Key takeaways:
- Emerging wellness trends such as fiber maxxing, liver health and GLP-1 support are moving quickly from social media into retail demand, requiring retailers to help customers evaluate what’s worth their attention.
- The Vitamin Shoppe is deploying AI tools to give store associates faster access to science-backed product information, aiming to improve the quality of in-store customer guidance.
- Gen Z and Boomer shoppers approach wellness with different motivations, creating a need for retailers to tailor education and product assortments across age groups.
Wellness trends are moving faster than ever, and for retailers, the pressure to keep pace is real. The Vitamin Shoppe CEO Sharon Leite sat down with Kate Robertson, Editor-in-Chief of Retail TouchPoints, on the Retail Remix podcast to discuss the findings from the company’s 2026 Health & Wellness Trend Report and what those findings mean for how the retailer serves its customers.
The conversation covered a range of topics: which trends are gaining traction, how The Vitamin Shoppe vets them, and why trust has become one of the most consequential factors in the wellness retail space.
Trends Gaining Ground
The report identifies several emerging areas that are generating significant consumer interest, such as fiber maxxing, which refers to a focused effort to increase dietary fiber intake, liver health, as well as support for the growing numbers of GLP-1 users.
Leite noted that The Vitamin Shoppe tracks these trends partly through social media, which she described as an early indicator of where consumer interest is heading.
“We’re seeing a lot of consumer interest coming through social channels,” Leite said. “It helps us understand what people are curious about and where they’re starting to ask questions.”
The challenge, she said, isn’t just identifying what’s trending. It’s helping customers figure out what’s worth acting on. “Not everything that trends is going to have staying power,” Leite said. “Part of our job is to help customers understand what’s backed by science and what might just be a moment.”
Using AI to Support Store Associates
One of the more operationally specific topics in the conversation was how The Vitamin Shoppe is using AI to equip its store associates. Leite described a tool the company has implemented that gives associates faster access to research and product information, allowing them to have more informed conversations with customers on the floor.
“We want our associates to be the most knowledgeable people in the room,” Leite said. “AI helps them get to information faster so they can actually help the customer standing in front of them.”
The company refers to its store associates as Health Enthusiasts, a designation that reflects the expectation that they bring genuine wellness knowledge to customer interactions. Leite said the AI investment is a way to support that role rather than replace it.
Generational Differences in Wellness Priorities
The interview also covered how wellness motivations differ across age groups. Leite described what she called “health FOMO” among younger consumers, particularly Gen Z, who are more likely to be driven by what they see on social media and a fear of missing out on the latest health developments.
Boomer shoppers, by contrast, tend to be focused on healthy aging. Their concerns center on maintaining mobility, cognitive function and overall vitality.
“They’re not chasing trends,” Leite said. “They’re looking for what’s going to help them feel good and stay active.”
That distinction has practical implications for how The Vitamin Shoppe approaches product assortment and customer education across its stores and digital channels.
Credibility as a Differentiator
Throughout the conversation, Leite returned repeatedly to the topic of trust. The Vitamin Shoppe is approaching its 50th year in business, and Leite pointed to that history as something the company sees as a genuine competitive asset in a category where the landscape of available products is crowded and consumers don’t always know what to believe.
“Anybody can put a label on a product,” Leite said. “The question is whether the customer can trust what’s inside it, and whether the person helping them actually knows what they’re talking about.”
She noted that The Vitamin Shoppe’s approach to product curation is intended to address that concern directly. The company doesn’t carry every product that comes to market. It vets what it stocks, and Leite said that curatorial responsibility is something the company takes seriously as part of its positioning.
The broader implication she drew was that in wellness retail, credibility isn’t just a brand attribute. It’s a practical necessity at a moment when consumers are making decisions that affect their health.
