05-05-2025
Boots targets Gen Z with TikTok-inspired supplements range featuring 'trending' ingredients including lion's mane, ashwagandha and sea moss
Boots has launched a new TikTok-inspired wellness range, featuring 'trending ingredients' like lion's mane, ashwagandha, and sea moss.
The range, called HABI, features a mix of ingredients that promise to boost energy, provide calm or help people 'get in the zone and going with the flow'.
One is lion's mane – a large, white, shaggy medicinal mushroom.
It contains bioactive substances that are thought to have beneficial effects on the body – especially the brain, heart and gut.
The mushroom is regularly used both for cooking and medicine in Asian countries such as China, India, Japan and Korea.
However it has recently become popular in supplement form, with some TikTok users claiming it has 'freed' them from chronic anxiety, boosted their memory and improved their focus and sleep.
Ashwagandha, meanwhile, is an evergreen shrub that grows in Asia and Africa.
The roots and leaves of the plant have been turned into powders or extracts and used in traditional medicine for centuries and it is commonly promoted for stress and anxiety reduction.
The Boots ashwagandha supplement, called 'Zen', promises to 'find your calm and sense of tranquillity'.
Sea moss has also been hailed online as a supplement that supports digestion and can even help clear skin.
The company's sea moss supplement states: 'Enjoy the benefits of this nutrient packed gift from the ocean in a tasty gummy.
'Sea moss is naturally loaded with nutrients including riboflavin, calcium, magnesium, iodine, potassium and zinc, all known ingredients and loved by many.'
Joe Thorley-Mitchell, Director of Boots Brand, said: 'I'm excited to finally be able to reveal HABI, which puts good habits over hype.
'We wanted to create a wellness range that's as playful as it is effective, balancing quality formulations with bold unmissable packaging and playful, sensorial formats.'
Other supplements in the range include the popular ingredients apple cider vinegar and griffonia seeds.
They all feature fruity flavours and come in brightly-coloured packaging.
The company has also launched another range under the name 'Modern Chemistry' which are some of 'the most science-backed products' to date. They include another selection of supplements – also boasting ashwagandha and lion's mane – as well as skincare products to follow in the summer
While the supplements are now available online, a range of HABI skincare products will also launch in July.
These include 'zit zapper' spot stickers in bright colours – another trend that has taken off on TikTok.
The company has also launched another range – under the name 'Modern Chemistry' – which are some of 'the most science-backed products' to date.
They include another selection of supplements – also boasting ashwagandha and lion's mane – as well as skincare products to follow in the summer.
The launch will likely be welcomed by TikTokers - many of who already use these 'trending' ingredients.
Harry Thorn, a British online health coach, said in a TikTok video: 'I've been taking ashwagandha now for just over two months and here are my honest thoughts.
'The biggest effect I've personally seen has definitely been in regard to stress.
'Now, I'm just so relaxed, it's ridiculous.'
SHOULD YOU DRINK BEETROOT JUICE BEFORE EXERCISE?
Drinking beetroot juice before exercise could take years off your brain, research suggested in April 2017.
Combining the drink with exercise strengthens certain regions of the brain, making it appear more youthful and potentially preventing the organ's decline, a study found.
This finding could help people who are at risk of brain deterioration to remain functionally independent, such as those with a family history of dementia, according to the researchers.
Beetroot juice's power likely lies in its nitric-oxide content, with past research suggesting this both increases blood flow to the brain and improves exercise performance.
Study author Professor Jack Rejeski, from Wake Forest University, North Carolina said: 'Nitric oxide is a really powerful molecule. It goes to the areas of the body which are hypoxic, or needing oxygen, and the brain is a heavy feeder of oxygen in your body.
'Compared to exercise alone, adding a beetroot juice supplement to exercise resulted in brain connectivity that closely resembles what you see in younger adults.'
The researchers analysed 26 men and women aged 55 and over who did not exercise and had high blood pressure.
Some participants were given beetroot juice one hour before walking for 50 minutes on a treadmill, while others did the same exercise but without the drink. This was repeated three times a week for six weeks.
