingly popular. These can be good choices in some cases, but continue to present supplements as something that needs to be disguised in order for tweens and teens to take them. In contrast, an effervescence delivery system transforms the supplementation experience into something enjoyable, and even fun. Rather than treating a multivitamin as something that has to be disguised as candy or hidden into foods so that they are undetectable, a stevia-sweetened effervescent transforms their daily multivitamin into a sweet drink. Teens love the taste while parents love the absence of sugar, artificial sweeteners, or colors.

Research shows that tweens’ and teens’ attitudes and behaviors toward advertising and marketing are significantly different than other, more traditional market segments, and both manufacturers and retailers should be aware of those differences. Teens spend six times as many hours on the Internet than the national average, but only half as many hours watching TV as their parents. They are more likely to respond to mediums they are most comfortable with, including videos, music, and games, than traditional media. Studies also show that teens are more likely to be influenced by their peers than by authority figures. These are crucial considerations for all of us aspiring to create and market supplements for teens that combine an effective formula that meets the specific nutritional needs of this age group, innovative delivery that tastes great and fosters healthy habits, and messaging that reaches teens themselves.