Umasudhan Pal., CEO of Eustis, FL-based Valensa International, said the astaxanthin market has enjoyed a durable appeal over the past decade or so. But in speaking with NutraIngredients-USA at the recent SupplySide West trade show in Las Vegas, NV, Pal. said even golden-egg-laying geese can inadvertently be slaughtered.
Boom-bust cycle baked into category at the start
Astaxanthin, a deep red carotenoid with a high degree of antioxidant activity, first shot to widespread consumer awareness and popularity with an appearance of Dr Joseph Mercola on the Doctor Oz Show in 2011 back when the show was more of a market maker in the supplement industry (and in other industries as well).
Mercola’s segment, which aired on Jan. 11, 2011, was billed as “The No. 1 supplement you should be taking that you’ve never heard of.” In the weeks after the segment was broadcast, the demand for astaxanthin shot through the roof, with most of the few suppliers in the market at that time reporting demand up by 10 times or more almost overnight.
Google Trends data verified that interest, judged by web searches using ‘astaxanthin’ as a search term. Such searchers peaked in early 2011 and declined thereafter, settling in at a level about twice that prior to the Dr Oz incident.
Another spike occurred in June, 2020, apparently brought on by a study in the influential journal Nature that found that supplementing with the carotenoid could be beneficial for patients suffering with heart failure.
Riding the wild red horse
Pal. said the astaxanthin market over the past decade has been a wild ride. Fortunes made and squandered in a story familiar to any student of gold rush history.