The combined active lifestyle and weight management categories in supplements rebounded from 4.3% growth in 2020 to 20.6% growth in 2021 by NBJ estimates. We saw remarkable turnarounds in some of the bigger subcategories, including weight-management meal supplements and sports bars and gels, while others showed jaw-dropping accelerations. 

Sports hydration and energy drinks might not have slipped into negative territory in 2020, as other subcategories did, accounting for nearly all growth in 2020 across active lifestyle, but there is no stronger sign of a comeback than a rocket ship trajectory that spiked from 8.3% to 30.8%, much of that happening online where powdered hydration like Liquid IV is a flat-out phenomenon.  

In this Active Lifestyle issue we lay out how pandemic-related channel dynamics continued to play out in 2021, especially in relation to mass market retail and e-commerce. We explain why weight management pills saw their first uptick in nearly seven years and how meal replacement reversed the worst decline in recent memory.

In summary, 2020 was a weaker year for active lifestyle and weight management, and in 2021 we saw pandemic easing drive impressive sales.