Sports nutrition spending spans supplements, protein products, sports drinks, bars and gels sold through retail and digital channels. The figures below distinguish global and regional market estimates, forecasts, self-reported use and one company’s reported financial results.
Key Sports Nutrition Spending Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2023, the global sports nutrition market was estimated at £23 billion.
- From 2019 to 2023, global sports nutrition grew at an estimated 9.9% CAGR.
- The global sports nutrition market is forecast at £35 billion in 2028.
- From 2023 to 2028, global sports nutrition is forecast to grow at an 8.9% CAGR.
- Between 2019 and 2023, global protein powder value rose from £7.0 billion to £10.5 billion.
- In 2023, global non-protein sports nutrition products were estimated at £4.2 billion.
- In 2023, the UK sports nutrition category reached an estimated £1 billion.
- From 2023 to 2028, UK sports nutrition is forecast to grow at a 12.6% CAGR.
- In 2023, North American sports nutrition was estimated at approximately £14 billion.
- North American sports nutrition is forecast at £20 billion in 2028.
- In 2023, offline retail represented 63% of global sports nutrition consumption.
- In 2023, UK e-commerce represented 69.6% of sports nutrition retail sales value.
- In the US military survey, 44.6% of 26,681 service members reported weekly use of at least one sport-related nutritional product.
- In the US military cohort, weekly sport-drink use was 32.3% during the survey period.
- In the same cohort, weekly use of any sport-related product was 50.8% among ages 18–24.
- The SEC registrant’s revenue rose from $11.899 million in fiscal 2023 to $19.461 million in fiscal 2024.
- In 2024, the registrant’s overall gross margin was 31.7%.
Contents
- Global sports nutrition market size and growth
- Sports nutrition product category trends
- Regional sports nutrition spending data
- Sports nutrition retail and e-commerce channels
- Sports nutrition use and participation patterns
- Company sales, costs and margins
Global Sports Nutrition Market Size and Growth
Euromonitor estimates reproduced in Applied Nutrition plc’s prospectus put the global sports nutrition market at £16 billion in 2019 and £23 billion in 2023, with an estimated 9.9% CAGR over that period. The same filing forecasts £35 billion by 2028 and an 8.9% CAGR from 2023 to 2028.
These are market estimates and forecasts, not audited global consumer receipts.
The prospectus also distinguishes a broader sports nutrition, health and wellness total addressable market. That broader measure grew at a 9.8% CAGR from 2019 to 2023 and is forecast to grow at an 8.1% CAGR from 2023 to 2028, so it should not be read as sports nutrition spending alone.
Applied Nutrition plc: National Storage Mechanism prospectus reproduces the Euromonitor Consumer Health Passport 2024 estimates and forecasts.
Sports Nutrition Product Category Trends
The prospectus chart reports separate global value series. Because the source presents these as category series with its own construction, the values below are not summed into a new market total.
| Product category | 2019 | 2023 | Geography and unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein powder | £7.0bn | £10.5bn | Global value |
| Non-protein sports nutrition products | £2.3bn | £4.2bn | Global value |
| Protein and energy bars | £1.3bn | £2.0bn | Global value |
| Protein ready-to-drink products | £1.3bn | £2.0bn | Global value |
The source separately labels protein powder at £10.5 billion, non-protein sports nutrition products at £4.2 billion, protein and energy bars at £2.0 billion, and protein ready-to-drink products at £6.2 billion in 2023. The RTD chart label should be retained as reported; it is not combined with the earlier series.
These figures are Euromonitor category estimates reproduced in the issuer filing, rather than independently audited receipts. They describe value, while category definitions and chart construction determine how products are assigned.
Regional Sports Nutrition Spending Data
Regional figures mix sports nutrition measures with broader-market context, so the denominator is explicit in each case.
| Geography | 2023 measure | Historical or forecast growth |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £1bn sports nutrition | 8.2% CAGR, 2019–2023; 12.6% forecast CAGR, 2023–2028 |
| North America | Approximately £14bn sports nutrition | 10.2% CAGR, 2019–2023; £20bn and 7.5% forecast CAGR by 2028 |
| Western Europe excluding UK | £31bn broader health-and-wellness market | 9.8% CAGR, 2019–2023 |
| North America | £65bn broader addressable market | 6.3% CAGR, 2019–2023 |
In the United Kingdom, sports nutrition reached an estimated £1 billion in 2023 after an 8.2% CAGR from 2019 to 2023. The filing forecasts a faster 12.6% CAGR from 2023 to 2028, but that remains a forecast.
For North America, sports nutrition was approximately £14 billion in 2023 and represented 21% of the region’s broader market. North American sports nutrition grew at a 10.2% CAGR from 2019 to 2023 and is forecast to reach £20 billion in 2028 at a 7.5% CAGR.
