Three out of ten global end consumers face problems with swallowing pills, causing rising concerns for the fast-growing supplements market. Enter: Well-tasting gummies ready to take on new, sometimes highly selective, customer groups.

Swedish supplements brand Repeats launches in a category that is exploding in the world. The Nordic and European market, however, is still not even close to where gummies could be.

– Nordic supplements have a high standard and status, so we’re producing gummies with a Nordic idea, in Sweden, co-founder and CEO André Kvamme explains. Our perception is that the gummy market has room for a player that can show that this can be exactly the same type of high-quality product as capsules and pills.

– The whole point is that you should repeat your daily supplement use. Gummies are an easier way. That’s probably why the market is exploding; it’s often that you forget your pills and capsules on shelves because it’s not fun to have them. Half a year later, you find your magnesium, and you take it before you buy some new ones because you think it’s old. People should use it every day and hopefully get to see the results as well, also depending on how they’re living, of course.

There are some gummy supplement players in the US, for instance, and the advantage of not being the first is that you can look at the already existing ones. What can you learn from them?

  – Yes, we do have some large brands in the US. It’s a more playful market, where supplements are often positioned more as a lifestyle product. In Europe, and especially in the Nordics, we focus more on health and quality. We can learn from the playfulness of the American brands, but without compromising on quality. Health has historically been communicated in quite a serious and sometimes clinical way. I don’t think it has to be. You can take health seriously without making the experience boring. There’s a huge opportunity in combining quality, science and transparency with brands and products that people actually want to make part of their everyday lives. What’s important is to find the right balance, Kvamme shares. He continues:

– (Brand Director) Vanessa is combining the fashion and community from co-founding (Swedish beauty brand) CAIA and how they built the community feeling. We need to use the same type of idea to create that same community, how they work with their customers, so that they feel that we are there for them.

According to Kvamme, the borders between beauty, health, nutrition, and lifestyle are disappearing.

– That’s a big opportunity, but it also raises the bar. Great branding can create attention, but consumers are becoming more educated and want to understand what’s actually inside a product and why it should work. For beauty companies, the opportunity isn’t simply to add supplements to the portfolio. It’s to understand the consumer more holistically. The brands that can combine strong branding and community with genuinely good products, transparency and science will be in a very interesting position.

More precisely, when you’ve conducted market surveys before launching, what are consumers looking for now? 

– It’s changed from quick fix to, today, more inner beauty, and, tomorrow, not only beauty, but inner health. People today are more educated in what their body needs, taking blood samples and scanning their total body to see how they feel. Some of the things within the longevity trend have almost gone too far, but it’s all about pointing out the fact that they’re more focused on how we live, train, and eat.

– For the market as a whole, we’re moving towards a much more holistic and individual view of health. People are becoming more aware of what their own bodies need, while also understanding how nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, and recovery are connected.

– Moving on, I don’t think we’ll be talking about one completely new miracle ingredient. We’ll probably be talking about an acceleration of what we’re already seeing: more science and transparency, more functional nutrition, and more focus on formats people actually enjoy taking.

I’m convinced gummies will continue to grow strongly, particularly in Europe, alongside powders, sticks, and drinks that are easy to integrate into everyday life. Ultimately, the best supplement in the world doesn’t do much sitting in your cupboard. Consistency is incredibly important.

To not only help people take their supplements, but also introduce a new type of it, takes a lot of education. Is that your view as well? And how will you work with education? 

– We need to be super transparent about what kind of raw materials are in our products, so that we don’t end up with it being more something for the kids or not as good as conventional pills or capsules. What are they good for and why should you take it? It’s also about communicating that a supplement type in a gummy form is an easier form to take.

This is your second supplement brand. What have you learned from these journeys?

– You learn an incredible amount every time you build a company, and that’s one of the reasons I think people should dare to do it. Things will go wrong, and often that’s where you learn the most. Don’t be afraid of setbacks, but make sure you learn from them.

– Never lose sight of the fundamentals either. Build a business that can become profitable and understand your cash flow. A great idea and even a growing company can still be killed by poor liquidity.

– And then there is the team. Find people who take real professional pride in what they do. A great team working towards the same goal can achieve an incredible amount.

– And finally, have fun and take care of your health. Building a company takes a lot of energy, so you need to enjoy the journey too.