From “Taking” to “Experiencing”: How New Formats Are Reshaping Japan’s Supplement Market

Mintel Most Innovative (MMI) awards recognize groundbreaking product innovations that reflect evolving consumer needs and signal the future direction of markets worldwide. One of the 2026 winners, IN MIST, is a vitamin supplement developed in Japan that exemplifies how shifting consumer needs are pushing brands to rethink supplement formats and drive a new wave of innovation in how vitamins are delivered and experienced.

Traditionally, supplements have been consumed in the form of large tablets taken with water. However, IN MIST challenges this convention.

The product was born from a simple but critical insight from its developer. Mr. Osada from Zero One Booster reveals the starting point of this innovation:

“Even if you take a large amount of vitamins at once, much of it is simply excreted. We believed it would be more effective to take smaller amounts more frequently.”

This insight led to the development of a mist-based delivery format, representing a new direction for vitamin delivery in Japan and beyond. The team also focused on ingredient stability:

“Vitamins degrade quickly when exposed to air, so we needed a format that would allow consumption without air exposure.”

As a result, IN MIST adopted an aerosol container to protect vitamins from air exposure while enabling quick intake. This format remains unusual in the VMS category and reinforces the product’s innovation in both delivery and design.

Megan Staton, Mintel’s Director of Food and Drink Insight APAC, highlights the relevance of this innovation:

This shift from tablets to mist speaks directly to a key challenge in Japan’s supplement market by making vitamin intake feel less like a daily task and more like a simple, repeatable habit.

Japan’s vitamin and supplement market continues to expand, driven by an aging population, rising health awareness, and increasingly busy lifestyles that demand convenient nutrition solutions.

At the same time, supplement usage remains relatively low compared to Western markets. Only around 39% of Japanese consumers report using supplements, compared with 82% in the UK and 94% in the US, and just 23% use vitamins and minerals. This gap highlights a clear opportunity for brands to drive adoption. Japan is a market where growth and untapped demand coexist.

One of the most important factors shaping future growth is not just demand, but barriers to usage in Japan. Among non-users, alongside price and skepticism about effectiveness, a major barrier is simply that taking supplements feels like a hassle. This is particularly evident among consumers under 40, suggesting that busy lifestyles make it difficult to maintain supplement routines.

Interestingly, younger women between 18 to 29 in Japan are less likely to cite this as a barrier, possibly due to the popularity of more accessible formats such as gummy supplements. In other words, beyond efficacy, the ability to integrate seamlessly into daily life is becoming a key success factor.  In addition, the value sought by consumers differs by generation.

Against the backdrop of these usage barriers, Japan’s supplement market is seeing greater personalization and multifunctionality, with consumer needs becoming increasingly segmented. These trends reflect a broader shift: the question is no longer just what consumers take, but how products fit into their everyday lives. These trends reflect a broader shift: the question is no longer just what consumers take, but how products fit into their everyday lives.

From this perspective, IN MIST’s mist-based format represents a meaningful step forward, enabling instant intake and seamless integration into daily routines.

Reflecting on winning the MMI award, the developer, Mr. Osada, commented:

“We are honored to have our product recognized as innovative. We hope this award will support our expansion into global markets.”

Winning an MMI award does more than recognize innovation; it signals which products are setting the pace for category growth.

By earning recognition on a platform followed closely by buyers, brands, and decision-makers around the world, winning an MMI award help brands elevate brand visibility and strengthen credibility at key moments of expansion. At Mintel, our mission is to make the world’s most innovative products and emerging trends visible, helping businesses identify new opportunities for growth.

What IN MIST demonstrates is that rethinking established conventions can unlock new market opportunities.

So, what other innovations are emerging around the world? And what implications might they hold for the Japanese market? Our MMI 2026 winners report showcases a wide range of innovative new products from around the world, selected through this lens.

Download the MMI 2026 Winners Showcase today to discover the innovations shaping global markets and turn them into inspiration for your next product development and market strategy decisions.