Western Europe’s £31 billion figure and North America’s £65 billion figure are broader health-and-wellness or addressable-market measures, not sports nutrition alone. All regional market values are estimates reproduced in the prospectus.
Sports Nutrition Retail and E-Commerce Channels
The global channel mix in 2023 was led by offline retail, which accounted for 63% of sports nutrition consumption. Grocery retail represented 37%, specialty retail 17% and other offline retail 9%; these shares are presented as value/channel estimates within the filing’s category.
The remaining global share is not assigned here because the supplied source does not provide a complete, mutually exclusive online breakdown. Channel definitions and whether a measure refers to consumption or retail value therefore matter.
| Channel measure | Share | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Offline retail | 63% | Global sports nutrition consumption, 2023 |
| Grocery retail | 37% | Global sports nutrition consumption, 2023 |
| Specialty retail | 17% | Global sports nutrition consumption, 2023 |
| Other offline retail | 9% | Global sports nutrition consumption, 2023 |
| E-commerce | 69.6% | UK sports nutrition retail sales value, 2023 |
| Offline retail | 67% | North American sports nutrition retail value, 2023 |
| E-commerce | 33% | North American sports nutrition retail value, 2023 |
In the UK, e-commerce accounted for 69.6% of sports nutrition retail sales value in 2023. Within the UK channel estimate, marketplaces contributed 46.7% and direct-to-consumer channels 33.8%; the filing cautions that retailer classifications can overlap.
North American sports nutrition retail value was 67% offline and 33% e-commerce in 2023. These are retail value shares, not measures of shopping frequency or individual consumer budgets.
Sports Nutrition Use and Participation Patterns
A peer-reviewed US military study provides context on use rather than spending. Among 26,681 service members who completed the survey, 44.6% reported weekly use of at least one sport-related nutritional product during the study’s six-month recall period; the study contacted 146,365 people from a 200,000-person sample frame.
The product-specific results were:
- Weekly sport-drink use was 32.3% among the US military cohort.
- Weekly sport-bar use was 26.9% among the cohort.
- Weekly sport-gel use was 3.4% among the cohort.
Use varied across reported subgroups, but these are associations from self-reported survey data:
- Weekly use of any sport-related product was 46.1% among men and 35.0% among women.
- Weekly use was 50.8% at ages 18–24 and 39.8% among those aged 40 or older.
- Weekly use was 38.9% among people reporting at most 90 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise and 50.0% among those reporting more than 300 minutes.
- Weekly use was 48.8% among married service members and 43.2% among never-married service members.
Self-reported adverse effects affected 2.0% of sport-related product users overall, including 1.3% for sport drinks, 1.6% for bars and 2.8% for gels. These are reported effects, not clinical diagnoses, and the study does not convert use prevalence into spending.
Prevalence, factors associated with use, and adverse effects of sport-related nutritional supplements reports the military survey and its subgroup results.
Company Sports Nutrition Sales, Costs and Margins
Company filings illustrate how sales and profitability can differ from market-wide spending. The SEC registrant reported revenue of $11.899 million in 2023 and $19.461 million in 2024, or 63.5% total revenue growth, across Hong Kong, Mainland China and other Asian regions.
| Company measure | 2023 | 2024 | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $11.899m | $19.461m | 63.5% growth |
| B2B product sales | — | $11.4m | 89.1% year-over-year growth |
| B2C product sales | — | $6.8m | 15.9% year-over-year growth |
| Total cost of revenue | $8.717m | $13.293m | 52.5% increase |
| Overall gross margin | 26.7% | 31.7% | Improved |
B2B customers supplied more than 800 points of sale in 2024, while company-operated vending machines increased from 133 in 2023 to 230 in 2024. These are distribution and operating-footprint measures, not estimates of total consumer spending.
Geographically, 2024 revenue reached $12.741 million in Hong Kong, up 55.7% from 2023; $6.558 million in Mainland China, up 79.0%; and $162,138 in other Asian regions, up 201.4%. The percentage for other Asian regions is sensitive to its low base.
Cost and margin results show different segment economics:
- B2B cost of revenue rose 78.0%, from $5.126 million to $9.124 million, while B2B gross margin improved from 15.0% to 20.0%.
- B2C cost of revenue rose 4.8%, from $3.591 million to $3.764 million, while B2C gross margin improved from 38.8% to 44.6%.
- Sales and marketing expense was $2.391 million in 2024, up 10.7% from 2023.
- The company reported $1.0 million of net income in 2024, compared with a $0.8 million net loss in 2023.
The registrant’s total cost of revenue includes product, logistics and marketing-service costs. These figures describe one distributor’s reported business and margins, not industry-wide profitability.
Form F-1/A Registration Statement provides the company’s reported revenue, channel, cost and margin figures.