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2023 Food and Supplement Trends to Enjoy

By Ethan Boldt

May 4, 2023

One trend we keep a close eye on here at Ancient Nutrition is what’s happening in the food and supplement space. We want to deliver what the customer wants and remain one step ahead of the competition, while we also seek to be product innovators in our own right.

Most importantly, led by Dr. Josh Axe and Jordan Rubin, co-founders of Ancient Nutrition, our mission is to transform the health of millions by bringing them supplements and other health products that are best in class, deliver unique health benefits and are created in a way that focuses on being sustainable for the planet.

So what do 2023 supplement trends look like? What 2022 trends will carry over to this year?

Here are 10 food and supplement trends from 2023 to get excited about …

1. Protein Products

Market data indicates that protein powder is one of the fastest growing segments in the supplement industry. With a greater number of sports enthusiasts and so-called weekend warriors, it may not be surprising.

Additionally, an aging population looks to increase their protein intake while consumers, particularly women, are looking to buy collagen protein supplements to support their skin and joint health. It's a viable wellness trend.

Collagen is a type of protein that’s found naturally throughout the body. With age, our collagen production begins to naturally slow down, which can lead to normal signs of aging, particularly in areas such as the joints and skin.

In addition to an overall healthy diet and lifestyle, a collagen supplement is a convenient and effective way to help give the body the building blocks to make its own collagen, often resulting in helping to promote healthy aging and its signs.

So how much collagen should you take per day? Collagen serving sizes will range from 1.5 grams (for capsules) to 20 grams (for collagen powder), depending on the form and type of product. The suggested use and serving size for our Multi Collagen Protein powders (with clinically studied ingredients) is one scoop, which is about 10 grams. You can also double it for a 20 gram serving.

2. Joint Health Supplements

The most popular joint supplements in years past have been glucosamine and chondroitin, but that may be changing with the arrival of new joint supplements.

Market data claims the overall global bone and joint health supplements market was nearly $12 billion in 2022 and will reach nearly $18 billion by 2027. Considering that the over-65 population — the primary audience for these supplements — continues to grow year after year, this growth makes a lot of sense.

On top of collagen for joints, there are multiple other supplements that can provide joint support, such as Ancient Nutrition’s Joint + Mobility Support Capsules. Due to the powerful ingredients such as organic turmeric, chaga, galangal root and ginger, these capsules can help support joint range of motion, improve joint mobility and comfort, reduce joint discomfort by day five of use (!), and promote a healthy immune response and response to inflammation.

Bone Broth Protein powder, especially a blend of beef- and chicken-based bone broth protein concentrate, inherently features types 1, 2 and 3 collagen along with other joint-supporting compounds including glucosamine, chondroitin and more. Each serving provides 15 to 20 grams of protein (depending on the flavor) to support healthy joints, skin and gut health.

3. Sipping Bone Broth

Ready to reap the rewards of traditional bone broth within just minutes? You no longer have to slowly simmer broth over the course of 1–2 days, since you can now prepare real bone broth almost instantly from dried bone broth protein powders. 

Depending on your taste preference, you now also enjoy flavored sipping bone broths. For example, Ancient Nutrition created its newer line of savory Bone Broth Protein powders, which are made from real beef bone broth and chicken bone broth.

Our newest sipping broth flavors include Bone Broth Protein Butternut Squash, Bone Broth Protein Tomato Basil and Bone Broth Protein Chicken Soup. They’re also suitable for people following a wide range of diets, including those that are gluten-free, Paleo, keto and low-carb. These sipping broths are also made without dairy, nuts or soy. 

4. Functional Mushroom Supplements

Mushroom supplements are made with “functional mushrooms” — species you won’t find at ordinary grocery stores and that you’re unlikely to ever cook with. These include mushrooms like chaga, reishi, lion's mane, maitake, cordyceps, turkey tail and others. And they’re having a moment.

Along with more mushroom coffee (less caffeine than regular coffee) and plant-based mushroom dishes, the global functional mushroom market is predicted to grow by 10 percent yearly over the next decade.

These mushroom species naturally feature beneficial compounds such as polysaccharides and polysaccharide peptides, beta glucans, glycoproteins and triterpenes, which may be lacking in your diet if you don’t regularly consume a variety of nutrient-rich plant foods.

Many mushrooms are touted for their polysaccharide content specifically; in general, polysaccharides provide many benefits for the immune system and are digested in a way that makes them a potential energy source with a low glycemic index. Beta glucans act to support a healthy immune system by supporting important players that help promote our body’s healthy immune system, while glycoproteins are often considered “essential” nutrients we must get from our diets much like certain fatty acids and amino essential amino acids.

A high-quality mushroom supplement that combines multiple species of organic mushrooms with other beneficial botanicals, herbs and spices is Ancient Nutrition’s Multi Mushroom Daily Immune Defense Tablets supplement, a full-spectrum formula made with a blend of organic mushrooms.

This formula includes the following mushroom species: turkey tail, reishi, shiitake, lion’s mane, chaga, cordyceps, maitake and white jelly mushroom (snow jelly).

5. Matcha, Matcha, Matcha

Surely half the Brady Bunch would be drinking matcha, no? The matcha trend shows no signs of slowing down … in part because it naturally helps you keep going.

Heralded by top nutritionists, researchers and health-conscious celebrities alike, matcha is a green tea that stands alone. This high-grade, finely ground, concentrated green tea has been traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies for hundreds of years.

