2025 Challenges & Opportunities
In this special section, find the insights you need to support the health of your business, and the industry overall, in the year ahead.
A Pivotal Moment
By Michael McGuffin, President, AHPA
Michael McGuffin, President, AHPA The incoming administration is looking to transform public health in America as we know it. New leadership at federal regulatory agencies— including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—could finally crack open the door to regulatory and legislative changes that will resolve longstanding concerns. One such approach is the creation of a new “prohibited act” under section 301 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). AHPA believes that the creation of a new prohibited act, carefully targeted at drug-spiked products, represents a potential path forward for both an industry divided over mandatory product listing and agency leadership looking to demonstrate a commitment to both public health and the availability of legitimate natural products.
State-level developments for industry may also accelerate. The enactment of New York’s Assembly Bill 5610 in 2024, which imposes age restrictions on weight loss and muscle-building dietary supplements, has inspired similar legislative efforts in states like California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. We are already aware of bills planned for introduction in 2025 in states such as New Hampshire and Texas. While framed (without evidence) as a measure to protect minors from eating disorders, the vague scope and impractical compliance burdens of these bills have raised concerns across the dietary supplement community. If left unchallenged, laws like these could create a fragmented landscape of state-by-state compliance schemes, greatly increasing costs and confusion for industry and consumers alike. AHPA’s Dietary Supplement Access Coalition—which includes both member and nonmember retailers, manufacturers, and representatives of the other trade associations—meets regularly to keep all parties apprised of this evolving situation.
Online, platforms like Amazon are reshaping consumer access to natural products, with evolving policies requiring third-party testing for certain dietary supplements. While these measures enhance consumer trust, they also impose additional costs and operational hurdles for manufacturers. The planned expansion of Amazon’s testing requirements to all dietary supplements underscores the need for proactive engagement with e-commerce platforms to advocate for balanced and fair policies as well as to ensure that compliant industry has clear channels of communication with both platforms and testing entities. AHPA has established a direct relationship with Amazon staff managing the company’s dietary supplement policies. In monthly meetings with Amazon, AHPA provides member feedback and proposes improvements to the testing policies and other rules governing sales of dietary supplements on the platform. So far, this audience has proven receptive.
Globally, international and domestic disruptions will pose significant challenges for sourcing raw materials. Geopolitical tensions, climate change, and natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene have highlighted vulnerabilities in our supply chains. President-elect Donald Trump has promised tariff hikes across the board when he returns to office, with imports from China likely to be hit the hardest. These looming tariff increases will have a direct impact on natural product manufacturers who source botanicals currently only grown in China. AHPA remains committed to supporting its members and the wider industry by addressing supply chain issues collaboratively. Through events such as AHPA’s Botanical Congress, members and experts have opportunities to share insights and explore solutions for navigating complex challenges related to climate, sourcing, and international affairs.
The natural products industry has a history of resilience and innovation. By uniting around common goals, we can turn the challenges of 2024 into opportunities for growth and improvement in 2025 and beyond. Together, we can shape a future where natural products remain accessible, trusted, and beneficial for all.
Read insights from CRN, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
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A Dickens of a Time
By Steve Mister, President & CEO, Council for Responsible Nutrition
Steve Mister, President & CEO, Council for Responsible NutritionLet’s start with the opportunities: The next Administration includes several high-profile nominees with pedigrees recognizing the role of supplements in promoting better health. What a refreshing change to have government leaders who acknowledge the benefits of supplements and the role better nutrition plays in disease reduction. Cabinet officials who don’t start from a place of skepticism and distrust can be advocates for a more integrative approach to health that focuses on prevention.
CRN has advocated for several years that consumers should be able to use their Flexible Spending Accounts and Healthcare Savings Accounts for dietary supplements, and this could be the confluence of events to get it done. With significant tax legislation slated to advance in 2025, a pro-business agenda, and interest in reforming healthcare to focus on “well care,” the table is set. CRN has been educating Members of Congress on the potential cost savings of supplement usage and providing financial data demonstrating this change won’t break the bank. Most FSA/HSA holders say they want the flexibility to purchase supplements with these pre-tax funds.
