Inside magnesium’s rise as the star of the supplement aisle

“A lot of times, you’ll see these things spike and fall off,” he said. “But when they get sustainable growth like that, it’s usually because there’s some real science behind it. The product actually works and is providing real benefits for people.” 

Magnesium is proving to be more than a viral trend. And just like protein, collagen and L-theanine before it, magnesium is also increasingly showing up in other categories — whether better-for-you beverages like Recess and Trip, or Olly’s new line of body-care products. 

Data from e-commerce platform PrettyDamnQuick shows that the number of stores selling products with magnesium in the title grew by 500% in the last six months. That includes products like dietary supplements, sleep aids, recovery and hydration products, and skin care.

But when an ingredient pops off, it means companies in the space have to think ahead to keep up with demand. Solaray, for its part, is anticipating further growth. In January, it launched Magnesium Combos, which blend magnesium glycinate with other ingredients for targeted benefits — SleepMag includes melatonin, while StressMag pairs magnesium glycinate with ashwagandha.

Behind the scenes, it has beefed up its operations to accommodate the new launches. The company began operating triple shifts at its magnesium operations in late 2023, and more recently, it opened a new state-of-the-art drying tunnel designed to process more magnesium into capsules and reduce drying time from days to minutes.

“That allows us to feed a lot more raw material through the process,” Garner said. “And this allows us to more than double our capacity, because every time we think this category is going to slow down, it just keeps growing. It’s been amazing how resilient it’s been.”

Magnesium’s popularity

According to Harvard Health Review, magnesium can be helpful for certain health conditions, including high blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia and constipation. But around mid-2023, companies like Solaray began to see a spike in sales. This was after the viral trend of the “Sleepy Girl Mocktail” that mixed tart cherry juice, magnesium powder and prebiotic soda. More broadly, the ingredient became associated with its calming and relaxing benefits.

“While it’s not technically considered a sleep product, having a relaxed mind and relaxed muscles before you fall asleep is a big deal for a lot of people,” Garner said. “It’s not going to cure insomnia, but if you’re kind of restless and your mind is racing and your body’s jazzed up from a busy day, it really makes a lot of difference for people.”

John Scheer, co-founder and chief creative officer at health and wellness brand studio Herman-Scheer, said one of the biggest proof points he’s seen is how magnesium is changing from a “back of pack” ingredient mention to something spotlighted on the front of the label. One company he works with, Bioptimizers, even labeled one of their magnesium products “Great for Sleepy Girl Mocktail,” because they knew that’s what people were searching for.

“The health IQ of the average consumer has gone way up, and they’re far more intrigued by the macros and the ingredients,” he said.

Ben Witte, CEO and founder of Recess, first launched the functional beverage brand in 2017 with a selection of products that included CBD. But by 2021, Witte sought to expand the platform and saw magnesium as a key ingredient that could create a “mood-lifting” effect. The brand identified that magnesium L-threonate could cross the blood-brain barrier and catalyze the production of dopamine and serotonin.

“The more time we spent looking at the science, and thinking about the marketability of magnesium, in general, and the trajectory we thought the ingredient would be on, the more excited we got about incorporating it into our Recess Mood line,” Witte said.

He likened magnesium in Recess Mood to the caffeine in Red Bull — an ingredient that propels the drink’s effects. Since the launch, the Recess Mood line has become about 75% of the business, with CBD products representing about 1%. What’s more, Recess was the second-fastest-growing beverage brand on Instacart last year.

“There are a lot of proof points that it’s performing extremely well and is on a very high trajectory,” Witte said.

Looking ahead, he sees more uses for magnesium in powders and gummies, and for different purposes. “That’s a small part of our business today, but we’re excited to invest and extend into that space more broadly, and I think magnesium is going to increasingly grow in popularity over the years to come,” he said.

Operational responses

But buzzy popularity often necessitates new business practices.

Garner from Solaray said those who rely on contract manufacturers may find themselves priced out or unable to get enough quality ingredients to make their magnesium products. In Solaray’s case, the company’s Ogden, Utah manufacturing campus produces more than 95% of its products. This allows it to tinker with new formulas or scale up if needed. In late 2023, Solaray ramped up its magnesium production.

“The fact that we were vertically integrated and had the raw materials ready gave us the ability to win when a lot of other people were just trying to keep up,” Garner said.

Like other supplements, different forms of magnesium can yield different results, especially when put through a chelation process that binds it to other ingredients. That process can yield magnesium glycinate, a highly absorbable form of magnesium that aids relaxation — but if it isn’t chelated, the product won’t be properly absorbed.

Garner said Solaray invested in a new drying tunnel that opened last summer to help produce more magnesium glycinate, which helped launch its new Magnesium Combosline. The tunnel creates thinner layers of material to dry more quickly, allowing Solaray to process more raw material.

Looking ahead, Garner said there could be more uses for magnesium glycinate down the road. The company pays attention to what sales are dong, what its store representatives are seeing and what is happening in the world of nutritional science.

“We want to learn from the consumers where they’re headed, but we also want to keep ahead of emerging science,” he said.