Peptides Are Exploding. Payments Isn’t Ready
Peptides Are Exploding. Payments Isn’t Ready. The Research-Peptide Market Is Growing Faster Than the Infrastructure Built to Underwrit...
A bodybuilding supplement is experiencing an unexpected transformation. Creatine, long associated with muscle gains and gym culture, has emerged as a brain health ingredient backed by growing scientific research and driven by podcast endorsements, pushing sales to $484 million in 2024.
Psychiatrist Mohamad Matour noticed the shift in his Palo Alto practice during winter 2021-2022. More patients were taking creatine to support brain health—not because he recommended it, but because Stanford neurobiology professor Andrew Huberman discussed the ingredient's cognitive benefits on his top-ranked Huberman Lab podcast. Joe Rogan takes it daily. So does Mel Robbins, founder of 143 Studios. When podcast influencers with massive reach converge on an ingredient, markets respond.
NBJ research forecasts that creatine sales will reach $545.6 million in 2025, up 12.7%. The Vitamin Shoppe's 2023 Trend Report revealed creatine sales jumped 120% year-over-year. Globally, sales will reach $4.21 billion through 2030 at a 25.2% growth rate, according to Grand View Research. NBJ Market Research Analyst Erika Craft reports seeing "a lot of interest for creatine in brain health supplements and also in the healthy aging and longevity space."
Our bodies naturally produce creatine from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine. We also consume it through meat, poultry, and fish. Creatine increases stores of phosphocreatine, a molecule that produces new adenosine triphosphate (ATP) during high-intensity exercise. ATP stores and delivers energy for nearly every biological process, from muscle contractions to brain activity.
The brain uses more than 20% of our body's energy despite comprising only 2% of body weight. This enormous energy demand makes creatine's role in ATP regeneration particularly relevant for cognitive function.
"I often explain to consumers that creatine acts like a rechargeable battery for brain cells," says Nicole Avena, chief science officer of BrainMD, maker of Smart Creatine+. "It helps buffer energy demands during mentally taxing tasks, whether that's decision-making, emotional regulation, or sustained attention."
Doug Kalman, co-founder of Substantiation Sciences, explains that creatine powers neuronal signaling and impacts mood states. "These brain bioenergetics are really important as related to cognitive function and mental health or mood states."
The genetic evidence is striking: people born with defects preventing creatine metabolism face brain damage and developmental disability, demonstrating how essential creatine is to brain function.
A 2024 meta-analysis of 16 studies published in Frontiers in Nutrition concluded that creatine supplementation may improve memory, attention, and information processing in adults.
A 2018 review of six randomized controlled trials in Experimental Gerontology found that creatine may improve short-term memory and intelligence in healthy individuals, with particular benefits for aging and stressed populations, including sleep-deprived people. Vegetarians and elderly individuals with lower baseline creatine levels showed improvements in certain aspects of memory.
A 2025 systematic review in Nutrition Reviews examining six studies of adults 55-plus found that current evidence suggests creatine may benefit cognition in generally healthy older adults, though researchers emphasized the need for further investigation.
Research indicates that when creatine is added to cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, patients show approximately 35% improvement in their reaction to therapy, according to Kalman. Preliminary research suggests it could help with depression symptoms by supporting brain energy and boosting neurotransmitter production.
A small study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that creatine, when combined with resistance training, supported sleep and cognition among peri- and post-menopausal women. One-third of postmenopausal women moved from scoring in the mild cognitive impairment range to within the normal range—a clinically meaningful shift.
"Our findings suggest that creatine may help stabilize sleep patterns and support cognitive resilience during hormonal transitions," says Lauren Hall, one of the study's authors.
A 2024 study in Scientific Reports found that a single high dose of creatine monohydrate could help counteract cognitive fog after a sleepless night, challenging the belief that creatine only takes effect after weeks of continued use.
The enthusiasm faces manufacturing hurdles. Creating creatine gummies has proven challenging because moisture and heat used in most gummy production can degrade creatine into creatinine. In 2024, NOW tested multiple creatine gummy brands and found approximately 46% failed to meet label claims. Another independent lab found four of six popular creatine gummy products sold on Amazon contained essentially no creatine.
"We're definitely seeing consumers very interested in creatine for cognitive health, and there's definitely compelling early science," says Afif Ghannoum, CEO of CPG Radar. "The challenge for brands is how do you tap into that without getting ahead of the science?"
Ghannoum warns that if consumers feel claims and formats aren't rigorously vetted, "you might lose them for good."
As creatine transitions from bodybuilding supplement to brain health ingredient, manufacturers face the challenge of developing stable formulations that deliver on label claims while avoiding messaging that outpaces the science. For supplement companies entering this expanding market, maintaining product integrity through rigorous testing, accurate labeling, and comprehensive quality documentation becomes essential infrastructure for capturing consumer trust in this emerging cognitive health category.
Ready to ensure your cognitive health formulations meet rigorous quality standards? Contact Qredible to learn how Q-Trust can help you maintain product integrity and build consumer confidence as you develop innovative brain health supplements.
Source: Rutberg, Shara. "Creatine emerges in brain health supported by mainstream science." SupplySide Supplement Journal, November 10, 2025.
