Supplement Industry: Growing Muscle AND the Economy!

By: Matt Weik

There’s so much negativity surrounding the sports supplement industry these days that it’s about time some positive news is shared. It seems like everyone wants to take a shot at the dietary supplement industry – whether it’s for bogus claims, fake studies, tainted products, placebo effects, high prices, poor quality, fairy dusted ingredients, the list goes on and on.

We rarely hear about the positives that come from the industry—people only want to run with the drama which generally only deals with a small percentage of the industry. You can look at it as if it were a celebrity.  Once a celebrity does something wrong, that’s all we hear about and you form your own opinion about that celebrity based on what you just heard.  Meanwhile, all the good they do is never publicized making them look like a schmuck with a bunch of skeletons in their closet in need of rehab for whatever they’ve done.

Quit buying into all the negativity and start looking at the whole picture before you chastise an industry that you quite frankly might know nothing about. Let’s face it, there’s negative press and drama going on in just about every industry today.  Look at politics.

The supplement industry does a lot of good not only for the individual users of the products, but for the country. Little did you know, in 2016 the supplement industry directly employed over 383,000 Americans.  The report that this figure was pulled from also mentioned that when you look at the outlying tiers who play a role in the supplement industry you are now looking at almost 755,000 jobs.  Those numbers are amazing and shows that the supplement industry is thriving and growing.  To be able to employ that many people is nothing short of remarkable.

The President and CEO for the Council for Responsible Nutrition said, “The dietary supplement industry is a robust industry, and this new economic analysis further demonstrates the important and positive impact our industry has on people’s lives.”

With politicians wanting to throw their two-cents into the industry and try to paint a negative picture of what supplements are used for and how many people use them for various reasons, they must understand the consequences of their actions if they want to impose legal action on companies or try to put them out of business.

The CRN also mentions that “if you want to introduce measures that stifle innovation or reduce access to these products, then understand the impact that this has on the local communities.” What does that mean?  People losing their jobs, their income, maybe even their homes.  Then you have to look to the economic side where these supplement companies are paying billions in taxes each year, dumping huge sums of money into the economy.

Here’s some facts the CRN found in their report:

The supplement industry contributes $121.6 billion to the United States economy

The supplement industry pays $15 billion in business taxes (federal and state)

The supplement industry pays $38.4 billion in wages

The supplement industry creates over 750,000 jobs in the United States

From these findings the CRN stated, “with the completion of this new report, CRN can demonstrate a trifecta of data about dietary supplements and the people who take them. Here’s what we know: more than 150 million Americans take dietary supplements for health benefits they provide; supplements offer tremendous potential for societal health care cost savings; and the industry makes vital contributions to the economy at large.  What’s good for your health is also very good for America’s wallet.”

So if you’re a part of the industry and work with manufacturers, distributors, or retailers… THANK YOU. It’s because of people like you that not only put out and sell supplements that help people live a healthier life, but you also help support our economy.  Regardless of what the press writes, know that what you do matters not only to the people you work with and employ, but to American’s across the country whose lives you help change.

You can find out more information from the report found here:

http://nutrition.guerrillaeconomics.net/assets/site/res/CRN%20Methodology.pdf

See More Industry Research Spotlighted at the IML Reasearch Blog here at DigitalMuscle.com