The new year may also finally address the drug preclusion (or supplement exclusion) predicament. While the original intent of that provision is still valid—to protect pharmaceutical companies’ considerable investments from having an ingredient stolen from the drug market and marketed as a supplement—that balance has gotten out of whack. FDA misinterprets the exclusion to give drug firms perpetual monopolies over articles studied and abandoned, investigated for vastly different uses, or that bear little resemblance to the supplement formulation. FDA has promised to answer CRN's citizen's petition on the issue by July, and just in case, we are preparing legislation that would address the matter, too. If FDA doesn't interpret the provision equitably for both drug and supplement interests, then the law can be rewritten to remove any ambiguity.
Getting some much-needed updates to DSHEA may be more challenging in the new Congress, but it's doable. The industry has a short list of requests to make FDA more efficient and its supplement oversight more effective—if we are willing to negotiate in good faith, a receptive Congress might agree. Among the items are new authority allowing FDA to use facility audits prepared by credentialed third parties to set its inspection schedules and modernizing the restrictions on labeling claims to permit science-driven companies to promote clinical studies that include drug-related endpoints or discuss diseases.
A mandatory registry of supplement labels will be part of these discussions, and the responsible industry will continue to promote this tool to give FDA and retailers greater visibility. Our challenge is the misinformation disseminated by companies that don't want government oversight of supplements (No, this is not pre-market approval of supplements!). Still, we can overcome their misinformation campaigns by educating Congress that a mandatory registry is the price of entry a mature, responsible industry is willing to accept.
But 2025 is not without peril. CRN looks forward to oral arguments in our lawsuit against the State of New York to block the age restrictions on weight management and sports nutrition supplements. This misguided law, and the bills in at least eight other states, would scapegoat dietary supplements for the eating disorder epidemic and violate the First Amendment rights of manufacturers and consumers by restricting truthful claims that the state simply doesn't like. These age restrictions could become an existential threat to the industry and must be defeated because they are not grounded in science. They would limit all consumers from accessing safe and beneficial products. Manufacturers must engage with state legislators and advocate for balanced approaches that prioritize consumer safety without unduly restricting access.
Lastly members of the new Administration generally serve as lightning rods for negative media coverage of supplements. In 2025, under this new scrutiny, it will become even more critical for supplement companies to observe voluntary programs that demonstrate our commitment to serving consumers with safe and beneficial products. CRN's collection of self-regulatory initiatives is a counterweight to the misplaced notion that buying supplements is like "the Wild West." Industry will be challenged to adhere to and advance these programs as illustrations of prudence, conscience and restraint.
These are difficult challenges that lie before us. CRN is helping its members navigate this tumultuous time with agility and perspective, armed with a plan to deliver results. If successful, we will hear our supplement consumers asking—to quote another Dickens novel—“Please sir, I want some more.”
Read insights from AHPA, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
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Forecasting the Future of the Industry
By Duffy MacKay, SVP, Dietary Supplements, CHPA
Duffy MacKay, SVP, Dietary Supplements, CHPAIt’s too early to predict what the impact of the incoming Administration’s policy agenda will be on the dietary supplement and natural product industry. However, previous statements made by the President-elect’s nominees appear to indicate that nutrition and wellness will be prioritized as key public health priorities. While Administrations change, CHPA’s mission of ensuring consumers continue to have access to quality and safe dietary supplements remains constant, and we will continue advocating for a modernized, science-driven regulatory framework. We look forward to working with the incoming Administration and Congress to create an improved framework that appropriately balances transparency, safety, and innovation. The most pressing issues in 2025:
In 2025, industry will continue navigating a dynamic environment shaped by an evolving regulatory landscape, a potential rise in tariffs and supply chain disruptions, and the growing challenges of counterfeiting and gray market activity. Given this, maintaining consumer trust remains paramount.
