By the time a consumer’s favorite supplement reaches retail shelves, it has figuratively lived multiple lives. Most consumers don’t realize how delicate and comprehensive the infrastructure behind their preferred goods are. The network from raw material to final delivery is influenced by everything from resource availability to the geopolitical climate, and maintaining the integrity of the supply chain can mean the difference between a product that sells a few hundred units to one that completely dominates a market. To better understand current and emerging prospects and difficulties in supply chain operations, we asked field experts for an account of what to expect in 2026.

The cost of global uncertainty

Our industry heavily depends on the harmony of international relationships to produce and deliver the goods and services consumers seek, so tariffs have been one of the biggest points of contention. There is a keen focus on India, and in February, Len Monheit, CEO of Industry Transparency Center (ITC), discussed the impact of the Trump Administration announcing it had reached an agreement with the Indian government that resulted in a reduction of tariffs from 18% from 25%. In return, India said it would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the U.S. to zero while increasing purchases of U.S. commodities and goods. “The deal between the U.S. and India, if and when made formal, will provide much-needed stability and predictability to supply chains that rely heavily on imported ingredients, especially herbs and herbal extracts from India,” Monheit says. “Not only is India a buffer against Chinese supply unpredictability, but many Ayurvedic herbs and other ingredients are only available from Indian sources.”

Beyond the financial, the topic of tariffs has led to a bigger issue: lack of quality control. Companies have been forced to color outside the lines in order to keep the proverbial supply train moving. “The most pressing supply chain challenge facing our industry right now is the unpredictability of U.S. tariff policy. Announcements, reversals, and revisions have repeatedly disrupted sourcing strategies. At times this has completely flipped which country of origin offers the most competitive pricing. When brands are scrambling to find new suppliers in unfamiliar regions, vetting for quality can become more challenging,” explains Shaheen Majeed, Global CEO & Managing Director, Sabinsa. “Supply chain pressure always increases the risk of quality failings and ingredient adulteration, especially when changing to a lower-cost alternative. The burden isn’t only financial, it falls on the entire ecosystem of suppliers, brands, and ultimately consumers, who deserve assurance that what’s on the label is in the product.”

Tariffs are just the latest entry in a long list of challenges affecting our industry, adds Wilson Lau, President, Nuherbs. “Just since 2020, the industry has had to cope with extreme uncertainty from multiple sources, one after the other: the pandemic lockdown, the resulting shipping crisis, the tariff situation, climate change impact on growing cycles, and now war in the Middle East creating more shipping disruption and raising energy prices. The longer this war lasts, the more unforeseen ways that it can impact the herbal industry, ranging from cost of fertilizers, to shipping cost, to the unknown.”

Chase Johnson, VP of Operations, Arjuna Natural, agrees. “A very recent challenge is logistics with the conflict in Iran adding delays, cost pressure, and volatility. For a company like Arjuna Natural, many of these are actively managed through vertical integration, proprietary farming partnerships, and investing in robust quality systems, which is actually a meaningful competitive differentiator to our customers over a traditional distribution model.”

The highest price of these challenges has been paid by consumers, says AIDP Director of Food/Pet Food Ingredients Angel Aponte. With a lack of product inventory across the board, from supplements to pet products, the lack of international diplomacy has challenged the industry to fulfill the product needs of customers. Using the pet space as an example, Aponte explains: “When you layer in the civil unrest destabilizing key sourcing regions, the natural pet aisle is no longer just a retail space, it’s a global marketplace. For the first time in a decade, the challenge for the natural products industry isn’t just what is in the products, but if the products will even make it to the shelf. We are in a ‘strategic stall’ where the cost of securing clean-label proteins is hitting an all-time high, forcing retailers and manufacturers to choose between radical price hikes or total stockouts with no true timeline for relief.”

With difficulty comes opportunity

While the challenges of dealing with uncertainty has caused increased business strain and a hyperawareness of day-to-day affairs, companies like Nutriventia are embracing the trials as learning lessons and reasons to improve current business practices, according to Anand Godbole, Senior Vice President Nutriventia. “Geopolitical developments, tariff uncertainties, and regional conflicts can create temporary disruptions such as shipping delays or changes in logistics routes. The key for companies in our sector is agility: building resilient supply networks, maintaining strong supplier partnerships, and proactively adapting to evolving conditions.”

