Can't believe the new year is here already? Neither can we! It has been a busy 2018 with innovative product releases, award-winning wellness, and as always, doing our very best to deliver healthier solutions for everyday life.
As we head into 2019 (our 50th birthday year!), we’re taking a look back at the past year in health to recap the search trends, highlight what has been most important to you, and review all the ways we’ve simplified wellness this year.
2018 Search Trends in Health
In 2018, You Searched the Most For...
1. Magnesium—to help restore & relax
2. Turmeric—to support joint health
3. Probiotics—to nourish a healthy gut
- 'TURMERIC' was searched the most on November 23, 2018. Perhaps you were looking to support joint health post-Turkey Trot?
- Searches for full spectrum hemp oil from popular brands like Plus+ CBD Oil from CV Sciences and CBD Living were up over 4,000% in 2018. Learn about the benefits of full spectrum hemp oil in What is Full Spectrum Hemp Oil Extract?
- Florida and New York were up early searching for healthy living essentials to fill their baskets.
Our Top Health & Wellness Blog Posts
Sharing educational resources and expert advice is an important part of how we help you be your best self. Here’s the expert wellness advice that topped the charts this year:
How Much Melatonin Should You Really Be Taking?
With 30% of hard-working Americans not getting enough sleep each night, it makes sense that this helpful guide to melatonin dosage would be our most popular post of 2018.1 Check it out to learn how melatonin supplements help regulate your sleep-wake patterns so you can rest better, and to find the right melatonin dosage for you.
Content You're Crushing on as 2019 Approaches
Three more blog posts are getting a lot of love as we head into the new year:
What is the Best Magnesium Supplement Form for You?
This post takes a deep dive into the types of magnesium supplements and how they benefit your body, so you can choose which is best for your wellness needs.
What is the Ideal Turmeric Dosage for Health Benefits?
Want the benefits of turmeric but not sure how much turmeric to take? Read this post to explore turmeric dosage, how to take turmeric, and how much turmeric is too much.
18 Food Replacement Hacks that Make Healthy Eating Easy
Eating healthier is so much easier when you have healthy hacks on hand. Swap your unhealthy pantry ingredients with these simple hacks for healthier eating, plus we’ve included an easy almond milk recipe.
In addition to vitamins, mineral and herbs, we carry hundreds of your favorite food and beverage items from Swanson and popular national brands.
Most Popular on Social Media
We posted 225 times on Instagram in 2018, and our followers loved our new Pure Energy from Swanson Pure Science Herbals the most—it’s an innovative herbal supplement with a synergistic blend of adaptogens and botanicals to give you all-day energy and concentration without the jitters.
View this post on Instagram
We connected with 25,000 new wellness lovers this year, answered 21,709 messages from customers via Facebook, and the most popular post of the year was Benefits of Elderberry, an ancient berry full of healthful benefits for immune support and beyond.
With 2.5 million average monthly views, the popularity of our pins soared in 2018. The most popular pin was our DIY Bath Bomb Recipe—a quick reference guide to making pampering bath bombs at home. Click below to check out the pin or get the full recipe on our blog: How to Make Back Bombs: a DIY Recipe.
Most Popular Product Categories
- Herbs: nature-sourced solutions for better health and wellbeing
- Hemp: for stress, sleep and more—optimize total-body health with full-spectrum hemp extracts
- Digestive Health: keep your digestive system running smoothly with probiotics and gut health formulas
- Antioxidants: get your defenses up with free radical scavenging antioxidants
- Food & Beverage: stock a healthy pantry with natural and organic staples
Hot New Arrivals Inspired by Science & Your Wellness Needs
Our team of scientists and nutritionists are working hard every day to bring you effective, science-backed products to help you simplify your wellness routine and live a healthier life. Here’s what was new in 2018:
Mellow Mag
By popular demand we launched a great-tasting, replenishing magnesium drink that supports relaxation and helps defend against stress. It’s available in both raspberry lemonade and orange flavors, as well as on-the-go stick packs so you can relax and restore anytime, anywhere.
“From busy parents to always-on coworkers and my workout buddies—it's exciting to have an easy-mixing magnesium drink to offer to people looking to relax and restore their mind and body. Our Mellow Mag delivers 330 mg of magnesium per serving to help defend against stress and support energy, bone and muscle health," notes Lindsey Toth, Registered Dietitian at Swanson Health.
