As part of Nutraceuticals World’s 2026 State of the Industry review, Elan Sudberg, CEO of Alkemist Labs, considers the industry’s evolution toward higher transparency and scientific rigor. He points to MAHA’s influence, advances in testing and enforcement, and the integration of AI as key forces driving today’s supplement market.

Over the last 12 months, the dietary supplement industry has been quietly reorganizing its DNA. Several threads deserve front-burner attention. 

First, the slow-moving moonshots of the MAHA movement — long dismissed as fringe — are starting to hum at a frequency our well-regulated, safe, and mostly tested industry can’t ignore. As MAHA pressures big food, big agriculture, and big pharma to make seismic shifts toward safer products, we’re seeing the earliest signs of a cultural turn from “trust the science” to “we’re noticing more and doing our own research.” It isn’t fast, but hyphae aren’t fast either; they knit the underground first, then change the forest. 

Second, quality has stepped out of the closet. AG1 is a standout moving the conversation “What’s in here and how do you know?” from fine print to front page. That sets a new baseline. If a mainstream brand can show its quality playbook without flinching, what’s everyone else’s excuse? 

Third, gummies remain a double-edged sword. Consumers can’t get enough — which is great for access and adherence — but the format tests our manufacturing and analytical limits daily. Potency drift, active stability, and sugar-coating (sometimes metaphorical, sometimes literal) keep QC teams busy.  

Meanwhile, Amazon’s Big TIC (testing, inspection, certification) program aims for uplift, but recent third-party checks — like those from NOW Foods — suggest the engine still misfires. When enforcement is inconsistent, bad actors learn to speed through the yellow oleander lights. Until the best labs are used, verification is more rigorous, routine, and backed by real consequences, programs risk becoming signage rather than safeguards. 

What’s ahead? Expect AI to move from novelty to necessary, especially in formulation. Winners won’t “replace” R&D with AI; they’ll embed it as a copilot — accelerating literature reviews and narrowing ingredient sets. 

Also expect more FDA inspections and — importantly — clearer 483s and warning letters. Not a “gotcha” era, but a cleaner one where outliers are nudged (or yanked) to the center, raising the industry’s average and giving responsible brands room to compete on merit. 

Trade associations see the same tea leaves. Collaboration is ticking up and shrinking the gray zones where mistakes — and mischief — thrive. 

And yes, the shroom boom continues: more functional fungi beyond capsules — beverages, chews, culinary forms — with tighter specs for actives and better mycelium-fruiting body differentiation. The hyphae are still threading, but the fruiting bodies — credible standards, transparent quality stories, and smarter tech — are about to pop. 

Net-net: MAHA-style accountability, public-facing quality, marketplace enforcement that actually enforces, and AI-boosted R&D will define the next chapter. If we do this right, the next 12 months will taste like gummies, run like software, and test like science.