Rich Gaspari discusses how oversaturation in the supplement industry is leading to lower quality products and financial trouble for companies.
These days, everyone and their mother has their own supplement brand. That’s due to the boom of the supplement industry alongside many other industries when the internet went mainstream. But has the bubble burst for the supplement industry? Has oversaturation led to lower quality products, less customer trust, and a dying industry? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Rich Gaspari goes into detail about how oversaturation is killing supplement companies… and what they can do to stop it.
Rich Gaspari knows supplements. After becoming a legendary bodybuilding competitor, he moved into the supplement industry and built Gaspari Nutrition from the ground up. The brand grew into a powerhouse and became a household name in the sport supplement world. But as times changed, so too did Gaspari Nutrition’s dominance in the field. In 2014, Gaspari Nutrition was sold due to financial struggles. Only for Gaspari himself to buy it back a few years later in 2018.
But Rich Gaspari will be the first person to tell you that Gaspari Nutrition has been seeing rough times. Regardless, he’s laser focused on the future and building it back up – just like he did the first time.
>> Read our buyers guide of the best multivitamin supplements for bodybuilders in 2020
Through these ups and downs, Rich Gaspari became well aware of the crisis the supplement industry is facing. Namely, that oversaturation and overexposure has lead to a dying industry. Social media influencers are a powerful force. Rather than be sponsored, many of them have started their own supplement brands. What was once a market with only a dozen quality supplement companies available has now become filled with thousands.
Choice is a good thing for consumers, but the problem comes down to quality. With so many companies trying to get an edge on each other, they have tried to drive down prices. This ultimately leads to lower quality products. Of course, this isn’t the case for every brand – but it certainly dilutes the field.
So what does the future hold for the supplement industry? Rich Gapsari thinks there is a way to bring back quality to the world of supplements – but it will require brands to be extremely savvy with how to promote themselves to the internet generation.
It also seems Gaspari isn’t quite ready to let go of brick and mortar just yet. He believes that there’s still a desire in people to touch and browse physically through products – especially with the younger Gen Z crowd. Perhaps there will be a perfect balance between influencer driven online sales and classic brick and mortar stores. Only time will tell – but if something doesn’t change Gapsari worries it will take a turn for the worst.
Check out Rich Gaspari’s full comments in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
