Creating the Spark for the Supplement Industry

Many companies in the nutritional supplement industry, including those companies offering vitamins, minerals and herbal products, are thriving in one of the fastest growing industries. 

An industry that got its spark almost 40 years ago.

By 2021, the Nutritional Business Journal expects the nutritional supplement industry will be pulling in $60 billion in revenue.

While that explosive growth can be attributed to a handful of reasons, the industry’s spark was started in the 1970s. That spark came when Kenneth Brailsford started filling gelatin capsules with herbal powders as a co-founder of Nature’s Sunshine.

This new technology, with easier to dissolve gelatin capsules rather than hard tablets, changed the way supplements delivered the benefits to the users. Today, thousands of supplements, if not millions, are encapsulated in gelatin capsules. This affordable method of delivering the benefits of supplements completely altered the industry and led the way to the explosive growth in the industry today.

This gelatin technology offered substantial benefits over hard tablets at the time for both manufacturers and consumers.  Gelatin capsules made it easier to digest supplements. The body dissolves the gelatin quickly to ensure the ingredients inside aren't passed through the digestive system.

Gelatin capsules are particularly beneficial when it comes to taking certain ingredients that are difficult to absorb. Coenzyme Q10, carotenoids and many herbal extracts are stabilized and solubilized to enhance the effectiveness of the nutrients and then made more bioavailable through gelatin capsule encapsulation.

Soft gelatin capsules are also easier to swallow with their smooth texture and lack of taste. Yet they still hide the unpleasant taste of many natural ingredients including fish oil and bitter herbal ingredients. 

With close to four decades of use, gelatin capsules continue to offer companies a safe way to deliver nutritional ingredients to the public.

By utilizing this new technology during the 70’s, Brailsford started the nutritional supplement industry on a successful and still growing path.