Magnesium mania: Startups get to ride a new wellness craze. But is it all hype?

Magnesium supplements address several urban lifestyle issues such as lack of sleep, stress, muscle cramps, fatigue, and irritability. (iStock)
Magnesium supplements address several urban lifestyle issues such as lack of sleep, stress, muscle cramps, fatigue, and irritability. (iStock)

Summary

  • The market for magnesium supplements is surging as growing awareness of the mineral's health benefits drives demand. But are these products necessary for everyone?

For wellness and pharmaceutical startups in India, the magnesium craze is proving to be a magic elixir, even as doctors advise caution.

Healthcare platform Tata 1mg, online vitamins and supplements store HealthKart, pain relief and muscle recovery brand Hoop, and nutritional products startup Wellbeing Nutrition have been ramping up their lineup of magnesium products over the past year to meet growing demand.

The mineral, crucial in manufacturing products such as mobile phones and fireworks, is also a key dietary requirement for humans—an awareness that’s only recently been catching up with zinc.

The rapid growth in the market for magnesium supplements—gummies, capsules, lotions, and creams—is not due to a sudden rise in magnesium deficiency but to growing awareness about the mineral, startup executives and medical practitioners told Mint.

“Given a lot of international chatter about these minerals becoming the most critical things of how your body works, there’s been a major surge in demand," said Avnish Chabbria, founder of Wellbeing Nutrition, adding that the mineral addresses urban lifestyle issues such as lack of sleep, stress, muscle cramps, fatigue, and irritability.

Wellbeing Nutrition’s triple magnesium complex supplement that was launched about seven months ago already contributes 10-15% of its overall revenue, said Chabbria.

The startup, which also sells a zinc supplement, did not share its sales numbers but said it expects its retail business to grow by 2.5 times to ₹50 crore and its online business to jump 3 times to ₹130 crore in 2025-26.

The five-year-old Wellbeing Nutrition is also expanding its line of magnesium products to include bath salts, lotions, and creams.

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Magnesium deficiencies

Magnesium until recently didn’t have much of a presence in India’s nutritional supplements market, which zinc supplements dominate.

The rival mineral accounted for ₹133 crore in sales as of December, accounting for nearly half of India’s mineral supplements market of ₹305 crore, according to data provided by Pharmarack.

However, the market for magnesium supplements has been growing at a 50% compound annual growth rate over the last five years, from ₹8 crore moving annual total value in December 2020 to ₹42 crore in December 2024, according to the healthcare tech platform. (Moving annual total value refers to total sales over the previous 12 months.)

“Over the last year, we have seen a significant uptick in the demand for magnesium supplements, with the category growing 2x on our platform," said Ketan Bhatia, vice president, consumer brands, at Tata 1mg, which sells zinc, calcium, vitamin D3 and magnesium supplements, including its own brands.

Tata 1mg has also seen a 2.5 times growth in lab tests specifically for magnesium deficiency and an almost 6 times growth in lab tests for nutritional deficiencies including magnesium, Bhatia said.

“We attribute this remarkable growth to the increasing awareness of magnesium’s benefits, including its role in maintaining normal nerve and muscle function and regulating sleep—factors that have garnered widespread recognition in recent times," Bhatia said.

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The incidence of magnesium deficiency cases has increased recently, said Dr. Vaishali Lokhande, an internal medicine specialist at Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai. Magnesium deficiency “probably has always been there. It’s just that testing was not done that frequently, hence the data was not evident," she said, adding that more patients now ask for magnesium deficiency tests.

The increasing demand for magnesium supplements is also because of a cultural shift towards well-being and health.

“The definition of cool has changed… health is social currency today and individuals want to live a better life, a higher quality of life," said Shivam Hingorani, founder and CEO of Ace Blend.

The wellness startup launched magnesium capsules about four months ago and is already clocking monthly sales of about 40,000 units, Hingorani said.

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What the doctors say

“Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a crucial role in many bodily functions," said Dr. Divya Gopal, consultant–internal medicine, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai. These functions include heart health, bone health, muscle and nerve function, and depression and anxiety.

But Dr Gopal also pointed out that “while magnesium supplements are helpful to many, everyone does not necessarily need them".

“Most (of the magnesium) that we require is usually obtained from natural food sources… you shouldn’t start supplements unless you have documented a magnesium deficiency," Dr Lokhande added.

People with kidney ailments, in particular, should avoid high doses of magnesium, the doctors cautioned.

Although magnesium supplements can be easily bought at a pharmacy or online without a prescription, Dr. Gopal stressed that it was important to consult a physician on the requirement and dosage. Even for lotions and creams, it is best to get a doctor’s input on how much to apply, added Dr. Lokhande.

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