Supplement brand Thorne is on track to hit $650 million in annual revenue this year, fueled by Generation Z and millennial shoppers who are increasingly focused on improving their health, CNBC has learned.
The 42-year-old supplement brand, which L Catterton took private in 2023, has sustained a compound annual growth rate of more than 30% since the acquisition, according to the company. Between 2022 and 2025, its revenue more than doubled from $229 million to more than $500 million, according to filings and the company.
At the same time, the number of consumers buying directly from the brand increased to about 7 million, from about 4 million at the end of 2023, fueling a 63% increase in direct-to-consumer sales, the company said.
“A lot of what we’ve done over the last few years has been about streamlining and focusing and, in some ways, simplifying our go-to-market, being very clear about who our consumer is that we’re serving, what do they want from brands as you go forward, and looking back at our heritage,” said CEO Colin Watts, former CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe. “…We expect this brand to generate a billion dollars over the next few years.”
Thorne’s growth comes as the market for vitamins, minerals and supplements explodes in the United States – driven in part by the “Make America Healthy Again” movement and by young, health-conscious shoppers looking to optimize their health and improve things like sleep and nutrition. The vitamin, mineral and supplement market reached $125 billion in the United States in 2025 and is expected to grow 11% by 2027, according to data collected by consulting firm AlixPartners.
“As the science has improved and, frankly, the consumer has taken more control over their health, there has been a shift in spending and a shift in focus to ‘what can I do proactively to manage my health in the future?’” Watts said.
Thorne Magnesium Glycinate and Ginseng Plus Supplements.
Courtesy of Thorne
The surge in interest in dietary supplements, which was a popular gifting category this past holiday season, has created an opportunity for large retailers like Walmart, Target and Amazon, consumer products companies like Nestlé and smaller brands like Thorne. It also reflects a broader generational shift that is reshaping the industry. Once dominated by older consumers focused on preventative health, this category is now increasingly driven by younger buyers interested in performance, customization and daily wellness routines.
“When I started studying and working in this market 25 years ago, it was a boomer-led market; you basically focused on serving boomers, that’s how you won in the market. So the reality is that today’s market is a Gen Z millennial market,” Watts said. “One of the big millennial trends of Gen Z is that they don’t look at supplementation as prevention. They look at it as performance. It’s like, ‘I want to sleep better. I want to have more energy. I want to manage my anxiety. I want to work out better.’ That’s the kind of thing they’re very, very focused on. »
About 60% of Thorne’s total revenue comes from shoppers under 40, who spend about 1.5 times as much as their parents on wellness, Watts said. He estimates that about half of buyers under 40 are subscribers, despite a greater hesitance on the part of some younger consumers to commit to recurring subscription plans.
“One of the reasons Gen Z hates subscriptions is because it drives them crazy – drives me crazy, frankly – to put something on a subscription and then see it cheaper elsewhere,” Watts said. “We’re very disciplined about our pricing. … We don’t, you know, promote the brand. It’s pretty consistent.”
To entice shoppers to subscribe and offer a discount on high prices, Thorne is offering free shipping and a 10% discount on every refill order. Subscriptions can occur every two weeks or four months apart. When shoppers subscribe to three or more products, they can save 20%.
As the supplement industry grows, so does scrutiny of ingredients, claims and manufacturing, especially among younger buyers who often want to know how products are made. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA for safety or effectiveness, requiring brands to conduct their own testing that they can incorporate into marketing campaigns.
“We spend a lot of time trying to make sure that we can demonstrate the science, that we can demonstrate the effectiveness. We’re one of the few brands, for example, that has been working with the Mayo Clinic for over 14 years,” Watts said. “We’ve also worked with a lot of top sports teams. We’re the official supplement of the UFC. We work with different tennis associations…all of that basically forces us to up our game, because these are people who are even more demanding than the average consumer.”
Asked if the company had any ambitions to go public again, Watts said there was “nothing urgent” about doing so. He called the IPO a potential route, along with a possible strategic acquisition by a larger company.
“Like any private equity firm, I think [L] Catterton will be looking for the right opportunity, the right exit, at the right time,” Watts said. “Right now, as we look at where we’re going to expand – through physical retail, through international expansion, through larger expansion in the future – there are also a lot of strategic companies that could view a brand like Thorne as a very powerful asset within their overall portfolio.”