With Pill Fatigue on the Rise, Topicals Are the Hot New Supplement Format

Patches aren’t just for pimples.

With pill fatigue on the rise and consumers preferring alternative formats to supplements, other new options are gaining traction — most notably topical supplements, inclusive of patches, creams and sprays that transdermally infuse vitamins and nutrients. 

“[Patches] are a good alternative to traditional use cases of taking medicine,” said Mark Lacy, an investment banking director at Raymond James. “It’s something that you can put on. It’s easy. It’s just there all day.” 

Over the past several years, consumers have upped their supplement intake. According to a survey from the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 74 percent of American adults take a daily supplement. However, with this has come pill fatigue and a desire for alternative formats. Gummies, for example, have become increasingly popular, often cited as the preferred and fastest growing format within the vitamin-mineral-supplement (VMS) space. Additionally, with the rise of the “sleepy girl mocktail” and “sexy water” craze, powders and liquids have become the norm. 

More recently, though, alternatives to oral supplements are coming to market. While still a nascent category, topicals, particularly patches, are bubbling up, showing strong potential thanks to growing consumer demand for alternative solutions. 

According to data from Nielsen IQ, patches reached over $3.3 million in sales over a recent one-year period, up more than $1 million from the previous year. While a smaller category in the supplement market overall — for context, gummies amassed $1.8 billion over the same one-year period — patches are growing quickly, increasing from about $380,000 in sales just three years ago.

As the category is being built, most of the products on the market are centered around core needs and many are named to reflect the benefit or use case, like sleep or stress, with easy-to-understand ingredients. “Because it is a nascent category, it’s going to be the core things like, multivitamins, B12, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, energy, immunity… [and] sleep,” Lacy said. “I’m not seeing super niche-use cases. I’m seeing more like, ‘OK, this is a new category. Let’s do the big categories in VMS and attack it.” 

While topical solutions exist in the medical category — think nicotine or birth control patches — they are newer to the larger wellness category. Beauty, too, has laid the groundwork with skin care-oriented items like pimple patches taking off. 

“Supplements, including wellness patches, have emerged as a significant focus for our guests,” said Penny Coy, senior vice president of merchandising at Ulta Beauty, via email. “Initially, patches disrupted the beauty space through acne and skin care solutions, becoming a status symbol and a form of self-expression proudly worn in public. We recognized that it was only a matter of time before wellness-oriented patches would gain similar popularity.” 

Coy highlighted The Good Patch, which launched in 2018 and is available at Ulta Beauty, Target, CVS and Revolve, as a “trailblazer.”  

“Rooted in efficacy and results-driven solutions, wellness patches offer great potential,” she said. “They are easy to wear and appeal to a wide range of generations, both men and women, who seek support to navigate their daily lives.” 

The Good Patch, one of the early movers in the category, focuses on key everyday use cases, such as B12 Awake, $12, an energy booster, and its latest, Slumber, $12, a melatonin-free sleep aid, the two top performing categories according to chief executive officer Cedar Carter.

“Anything that can help perk up your day has always been attractive to consumers,” she said.

The Patch Brand cofounder Gil Brozki was inspired to start the company after his experience with gluten and dairy allergies, which caused nutrient deficiencies. The brand, available at 12,000 doors including Urban Outfitters, Walgreens, Kohl’s and 7-Eleven, also focuses on key daily needs with its  Sleep Patch, $24, and Energy Patch, $24, and has also branched out into other trending areas like sexual wellness with its latest Libido Patch, $24. 

“We don’t have to go too crazy,” Brozki said regarding creating new products. “We can see what the market is already selling. We can see what customers already love to buy.” 

Part of the reason Brozki was attracted to the format was the lack of fillers and additives that capsules, liquids and gummies often have. This has also been a key element for celeb trainer Isaac Boots who has his Mindset Wellness x Torch’d Energy Patches, $30.

“I love a gummy, [but] I and a lot of my clients fast,” said Boots, who is the cofounder and chief mindset officer of Mindset Wellness.  “The patch, it takes that noise out of your head. What better way than to have this delivery system that gives you the energy you need without the added risk of calories?”

In addition to the lack of fillers, topicals offer a slew of other benefits in comparison to ingestible formats, say advocates. They avoid the digestive tract, which can often kill nutrients, and go straight into the bloodstream. Additionally, since patches can be removed, users can control their experience, taking off the supplement when benefits are no longer needed. 

“That’s why our sleep patches, especially Dream, $12, have resonated so well with the consumer,” said Carter. “You’re getting a small amount delivered from the patch over the course of the entire time that you’re wearing it, up to 12 hours. You are in control as a consumer.” 

