Vitamin K2 use and awareness grows among consumers, study finds
A survey of 3,500 dietary supplement consumers has confirmed a high level of trust and interest in Vitamin K2, especially those looking for specific health benefits.
63% reported themselves “proactive about my health and take steps to lower health risks,” while 76% said, “I use/have used vitamins, minerals, herbs or other dietary supplements to help manage my health.”
62% reported using Vitamin K2 supplements, ranking in the top 10 ingredients used.
The 18 – 54 age group brackets showed an increase in usage of Vitamin K2 compared to those 55+.
No single supplement increased usage across every country; however, Vitamin K2 was one of the closest to achieving universal growth. K2 also saw a sharp increase in use from 2020-2022.
“Perceived effectiveness” of K2 was greater in total supplement users surveyed compared to “regular users.”
This suggests to the researchers that future growth is likely as people who do not currently use Vitamin K2 regularly have a high perception of it.
For supplement users of branded ingredients, “Quality,” “Safety,” “Trust,” “Efficacy,” and “Clinical Validation” ranked as the top five reasons for use.
Bone Health and Heart Health ranked as the top reasons for using Vitamin K2, especially for regular users.
Xavier Berger, global market manager with Gnosis by Lesaffre said it is nice to see that ‘quality,’ ‘efficacy’ (ie proof that it works), and ‘safety’ are recognised in the branded ingredients.
“MenaQ7 is a standout Vitamin K2 in this regard, as it is the only K2 as MK-7 with clinical validation confirming bone and cardiovascular benefits,” he added.
Interestingly, 37% of regular users responded that they always look for branded ingredients and are willing to pay a premium, with an additional 22% looking for them but not willing to pay a premium. While nearly 60% of Vitamin K2 users are looking for branded ingredients, products utilising these premium materials represent a competitive edge.
Berger noted: “Very interesting is that 67% of consumers said they look for a specific Vitamin K2 brand while purchasing their supplements, and our two brands – MenaQ7 K2 as MK-7 and vitaMK7 – are in the top three brands most sought out.”
The General Criteria for Participation included Supplement users and qualification questions that corrected for participants who proclaimed they were ‘not a user’ in questioning.
The “ITC Insights – 2022 Supplement Consumer Survey” was conducted by Dynata from March 1-26, 2022, and was written and analysed by the Industry Transparency Center.
The breakdown of supplement consumers included 1,000 from the US, 1,000 from China, 500 from the UK, 500 from Germany, and 500 from Italy. Participants identifying as female represented 52% of respondents, and men represented 48% of respondents. Ages ranged from 18 to 65+ years.
