Most people scrolling past protein powder ads have no idea they’re looking at a €5 billion market. That’s what the EU sports supplements industry pulls in annually — and it’s still climbing.
What started as a niche corner of retail aimed at bodybuilders and serious athletes has quietly become one of Europe’s more interesting wellness stories. Germany leads the European market, capturing roughly 20-22% of total EU sales. France, Italy, and Spain follow. The Nordic countries punch well above their weight on a per-capita basis — high disposable incomes and deeply embedded fitness cultures will do that.
The numbers tell a clear story. Back in 2015, the market sat around €2.8 billion. By 2023, it had grown to somewhere between €4.5 and €5.2 billion. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 7-9% — steady, not flashy, but persistent. Forecasts put the market at €7-8 billion by 2028, assuming the economy doesn’t throw a wrench in things.
So what’s actually selling?
Protein supplements dominate. Whey, casein, plant-based powders, bars — this category accounts for 35-40% of market value on its own. Plant-based options have been the real growth driver here, riding the wave of vegan and flexitarian diets spreading across Europe. Pre-workouts, creatine, and other performance products make up another 20-25%. Recovery aids — BCAAs, glutamine, post-workout formulas — sit at 15-20%. Weight management and general health supplements round out the rest.
Here’s where it gets interesting: who’s actually buying all this.
The old image — young guy at the gym, shaker bottle in hand — is increasingly outdated. Women now account for 35-40% of EU sports supplement consumers, up from around 20% a decade ago. The 36-55 age bracket is one of the fastest-growing segments, driven by people who want to maintain muscle, protect their joints, and stay active as they get older. Meanwhile, the 18-25 crowd has folded supplements into identity and lifestyle, not just performance goals.
Online sales have exploded too. About 40-45% of purchases now happen digitally — a shift pandemic-era shopping habits cemented. Specialist sports nutrition stores hold roughly 25-30% of the market, with supermarkets and pharmacies picking up the rest.
The regulatory picture is worth understanding. EU manufacturers operate under the Food Supplements Directive (2002/46/EC), with the European Food Safety Authority setting the bar on health claims. EFSA’s standards are strict — companies can’t slap vague wellness language on a label without scientific backing. That creates friction for brands, but it also arguably gives consumers more reason to trust what they’re buying.
Post-Brexit complications have added another layer. Brands serving both UK and EU markets now navigate two diverging regulatory regimes. Not catastrophic, but not simple either.
What’s driving growth? A few things at once. Gym membership penetration in leading EU markets sits at 8-10%. Fitness influencers have normalised supplement use in ways that traditional advertising never managed to. And COVID shifted a lot of people toward thinking more seriously about preventative health — supplements got pulled into that conversation.
The catch? Quality remains a real issue. Contamination scandals surface periodically, and some products have been caught containing banned substances or failing to deliver the ingredient amounts stated on the label. Third-party certification programmes like Informed Sport exist partly to address this, but they add costs that not every brand absorbs easily.
There’s also margin pressure in saturated categories. Basic whey protein, for instance, has become a commodity. Price competition is brutal. Smaller brands either innovate or get squeezed.
Still, the trajectory is clear. European consumers are spending more on their health, and a meaningful chunk of that spending flows into the sports supplements industry. The question for brands isn’t whether the market will grow — it’s whether they can keep pace with what consumers actually want: cleaner ingredients, transparent sourcing, sustainable packaging, and products that work.
That’s a higher bar than it used to be. Most serious players seem to be betting it’s worth clearing.
