My supplements are...stickers?

Plus: Walmart's rebrand, Poshmark's comeback plans, and more 👀

Hi, everyone.

Hope you’re doing well. I’m thinking of everyone affected by the LA wildfires. Please check out the following resources to support relief efforts ⬇️

• Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation: Donations help equip LAFD members battling wildfires with tools and supplies.

• Baby2Baby: Nonprofit organization that provides children living in poverty with diapers, clothing, and basic necessities. Currently supporting children and families affected by the wildfires.

• American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles: Providing life-sustaining shelter to wildfire victims.

• World Central Kitchen: Providing fresh meals to communities in need in California.

• More resources 🔗

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Watch This Space is a new section of

Brandscape

where I explore the intersection of emerging consumer trends and interesting new brands. For this first edition, I’ll be covering:

The patch-ification of supplements 💊

Wellness trends hardly faze me anymore. In the age of social media and biohacking, many of these trends become mere fads. Just in the past year, we’ve seen the rise of beef tallow face creams and sensationalist content about “cortisol face.”

However, one part of the wellness industry that has been able to persist is the vitamin/supplement sector. While everyone is familiar with taking vitamins through pills or gummies, a new way to receive vitamins has emerged due to new brands using transdermal patch technology. These adhesive patches work to release vitamins into your bloodstream by absorption through the skin.

The technology behind these patches is not new. In fact, evidence suggests that early Egyptian and Greek civilizations used topical mixtures and patch-like plasters to treat certain ailments. It was not until 1979, however, that transdermal patches first hit the market to deliver scopolamine, a drug used to counteract nausea. Now one can use patches to prevent pregnancy, quit smoking, and more.

Photo: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4403087/#sec3

Capitalizing on people’s familiarity with patches and seeking to carve out a space in the $146.14 billion vitamins and supplements market, these new brands have their sights set on changing our relationship with vitamins. I think there’s a lot of incentive right now to innovate in the supplement space given the success of gummy brands like Lemme and Olly.

These new patch brands claim to basically provide what one might expect to find in a gummy vitamin. The What Supp Co., a UK brand, sells patch packs with names like “Protect Your Energy,” which includes B-vitamins and caffeine. Another brand, Barrière, provides smaller and discrete patches that look like stickers or flash tattoos.

Photo: Barrière

Kind Patches, which has the widest selection of these brands, is even hopping on the GLP-1 wave with a patch pack designed to support weight loss like other OTC brands such as hims & hers.

Photo: Kind Patches

Gen Z-ers are no strangers to patches. In the past few years, we’ve experienced the popularity of hydrocolloid pimple patches like Starface and Mighty Patches. These brands have really worked to normalize acne, and their patches have even become somewhat of a fashion accessory. If you wear a star patch on your face in public, odds are that other Gen Z-ers won’t look twice. I think vitamin patches have the potential to catch on among this age group given that the patch is a familiar form factor.

starface

A post shared by @starface

A recent Vogue Business article that mentions these patches claimed that “[w]ellness is now a status symbol, spanning nutrition, mental health and beauty.” I agree with this sentiment and believe that these patches provide yet another way for someone to display their commitment to “wellness.”

It’s important to note, however, that there is very little data regarding the efficacy of vitamin patches. In fact, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll even absorb anything. I think this could lead to a lot of misleading messaging surrounding these products.

Photo: Kind Patches

What do you think? Will vitamin patches go mainstream in 2025? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Disclaimer: The content of this letter is for informational purposes only. This is not medical advice nor an endorsement of these companies or products. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions before starting a supplement or health regimen.

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Headlines of the week 📰

• 2025 is set to be a big year for sauna usage. According to a recent study conducted by Life Time Fitness, when asked what post-workout recovery practices people are interested in trying/increasing this year, 69.1% of respondents said using a sauna. The sauna market is also experiencing considerable growth and is expected to grow by $137 million in the next four years.

  zoya
  , who writes on my mind as of late, recently covered the opening of Othership in NYC, which is a “space for transformation” featuring sauna experiences and ice baths. Clearly, saunas aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

  • Speaking of sauna-ing, I recently came across a brand called Saint Lucie which sells a sauna serum for skin and hair designed to counteract the drying effects of sauna environments. They sent over their serum, and it feels hydrating and smells great. This is the first brand I’ve seen that’s really pioneering the sauna skincare/haircare space. I’ll be interested to see how brands continue to roll out complementary goods to various wellness experiences such as using a sauna.

• Walmart announced a rebrand yesterday. This is the first time the company has changed their logo and brand system since 2008. Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR) was responsible for the rebrand, which features a thicker logo typeface, a deeper blue, and thicker yellow spark lines.

• Poshmark is trying to make a comeback. Despite the platform’s success during the pandemic, the peer-to-peer resale market as a whole is struggling right now. The company was purchased by Naver, a South Korean search engine and online marketplace, in 2023. Using Naver-powered technology, Poshmark has recently rolled out new features such as image search and livestreamed shows with the hopes of providing a more seamless shopping experience.

Thank you for reading!
- Henry

Interested in partnering with Brandscape? Reach out at readbrandscape@gmail.com 📥

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