UK Supplement Trends — April 2026: energy and beauty tilt

Part of The Formulation Index, Supplement Factory’s monthly read on what UK brands are actually briefing us to make.

April brought a clear seasonal tilt toward energy and beauty as the market began preparing for summer. The vitamin base stayed high, with Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6 both at 56% and Vitamin D3 at 51%, but the character of the month came from two functional themes stepping forward together.

Ingredient in focus: Caffeine

Caffeine featured in 44% of all quotes, one of its strongest months, anchoring a clear energy theme with Taurine close behind at 27%. As the days lengthen and activity picks up, the energy category, pre-workouts, daytime focus blends and “clean energy” formulas, moves into gear, and Caffeine is its workhorse. Increasingly it is paired with L-Theanine to smooth the experience, a sign of a more sophisticated approach to energy than the stimulant-only products of a few years ago. April’s numbers mark the start of the energy season.

What else moved

Beauty stepped up alongside energy. Hyaluronic Acid reached 29% and Biotin 49%, the skin-and-hair actives gaining as consumers begin preparing for summer well in advance. It is the same pattern seen across the year: demand for a season is committed months before that season arrives.

What it means for brands

April is a planning signal for summer. The energy and beauty products that sell in June and July are briefed in the spring, so the tilt visible now is your window to act. If you are considering an energy formula, the market is moving toward the smarter, better-tolerated combinations, Caffeine with L-Theanine, rather than stimulants alone. And if beauty is your space, the run-up to summer is when to be in production, not in planning.

The energy tilt set the tone, but in May the market’s defining active reasserted itself.

The Formulation Index is built from Supplement Factory’s own formulation quotes, actives only, each ingredient counted once per quote. Explore the live Index →