We also anticipate industry to continue facing ongoing challenges from state-level legislative efforts. To avoid the complexities of a patchwork of state laws, a unified effort to modernize the federal framework overseeing dietary supplements will be critical to help ensure consistency and clarity for both businesses and the millions of Americans that use dietary supplements to support their health.
Simultaneously, industry should consider potential rising costs from any proposed tariffs and supply chain pressures, which may impact product availability and pricing, requiring strategic planning to mitigate disruptions.
Finally, the ongoing threat of counterfeit consumer healthcare products—particularly through online third-party platforms—underscores a continued need to advance anti-counterfeiting policies to better protect dietary supplement users and uphold the integrity of the industry, which is threatened by bad actors attempting to take advantage of a rapidly evolving market and low risk of enforcement.”
A call to action:
Having worked with stakeholders across the industry, I’ve seen how collaboration can address challenges and drive progress. A key priority should be enhancing the regulatory framework to promote transparency, ensure product quality, incentivize innovation, and better protect consumers who rely on dietary supplements. Addressing challenges like counterfeiting and product adulteration call for active collaboration between industry and regulators, lawmakers in Congress, and key stakeholders. Building trust can be achieved by prioritizing consumer education initiatives that empower individuals to make well-informed decisions when choosing dietary supplements. Investing in science through collaboration between government, academia, and industry can strengthen the evidence base for the benefits of supplements, supporting overall wellness. Collectively, these steps can reinforce the dietary supplement industry's role as a trusted partner in supporting self-care.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
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Great Fear Means Great Opportunity
By Karen Howard, CEO & Executive Director, Organic & Natural Health Association
“Where there is fear, there is opportunity. Where there is great fear, there is great opportunity.” —Andy Stanley.
Karen Howard, CEO & Executive Director, Organic & Natural Health Association There will be no ‘business as usual’ in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—or as a result the FDA, and the Centers for Medicaid/Medicare—should RFK Jr., Trump’s HHS nominee, be confirmed. Mr. Kennedy has voiced many opinions that resonate with our industry’s desire for change. Frankly, simply turning the food pyramid on its head could have remarkable results. That said, it was the Agriculture Department that defined that construct in 1992. Two agencies taking aim at one problem will not simplify an already-complex issue. The same can be said for his desire to eliminate ultra-processed foods in school lunches, or ban the purchase of “junk food” with food stamps. (Also programs run by the Department of Agriculture.)So what are the opportunities we should be evaluating? One—making new friends—is always good for public policy, whether it’s eliminating pesticides in food, redefining structure/function claims, or just stopping the revolving door of pharma employees working in, and out of government at will. I think we need to take a broader look at what may transpire, and consider the downstream effect of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) at the state level, where many of our problems seem to originate.
Consider Texas Bill HB1474 A, legislation to prohibit the retail sale and provision to minors of certain over-the-counter weight loss drugs and dietary supplements; providing a civil penalty. Alan Lewis, Natural Grocers and Organic and Natural Health Association Board member, recently testified before the State Senate Committee of jurisdiction and was able to confirm Senator Kolkhorst, chair of the Texas State Health and Human Service Committee, would not be moving the legislation. Now add to that the Make Texans Healthy Again advocacy initiative. Created by a Texas political consultant, this initiative and its website clearly articulates the rationale for the reforms we all aspire to affect. Its goal?
“Make Texans Healthy Again is dedicated to empowering individuals with the freedom and tools to take control of their health. By focusing on preventative care and tackling the root causes of chronic disease, we aim to promote wellness, reduce healthcare costs, and improve quality of life for all Texans.”
