Nestle Acquiring The Bountiful Company Has Huge Implications for the Entire Supplement Industry

Even before it’s announcement to buy The Bountiful Company, Nestle was quietly becoming one of most important players (if not the most important player) in the supplement industry. If you haven’t heard by now, Nestle agreed to buy a collection of brands from VMS portfolio The Bountiful Company for $5.75 billion. I believe this M&A activity has huge short-term and long-term implications for the entire supplement industry. In the short-term, supplement companies will have to contend with a new powerhouse that will seek to gain pricing power and additional market share. In the long-term, Nestle has the upper-hand right now on a larger portion of the personalization equation that will define the CPG industry of the future. While “scraps” will always fall from the table of giants to feed a group of peasants below, an increasingly competitive market will force many sports/active nutrition and VMS brands to adapt or die.