Pure Science Herbals
Pure Science Herbals is all about taking science-backed ingredients sourced from nature to give you herbal support that you can feel working.
“Our Pure Joint combines clinically-studied herbal ingredients to support joint health and mobility in as few as 7 days," notes Amy Sunderman, Director of Science and Innovation at Swanson Health, "Our customers are looking for options with no synthetics and proven effectiveness when it comes to joint health concerns, especially those related to aging, and we're responding with truly innovative products.”
In 2018, we developed 4 formulas in this series for heart health, cognition support, energy, and joint support, featuring clinically-studied herbs, botanicals and adaptogens, so you can harness the power of nature, proven by science. These have become instant customer favorites. Look for our extensions to this line for weight management, blood sugar support, liver support and more throughout 2019.
Real Food Nutrition
We all know we should be getting as much nutrition from whole food sources as possible, but with modern diets that isn’t always realistic. That’s why we made Swanson Real Food Supplements with nutrients sourced from real food to nourish your body and help fill gaps in your diet.
"I'm proud of the work we've done this past year to leverage research, source quality ingredients and launch effective, trend-forward health products," said Shane Durkee, Chief Innovation Officer at Swanson Health. "Our Real Food formulas, Mellow Mag and Vision Defense are setting trends in the industry that are driving the future of self-care."
The latest addition to the real foods line is Real Food Protein available in both whey and plant varieties. These high-quality, complete proteins are made with real, whole food ingredients, no added sugar, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors.
Award-Winning Wellness
The people have spoken in 2018. We’ve graciously been recognized for award-winning products, customer service, industry leadership and expert-curated wellness advice this year.
Customer Service
• 2018 Silver Stevie Award, Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year
• 2018 ICMI Best Social Media Customer Care Award, alongside brands like Chewy, Liberty Mutual & WebMD
• The LiveHelpNow Challenge Customer Service (Jan-Oct 2018)
Products
• Swanson Plant Based Omega-3, 2018 NutraIngredients-USA Omega-3 Product of the Year
• Swanson Vision Defense—2018 SupplySide CPG Editor’s Choice Awards, Specialty Supplement & 2018 Delicious Living Supplement Award—Vision Health, Finalist
• Swanson Pure Science Herbals, Pure Joint—Finalist 2018 SupplySide CPG Editor’s Choice Awards, Joint Health Supplement
Leadership & Culture
• CEO Katie Doyle, GOLD STEVE®WINNER Female Executive of the Year Consumer Products -11 to 2,500 Employees
• #23 Top 25 2018 Crain’s Best Places to Work in Chicago
• Top 50 Most Generous Workplaces—United Way
• 2018 Voted #1 in Nutritional Supplements category & #2 in Retail Health Foods category— LocalsLoveUs.com (Fargo, ND)
• Top Fundraiser, Cycle for Survival, raising nearly $40,000 for rare cancer research earlier this year
Swanson Experts Were Featured in Publications You Love
Swanson Health experts were featured in many articles across the web during 2018. Here are three from popular publications:
- Prevention Magazine: How to Save Hundreds of Calories at Thanksgiving Dinner—Amy Sunderman, MS, RD and Swanson Health's director of science and innovation, shares advice with Prevention readers for cutting calories during the holidays.
- POPSUGAR: 5 Parts of an Airplane to Avoid—Lindsey Toth, MS, RD and Swanson Health nutritionist gives advice to travelers for staying healthy while flying.
- Reader's Digest: Resolutions Experts Say to Never Make—Lindsey Toth, MS, RD and Swanson Health nutritionist shares smart advice for making New Year’s Resolutions that stick.
Here’s to an Amazing 2018 & an Exciting 2019
Thank you for making us such a big part of your wellness journey this past year. The last 50 years of simplifying wellness have all been for you. And stay tuned, because we have some really exciting things in store for 2019 to help you fight back against the perils of everyday life and support your wellness journey.
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About Lindsey Toth, MS, RD
Registered Dietitian, Swanson Health Products
Lindsey is a nationally recognized registered dietitian and nutritionist with a soft spot for ice cream. She empowers people to take charge of their health by finding the balance between the pleasure and nourishment in food.
Her philosophy is that you should take care of your body because it’s the only permanent home you have. It’s what inspired her to pursue a career in nutrition and, ultimately, led her to Swanson Health.
Sources
1 Short Sleep Duration Among Workers in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6116a2.htm (Accessed 01/05/2018)
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