So perhaps this is the best strategy. D.C. will do what it does, on its own timeline, funded by large global, pharma interests, while conservative states will likely take on MAHA, and proactively take steps to enact legislation that will generate healthy outcomes. And you know where successful state initiatives go? To Capitol Hill with successful, beloved State Senators and Representatives who want to make real change. Perhaps it is true. There is nothing to fear, but fear itself.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, CHPA, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
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Three Challenges, Three Actions
By Pat Sheridan, President & CEO, INFRA
Pat Sheridan, President & CEO, INFRA Competitive Price: The Robinson-Patman Act prohibits price discrimination and unfair practices that harm competition or create monopolies, ensuring a level playing field for smaller businesses. Enforcement of this law has long been dormant, allowing chains and other large buyers to execute discriminative pricing practices and damage smaller retailers—often leading to “out of business” signs on empty storefronts. Recent enforcement in the liquor industry offers hope for fairer competition in the natural food and supplement sector. However, there’s concern that the new administration may deprioritize this action, leaving smaller businesses vulnerable.
Equal Access: Supply chain constraints, potential new global tariffs, and anticipated mergers and acquisitions in the natural retail CPG sector, threaten product availability. Unique products that natural products retailers rely on may end up on the shelves of mass retailers, reducing differentiation for smaller stores.
Adequate Staffing: Staffing challenges persist as a key issue. Competing in a fast-changing environment intensifies the need for effective recruitment, retention, and technological adoption.
A Three-Pronged Call to Action
Natural products retailers can thrive by focusing on collective action, differentiation, and technology.
Collective Action: Joining associations empowers smaller retailers to advocate for fair enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act and access competitive pricing. Associations have a larger voice with lawmakers and can influence at a higher level than just one storefront. And group buying is more important than ever. For example, INFRA negotiates on behalf of hundreds of retailers representing over $3 billion in annual sales, helping smaller retailers get closer to pricing parity with larger competitors.
Doubling Down on Differentiation: Local retailers hold a competitive edge through deep community connections and partnerships with local producers. These relationships foster resilient supply chains and help stores maintain their unique identity, even as large brands shift to mass-market shelves.
Embracing Technology: Staffing challenges make technology and data-driven strategies essential. Tools like online ordering, loyalty programs, data-driven pricing models, and digital shelf tags improve efficiency, allowing staff to focus on personalized customer service and community-building. By using technology to enhance customer experience, natural products retailers can maintain their edge over large chains.
Customers choose local natural products retailers because of the sense of community they foster. By leveraging collective power, embracing their uniqueness, and adopting smart technologies, these businesses can continue to thrive—even in challenging times.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, SENPA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
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Let’s Dance – Retailers, Suppliers and Trends
By Debra Short – Executive Director, SENPA, Inc.
Debra Short – Executive Director, SENPA, Inc. Natural Products are growing at a rapid rate, and the competitive landscape is challenging as retailers compete against “Big Box,” FDM Retailers, and online websites. Trends in social media platforms are pushing consumers to products with misinformation. The challenge continues to keep our retailers, and their staff well educated on these trends to build integrity with their consumer and support the brands they stock on their shelves. Many supply brands and retailers are focused on specific dietary or physical issues and how to address with food and/or supplements. With the new administration’s focus on getting healthier, retailers should and will provide a holistic approach to nutrition, not just a targeted ailment. We must be reminded that regulatory changes around labeling, sustainability, regenerative farming, bio-engineered ingredients will require retailers and our supply chain to stay updated, well-educated and compliant.
What actions do we recommend for retailers to address these challenges?
- Strengthen Supply Chain by diversification of suppliers to reduce dependency on a single manufacturer or distributor.
- Build strong relationships with suppliers to ensure better collaboration and support. Annualized roadmaps help ensure you get your fair share of promotional dollars.
- Stay Ahead of Regulatory Changes by partnering or joining associations such as SENPA to stay informed.
- Leverage your syndicated data providers, distributors and manufacturers for the latest trends, insights, and shopper behaviors.
- AI should be embraced in all aspects of business to increase speed of adaptation to market conditions. Use it to supplement marketing efforts or areas where you are short staffed to save labor hours.