Cleo Davis-Urman has tapped into this opportunity with her brand Barrière, available at 1,200-plus doors including Anthropologie, Free People, Happier Grocery, Larroudé and Uncommon Goods. After discovering she wasn’t absorbing nutrients via ingestibles, Davis-Urman fell in love with the patch format but was disappointed in the look and feel of what was available. 

“It was something that I just could not see myself wearing for a number of reasons,” she said. “It was bulky. It caused skin irritation. It couldn’t get wet. You couldn’t sweat in it.” 

Barrière has taken a design-forward approach, and each patch features a small work of art or symbol — think florals, suns, strawberries and more. 

“It was important that the product was something that people wanted to wear and look forward to wearing,” said Davis-Urman, noting that Barrière has an over 60 percent repeat customer rate and thousands of subscribers. 

“A big opportunity in the patch market is to improve branding, make it more approachable for younger generations,” said Lacy. “Branding is important now because you can’t just be sleepy on the shelves.” 

While many brands have seen consumers using patches in addition to their everyday ingestible supplements, Davis-Urman said over time she has seen users either routinely add patches or eventually use them as a replacement. 

When it comes to topicals, it’s not just patches that are making an impact. Brands are also tapping into sprays, creams and balms that can be easily used on the go. 

For example, HigherDose’s Transdermal Magnesium Spray, $35, can be sprayed on to soothe muscles, boost recovery, enhance a sweat session or promote sleep. The spray is a part of the brand’s topicals line meant to enhance the benefits of its wellness tech, most notably the Infrared Sauna Blanket, $699. According to data from Spate, topical magnesium searches are up 231.9 percent, as magnesium deficiencies are increasingly common.

“One of the best ways to absorb magnesium is through the skin,” said HigherDose cofounder and co-CEO Lauren Berlingeri, noting the difficulties in absorbing it orally. “Magnesium can be quite unsettling to the digestive tract and make you more bloated, so absorbing it through the skin is a great solution.”

Glutathione, known as the body’s “master detoxifier,” is another ingredient that is ripe for topical innovation. Typically, it is offered via expensive IV drips and shots or through a sticky liposomal supplement. However, Dr. Nayan Patel, founder of Auro Wellness, has created a transdermal spray that employs multipatented sub-nano technology. He’s working on developing similar technology for NAD+ and copper peptides. 

“It all depends on the body’s ability to accept it,” he said, noting that not all ingredients will work in this format. 

Other founders in the topical space have also said that consumers need to be wary, as not all nutrients can be delivered through the skin.

“There are a lot of brands, especially online, that are making bold, egregious claims that are not true or not able to be delivered in a patch format,” said Carter, pointing to probiotics as an example. “There are a certain amount of milligrams that a patch can hold.” 

Collagen is another ingredient that can’t be effectively absorbed via a patch, according to Davis-Urman. With some murkiness across the market, experts in the space agree retail support will be crucial to build a trustworthy category. 

Additionally, some say there’s still some work to be done to improve the format. 

“Some of the patches tend to irritate your skin. You do have to leave them on all day. There’s questionable research on how effective they are,” said Lacy. “Throughout the world, there’s a lot of different regulatory and rules on transdermal patches. There’s some question marks into, ‘Can you scale this globally and is there widespread adoption?’” 

That being said, Lacy also said that the category has shown strong potential particularly in Asia where it is expected to pose the most growth globally. With increased interest and other alternative supplement formats having paved the way, the category will evolve and grow. 

Lacy said: “As science gets better and better, patches will become more coveted.”

The Good Patch Slumber Patch, $12

With more customers asking for alternatives to melatonin, The Good Patch’s latest launch is an all-natural sleep enhancer formulated with L-theanine, magnesium and tart cherry. 

Mindset Wellness x Torch’d Energy Patches, $30

By combining green tea extract and L-theanine, the Mindset Wellness x Torch’d Energy Patches provide a sustained boost of energy without the post-coffee crash. 

The Patch Brand Libido Patch, $24

The Patch Brand’s latest launch employs L-arginine, maca root, vitamin B6 and more to enhance arousal. 

Auro Wellness Glutaryl, $120 

Using sub-nanotechnology, this topical glutathione absorbs through the skin and can provide detoxifying benefits. 

HigherDose Transdermal Magnesium Spray, $35

Four spritzes of this HigherDose spray translates to 100 milligrams of magnesium, which can be absorbed transdermally to soothe tension, boost sleep and enhance the effects of a workout or sauna session. 

Barrière Energy Boost Vitamin B12 Mini Patch, $13

Barriere’s Energy Boost Vitamin B12 Mini Patch employs 100 micrograms of the ingredient with 400 micrograms of folate in a 1/2 inch patch.