Ancient Elixirs Superfood Matcha is an energizing superfood powder that features some of the world’s healthiest superfoods in one highly convenient instant drink mix. It makes a great pre-workout supplement considering it contains approximately 135 milligrams of caffeine per serving (roughly the same amount as one cup of traditional coffee) from matcha and organic coffee cherry.

Not to be outdone, along comes Collagen Matcha Energizer: a multi collagen formula made with 10 types of collagen, matcha green tea, plus other supportive ingredients including MCT oil and clinically studied organic ashwagandha. This formula contains less caffeine, at about  33 milligrams per serving.

6. Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an adaptogenic herb that's popular in the Ayurvedic tradition and has been used for more than 2,500 years. It's actually the most commonly used and extensively researched adaptogen herb, especially when it comes to helping the body adapt to fight the effects of stress.

With consumers increasingly aware of stress’s effects on health, stress relief supplements are predicted to increase in popularity, with ashwagandha leading the charge. While more studies need to be conducted, one noted health journal found that supplementing with ashwagandha soothed anxiousness and lowered stress scores while helping to promote concentration and social functioning.

Ancient Nutrition’s offers a USDA Certified Organic Ashwagandha supplement that’s taken in one convenient daily tablet. Each serving provides 800 milligrams of a combination of organic ashwagandha root and leaf.

The organic ashwagandha featured in this formula has also been fermented to help break down the herb into more absorbable components — effectively “pre-digesting” them to help with absorption. Additionally, organic black pepper fruit is added because it generally helps promote absorption and digestion of herbs, including ashwagandha.

7. Super Greens with Extras

It seems like every supplement company is making super greens these days. Why? Because so many folks, aware of the benefits they might be missing out on, simply don’t get enough greens in their daily diet.

Also called “green superfood powder,” these supplements contain a variety of dried greens, in addition to dried algae, berries and herbs. These ingredients have been deemed “superfoods” because they are often exceptionally high in nutrients, including phytochemicals, antioxidants and others.

Ancient Nutrition’s Organic SuperGreens Powder (Greens Flavor) is one of the most convenient ways you can increase your daily greens intake. Our formula is made with only organic, non-GMO ingredients and comes in a BPA-free container.

In addition, new formulas were recently created to expand the flavor profile and benefits. They're offered in organic supergreen powders, organic supergreen tablets and even organic supergreen gummies.

8. Organ and Liver Supplements

Organ and liver supplements are made from the glands, organs or tissues of healthy animals. And not surprisingly, these foods have largely disappeared from the average diet (though check out this recipe for beef liver and onions). In previous eras, however, the liver and organs were often the most prized part of the animal because of the nutrient content.

Now some companies are figuring that out and some enthusiastic consumers are on board. Some experts, and many practitioners of traditional health systems, believe that organ meats — including liver — are among the most, if not the most, nutrient-filled superfoods on the planet. This is especially true when the organs/glandulars are sourced from healthy, properly raised animals, which tend to hold more nutrients in their bodies.

Organ meats provide numerous nutrients, including both fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins, protein (amino acids), minerals, choline, enzymes and more.

Ancient Nutrition’s new line of organ and liver supplements feature a combination of organ meats and glandulars — such as bovine liver, kidneys, heart, pancreas, adrenals, prostate, placenta, ovary and others.

Ancient Glandulars Grass-Fed Liver capsules are made from grass-fed bovine liver and helpful for supporting healthy energy, healthy blood, healthy bones and a healthy immune system. Ancient Glandulars Organs Blend capsules are made from grass-fed bovine liver, heart, kidneys, adrenals, pancreas, plus ovine liver, kidneys and heart. 

9. Wellness Shots

Wellness shots are typically small bottles that feature certain nutrients and are designed to boost one's health, such as promoting a healthy immune system or working as detox drinks. They can also be fairly pricey for such a small drink.

Fortunately, you can make your own. Our recipe developer Holly Darnell created five DIY wellness shots that are loaded with select extracts, herbs and spices to give you a boost, such as for your gut and more. Recipes for healthy detoxification-supporting shots were also created.

10. Planet-Minded Supplement Ingredients and Foods

Okay, this is a carryover from 2022, but it’s a trend that is real and it’s sorely needed, by us humans and the planet at large. Yes, increasingly, consumers are equating planetary health with personal health, which means that many companies want to be seen as producing products that are both good for you and good for the planet.

“Planet-minded or friendly products” are those that are less destructive in terms of forest deforestation, energy use, destruction of topsoil, etc. At Ancient Nutrition, we fully stand behind our mission to “save the world with superfoods” and work hard to do our part in stewarding our earth. In fact, another part of our mission is to help people transform their health and to give back to the planet.

One way we do this is via regenerative agriculture practices, in which we grow our own functional foods, some of which are used as ingredients to create health-promoting supplements, while at the same time helping to support the environment.

Want to see exactly what we’re up to? Check out our recent Impact Report. Our hope is that our report is an example for those that want to blaze a new, ancient path forward. Making this investment now can help to benefit the soil, animals, plants and people, not just on our land but everyone who comes in contact with our products.

Ethan Boldt runs the content for Ancient Nutrition as well as DrAxe.com. He's edited and written articles, programs and books about nutrition, health, fitness and more for nearly 30 years now. He grew up on a small organic farm in Iowa and now resides in Philadelphia.