- Customer Service is and will always be paramount to ensuring you not just survive, but also thrive in the future. As we know a helpful and educated staff is the most important asset in your business, someone to help with product selection, separate science from marketing and help customers on their healthy lifestyle journey.
In summary, the industry must learn to support each sector by understanding how partnerships and challenges are the necessity to be resilient in 2025.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
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Category to Watch: Women’s Health
By Heather Granato, President, Women In Nutraceuticals (WIN) & President, Nutrachievement Inc.
Heather Granato, President, Women In Nutraceuticals (WIN) & President, Nutrachievement Inc. From a broader business perspective, we also see an increasing backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with critics counterintuitively claiming these efforts create an unfair playing field and promote discrimination. McKinsey reported in 2024, only 78% of companies said gender diversity was a high priority, down from 87% just five years earlier; further, formal mentorship programs for women are on the decline, and progress is stagnant in the management pipeline, with only 81 women promoted to manager for every 100 men.
While in times of change, it can be tempting to hunker down and do things the way they’ve always been done, data on company performance makes this approach short-sighted. Women-led and -owned companies tend to have improved business performance, rising stock prices, and more engaged and satisfied employees. The opportunity, therefore, is to expand the way we think and who is at the table, embracing a mindset of abundance and opportunity. Companies across the nutraceutical industry can consider ways to de-bias the hiring and promotions process, and inspire employees and managers to practice allyship and build an inclusive culture.
We’re seeing tremendous innovation in product development, creative marketing campaigns, and more investment in science in female populations. Companies are utilizing machine learning and applying AI to large data sets to support the development of new products and target new markets. Developing more inclusive, gender-balanced teams will drive business forward, ensuring we not only deliver efficacious, safe products to our consumers, but also that our industry becomes a powerful example of the benefits that accrue when women are fairly represented from the C-suite to the lab.
Read insights from AHPA, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
Developments in the EPA & DHA Space
By Ellen Schutt, Managing Director, Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED)
Ellen Schutt, Managing Director, Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) Early last year, the Joint U.S.-Canadian DRI Working Group commissioned a multi-year review of the different macronutrients, and a fat review would logically include EPA and DHA. Then in November 2024, the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which is contracted by various government agencies to conduct systematic reviews on relevant topics, issued three separate requests for scientific information relevant to the impact of EPA and DHA intake on human health, including one on PUFAs effects on child growth and development and a second on cardiovascular outcomes. This information will inform a series of systematic reviews which could be used during a DRI review.
While this is positive news, GOED still does not know if the review has been properly funded within the respective governments, and given the upcoming change in the U.S. administration, there are still doubts about the likelihood of a review commencing in the near future.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, ITC + GPA, and MAHO.
State of Hemp in 2024, A Year of Transformation and Challenges
By Kerry Hinkle, Director of Membership and Public Affairs, U.S. Hemp Roundtable
Kerry Hinkle, Director of Membership and Public Affairs, U.S. Hemp RoundtableThe hemp marketplace in 2024 highlighted the tension between innovation and regulation. The rise of low-dose hemp-derived Delta-9 THC beverages—manufactured under strict standards and sold in mainstream outlets like grocery stores—marked a significant shift in the industry. These products contrast sharply with the THC-O vapes of years past, which were sold primarily in fringe smoke shops in states where cannabis remains illegal. With “big alcohol” entering the hemp market, the industry gains legitimacy, but it also underscores the urgent need for regulation. Will these beverages fit neatly into the existing three-tier system designed to regulate alcohol? Will distributors carry other formats like edibles, tinctures, or capsules? And how can the direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel be preserved while implementing meaningful age gating?
As 2025 approaches, the Farm Bill remains the industry's top priority. Draft versions from the Senate and House in 2024 proposed drastically different definitions of hemp, creating uncertainty about the industry's legal future. The Senate aimed to close loopholes for THCa flower and some Delta-8 THC products, while the House proposed banning all products with any THC content. Both approaches risk banning popular products and driving consumers to the black market instead of regulating the existing market.
