Between 2023 and 2024, the US market size for greens nearly doubled from $112m to $209m and, at the mid-point in 2025, total sales have already exceeded the previous year to reach $222m.i With growth attributable to new flavour launches from leading brands, manufacturers are seeking to diversity and innovate in this booming market.

This global surge is being driven by health-conscious individuals seeking convenience in their holistic approach to nutrition, using ready-to-mix (RTM) powdered supplements to bolster their vitamin and mineral intake. Based on green superfoods, such as kale, spinach, matcha and spirulina, greens ‘hero’ ingredients are associated with health and wellness benefits such as high energy, immune system support and detoxification.

What the data tells us

Introductions of greens powder supplements have nearly doubled since 2022, and last year alone saw 34 new products enter the market.ii Data collected by Synergy Flavours corroborates the category’s growth, with 343% more greens product reviews published from 2023 to 2024.iii

Taste is a key product attribute in perceived quality and in driving repeat purchase decisions.

Counter-intuitively, by far the most popular ‘flavouring’ for RTM greens is, in fact, unflavoured. Unflavoured and original varieties account for 54% of reviews in this category. Research conducted by Nutrition Integrated identified that 21% of greens products state they are unflavoured on front-of-pack, whilst listing flavourings in their ingredients statement.iv

Creating a great tasting ‘unflavoured’ product

Greens products positioned as unflavoured may be using taste modulation to mask undesirable notes from the greens base. Products containing flavour on back of pack typically receive better reviews: nearly 80% of ‘plain,’ ‘unflavoured,’ or ‘original’ products that utilise taste modulation received 5-star reviews, compared to around half of all truly unflavoured greens products.

This clear correlation between a flavour-balanced greens base and higher product reviews shows the opportunity that taste modulation presents in solving the taste challenges with unflavoured greens.

As well as neutralising the base, manufacturers can add new flavours to expand appeal. According to data commissioned by Synergy from SPINS, Watermelon, Strawberry Kiwi and

Pineapple are the fastest growing flavour varieties on the market, each accounting for more than $5 million USD in purchases.v

The Synergy ‘Paired to Perfection’ approach

Manufacturers entering the market or diversifying their range need to overcome the taste challenges present in greens powder bases. Synergy Flavours offers a Paired to Perfection approach based on molecular analysis technology.

Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), Synergy’s flavour experts identify flavour compounds responsible for specific aromas and flavours. Strong flavours are assigned as key aroma compounds and identified using a variety of techniques including chromatogram, retention times, odour descriptions and selected ion monitoring. The resulting data enables undesirable taste characteristics within the base to be targeted and masked. Once a neutral base is achieved, the Synergy approach selects new flavours chemically suited to pair well with the balanced base.

Synergy’s analysis showed dozens of potential flavour pairings including berries, tropical flavours and even coffee flavours. One particularly promising pairing was black tea, which shared six of the same key aroma compounds as the greens base.

Applications developments confirmed this concept, with peach tea and ginger tea in particular masking some of the more challenging off-notes from the base whilst retaining some of the positive characteristic notes from the greens.

Industry growth and taste modulation

As the RTM greens powder market continues to grow at a 7.9% CAGR between 2023 and 2030,vi demand for taste modulated, flavoured and unflavoured greens present strong opportunities to innovate with product varieties that meet consumer expectations – and drive sales. Synergy Flavours offer solutions to help solve the taste challenges common to greens powder portfolios.

Contact us to learn more about our taste modulation solutions

References

i Data commissioned by Synergy from SPINS, https://www.spins.com/

ii ANIE Platform accessed via Nutrition Integrated, https://www.nutritionintegrated.com/

iii Synergy proprietary research based on Amazon review data

iv Nutrition Integrated proprietary research, https://www.nutritionintegrated.com/

v Data commissioned by Synergy from SPINS, https://www.spins.com/

vi Greens Powder Market Key Companies and SWOT Analysis by 2030, The Insight Partners, 2023. Accessed 30 September 2025. https://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/greens-powders-market

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