by Matt Weik
Convenience will always be a deciding element in if someone will use a supplement or not. We are used to eating bars, drinking shakes, and swallowing pills. However, now a new delivery method is concerning market and it is in the form of an oral supplement spray. will this new trend catch on or will it go down in history as one of the most significant fails in the supplement space?
Innovative design or a strikeout in the consumer’s eyes?
When digging into the various sprays on the market, there are actually over 200 that people have probably never heard of. Instavit happens to be one of them—and they are wanting to change the landscape of the space. consumers delight in gummies, shots, pills, capsules, beverages, and everything else, so why not sprays?
If the name, Instavit, rings a bell, you might have seen them in your local Vitamin Shoppe, online, or at your local grocer. Instavit is trying to take over the niche oral spray market with a spray form of supplements. To differentiate themselves, the Instavit chief marketing officer discussed that, “Nobody’s exactly figured out how to do sprays right, and I believe it’s because there’s an education curve that it takes for the public to understand what it is that we’re doing.” It’s an interesting concept—yet, not one that I’m sure numerous people are going to jump on board with. but then again… their sales could show me wrong.
Why a spray?
I’m sure if you asked Instavit that question, they would reply back with, “why not?” Yet the company was founded by a doctor who hated taking pills, so it’s only fitting that he came out with another option to suit his individual wants and needs—and possibly the needs of others who can’t swallow pills for one reason or another too.
Instavit has a fairly comprehensive line of sprays currently. some of these sprays are sleep aids, vitamins for kids, energy, vitamin B12, vitamin D, immune strength, mental focus, and prenatal care. will they be launching more? I’m sure they will, but what particular products or ingredients is unknown at this time.
The brand is also conducting studies on their products. one of them being their energy spray. They discussed that “We’re the only people in the spray area to fund this kind of study. It’s nearing completion by an independent lab in India. We’re doing the investment to instruct people and discuss that taking a spray makes ideal sense—for example, why does it make ideal sense to tell a kid to take a gummy vitamin, it’s candy!”
Will it take off or simply dissipate into thin air?
I’d like to be optimistic and think that people would at least give a spray supplement a try. But, at the same time, it is certainly different than what we are used to seeing and using on the market. Generally, we are able to see how much of a product we have left before we run out. Being a spray in a canister, how can you gauge how numerous servings or uses are left? I don’t believe you can.
I will say one thing, the fact that Instavit is already in so numerous different retail locations is incredibly surprising, so there might be much more to this than I’m seeing. The benefit of simply spraying is simpler than needing a liquid to wash down a pill, yet on a similar ease of use with things like a beverage, shot, or even gummy (even though they require swallowing and/or chewing) that you can consume without needing anything even more like a liquid to transport.
The oral spray supplement category best now is incredibly small in the grand scheme of things when taking a look at the industry as a whole. will that show to be useful because no one is really paying attention to it currently and if Instavit can take advantage of the opportunity and draw an interest with consumers, they might be able to soak up a large portion of the market share within the space? Possibly.
Is this product something that I would personally try? Sure, why not. It seems easy enough and being that it’s convenient, it’s best up my alley. I wonder how the products taste, though? That could either be a terrific selling point or a major turn off to numerous people. I say this because the demographic that would be using this type of product is going to be considerably different than the sports nutrition space where consumers will choke down just about anything as long as it works. This spray being much more “mainstream” could have some difficulty with reorders if the taste is not spot-on.
Would oral spray supplements be something you would try? Or is the idea still a little too foreign for you to give it a go? Also, what kind of oral spray supplements would you like to see come to market? let us know in the comments.
Source:
nutraingredients.com. “Will consumers Spray Their Supplements? Instavit Bets on the novel delivery Format.” Nutraingredients.com, 23 Oct. 2017.