To help mitigate the negative effects of foreign affairs, brands have started migrating their operations towards U.S. soil. “Driven by dynamic tariffs that have made some imports cost prohibitive, some key partners have accelerated plans to transition or transitioned to U.S. based manufacturing,” shared Zak Benmerzouga, MS, MBA, Business Director, AIDP. “Domestic production helps or will help reduce both volatility and carbon footprint. This shift matches a major pivot in consumer demand as discovered by the Nutrition Business Journal. For the first time, ‘Made in the USA’ has overtaken ‘USDA Organic’ as the top priority for credibility-seeking consumers, with 48% vs. 35% of the 1,000 respondents in 2026.”

Doris Ip, Senior Marketing Manager, Layn Natural Ingredients, describes recent events with a voice of optimism for the windows it has forced open: “These challenges are creating opportunities to strengthen supply chain resilience. At Layn Natural Ingredients, we are diversifying our portfolio with both U.S.-made ingredients and expanded global sourcing. As a manufacturer-direct supplier, we can also offer long-term partnerships—such as multi-year contracts for ingredients like monk fruit—to help customers secure supply and stabilize pricing in a dynamic market.”

Shifting towards domestic production has allowed companies like BioVivo Science to address two recent challenges: product quality control and supply chain disturbances. “At BioVivo Science, we view these pressures not only as challenges, but as opportunities to rethink how supply chains are built. By integrating global botanical sourcing with U.S.-based manufacturing, we create a more agile and responsive supply network that helps brands mitigate disruption while maintaining rigorous quality control,” shares Chris Smith, Director of Strategic Operations & Supply Chain, BioVivo Science. “Our facility operates under cGMP and FSSC 22000 standards, supporting robust compliance, transparency, and product integrity. Equally important is the opportunity to diversify sourcing strategies. We are actively exploring native and domestically sourced botanicals, which can help strengthen regional supply ecosystems while reducing dependency on single-origin imports.”

The spike in demand for U.S.-manufactured products has also led to companies extending their lines. “Suppliers should be looking for opportunities to diversify, which Nuherbs is doing by expanding our offerings to include North American and Peruvian sourced herbs,” says Lau. “Close communication with customers, as well as anticipating their needs and providing solutions, has proven to be essential in navigating uncertainty and price pressure. Throughout these disruptions, Nuherbs has continued supplying our Organic and conventional herbal ingredients to the industry. With our Bespoke Extracts consulting program, we are helping clients develop new product formulas with custom-made herbal extracts that ensure efficacy and safety whatever the finished product format.”

For international customers, Nammex CEO Skye Chilton shared: “International markets are impacted by tariff costs if a company imports raw materials into the U.S. for processing or manufacturing. The Nammex headquarters are in Canada, but for many years we have shipped our materials to the U.S. for warehousing and order fulfillment. Consequently, we are in the planning process of finding order fulfillment solutions outside of the U.S. to be tariff-free for international customers.”

Another opportunity to meet top consumer priorities involves transparency and traceability. “Traceability is emerging as one of the most significant opportunities within the nutraceutical supply chain,” comments Godbole. “With advancements in digital systems and geo-tagging technologies, it is now possible to map the journey of botanical ingredients from their origin through processing to the final branded ingredient. We embed traceability within our quality management systems, enabling clear visibility from the extract stage through to the finished branded ingredient. This level of transparency is increasingly important for strengthening regulatory confidence and building consumer trust.”

The final word

Companies that have answered the wake up call from recent world events are the ones most adept at dealing with future threats. “The opportunity in all of this is a hard-earned lesson the industry should take seriously: Supplier relationships are not transactional commodities; they are strategic partnerships,” says Majeed. “Just in the last handful of years we have all navigated a global pandemic, shipping disruptions, geopolitical instability, and extreme weather events. The brands that have come through each of these challenges strongest are those who treated forecasting as a shared responsibility, kept communication open, and built genuine trust with their supply partners long before a crisis emerged. At Sabinsa, our investment in ethical sourcing, farmer training, rigorous quality infrastructure, and long-term planning exists precisely because we know the next disruption is not a question of if, but when. Deepening those partnerships is now the most practical form of supply chain resilience available to this industry.” WF