The use of vitamin D has risen by 8% in the last 12 months, making it the fastest-growing vitamin in the supplements market, Mintel has found (1). Consumer research for Mintel involving almost 2,000 respondents in July 2020 found that the VMS market is expected to grow by 9% this year to

£494m, with vitamin D taken by 38% of VMS users – up from 30% last year.

The popularity of vitamins shows no signs of waning with the market set to top the half a billion-pound mark (£515 million) in 2021. By 2025, sales are forecast to reach £559 million, increasing an estimated 13% since 2020.

Emilia Greenslade, Mintel OTC and Personal Care Analyst, UK, said:

“The rise in Vitamin D usage is likely due to its associations with immunity and memory improvement. Highly publicised research linking Vitamin D with protection against COVID-19 may have also impacted usage… government advice may have also impacted usage, with the government advising that people consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of Vitamin D as social distancing sees people spend fewer time in the sunlight and more time indoors (1).”

Six months into the global pandemic, observational evidence on vitamin D and coronavirus continues to mount. Research suggests that it might impact susceptibility to the virus, on the severity of outcomes, and may contribute to differences in ethnic predispositions.

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Vitamin D deficiency

The UK has one of the highest levels of deficiency across Europe, estimated to affect up to 1/4 of the population  rising to 1/3 in winter (2). As well as in the elderly, Vitamin D deficiency has been found to occur more frequently in those with diabetes and obesity (3) Studies have identified that the BAME population, who were notably affected by COVID-19, are a risk group for vitamin D deficiency (4).

What’s the latest evidence?

The latest study by Boston University (5) found:

• People with vitamin D deficiency have a 54% higher COVID-19 positivity rate
• Patients older than 40 who had sufficient levels of vitamin D were more 51% less likely to
  die from the virus
• Patients who had a daily dose of vitamin D were less likely to experience complications
• Rates of severe illness were 13% lower in vitamin D-sufficient patients and intubation was
  46% less common

Due to the highly publicised research linking vitamin D with protection against Covid-19, we have experienced a demand increase at an unprecedented rate.

In high pressure, unforeseen situations where stock demand changes dramatically, like the current pandemic, we encourage you to place your Vitamin D orders well in advance to guarantee your stock availability.

Buy Quality Products From Renowned Supplier

At HTC we offer a whole selection of Vitamin D strengths starting with 25μg tablets all the way to 5,000iu softgels. For more information on any of our vitamins or for a free instant quote, please contact our sales team now on 01923 652529 or email sales@htc.co.uk.

(1) https://www.mintel.com/press-centre/beauty-and-personal-care/the-vitamin-d-factor-brits-spend-almost-500-million-on-vitamins-and-supplements

(2) NICE. 2018. Vitamin D deficiency in adults – treatment and prevention. See https://cks.nice.org.uk/vitamin-d-deficiency-in-adults-treatment-and- prevention

(3) The Royal Society 2020. Vitamin D and Covid-19. Rapid Review June 2020

(4) Wier, E.K, Thenappan T, Bhargava M& Chen Y. 2020. “Does vitamin D deficiency increase the severity of COVID-19?”. Clinical medicine (London, England), vol. 20. No.4, pp. e107-e108

(5) Vitamin D sufficiency, a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D at least 30 ng/mL reduced risk for adverse clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 infection. Available at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239799

*Claims for food supplements mentioned in this article are not meant for general public, but are purely for information of food supplement industry professionals. Please note that the claims are not authorised by European Food Safety Authority for use on labels or marketing materials.