Senator Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, introduced in September 2024, offered a different path forward. The bill emphasizes regulation over prohibition, establishing federal standards for hemp products while allowing states to impose stricter rules. A revised version of this bill is expected in 2025, offering hope for clearer federal guidelines.
At the state level, hemp policy has been a game of “whack-a-mole”, as each state decides to legislate or regulate hemp products differently. California implemented an outright ban on hemp products containing any THC, Georgia opted for comprehensive regulation, and Florida considered milligram caps before Governor Desantis issued a high-profile veto. This incoherent approach to regulation only underscores the need for federal guidelines.
2024 showed a maturity in the market that has been in the making since the 2014 Farm Bill launched pilot programs across the country. Market participants have shown amazing resilience, entrepreneurial spirit, and drive to match a fast-changing legislative environment and shifting consumer demands over the years. 2025 should prove no different, as we watch in real-time this market mature. Buckle up, this ride may be a little bumpy.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, GOED, and MAHO.
Balancing Health, Industry, and Small Business Support
By Marcy Kraft, Executive Director, MAHO - Mid American Health Organization
Advocacy remains extremely important relative to health issues affecting our entire nation and the populations around the world. This industry is pivotal in providing the science and information to get new protocols and rules approved through the existing and appropriate agencies.
MAHO also sees a need for our retailers to have information relative to issues such as the Main Street Tax Act, which will affect them as small businesses. MAHO has partnered with INHLP (Independent Natural Health & Living Project) to provide a balance of health, industry, and small business support as it relates to our independent retail segment of the Natural Products Industry.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, and ITC + GPA.
Preview of 2025
By Len Monheit, CEO, Industry Transparency Center (ITC) and Executive Director, Global Prebiotic Association (GPA)
As I think about 2025, I do so with at least two hats – one being my role as CEO of Industry Transparency Center (ITC – key operative word – transparency) and as Executive Director of the Global Prebiotic Association (GPA).
There is no doubt that as we head into 2025, from a North American perspective, all eyes will be on the incoming U.S. administration, its priorities and its attitude with potential impacts on supply chains, trade and geopolitics, the FDA and other agencies. As to what we can do about it – we need to responsibly seize emerging opportunities, we need secure trusted supply chain partners, and through it all, transparency and a long-term view. We also need engagement in domestic trade associations as well as an effective grass roots response prepared for the unknowable and even unthinkable issues that will undoubtably arise over the next 12 months, and pray that the issue – whether it be a quality issue, media misinformation, or online retailers' low barriers to entry – we need that executive engagement.
The same is true for the next percolating issue: state driven restrictions on parts of the supplement marketplace. Even though the scope of the planned restrictions (weight loss and sports performance in most cases) may not impact directly, the ‘precedent’ and ‘slippery slope’ in this issue could be catastrophic and aligning with an association that is directly involved at state level is good strategy.
As a glass half full guy, I need to swing my attention to three market opportunity areas, all coming with some caveats and risk reward equations. We are in the GLP-1 and peptide era. Supplements will be key, the opportunity is immense, but if we’re not careful, we will blow it. It’s the same for women’s health. And the same for the microbiome. For all three, we need to be smart and authentic as we promote the science and keep the marketing in check by playing a long game. The biggest risk in GLP-1 is over-stepping, over-promising, and not taking advantage of the nutritional support angle (certainly with prebiotics). With women’s health, it’s ‘pink-washing’. For the microbiome, the risk is not doing the right educating of the right people – and here I mean the right influencer groups.
All in all, I think it’s going to be a good year for our industry.
Read insights from AHPA, CRN, CHPA, Organic & Natural Health Association, INFRA, SENPA, WIN, GOED, U.S. Hemp Roundtable, and MAHO.
