There was a time, especially in ’90s and early 2000s, when you couldn’t walk through a department store without getting a whiff of Beyoncé, Paris Hilton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Aliyah, 50 Cent, David Beckham, Michael Jordan, or Faith Hill. (Or, before that, the godmother of celebrity fragrances, Elizabeth Taylor.) Supplements go one step further, selling consumers on the possibility of transubstantiation, the idea that you could literally ingest some part of your favorite singer, actor, or athlete, and be saved from your bad skin, bad mood, or lack of chill.

There’s definitely an element of faith involved when it comes to what either a fragrance or supplement can do . . . and big financial gains to be made. The U.S. supplements industry has an average profit margin of 38%, while the perfume industry generates similarly high margins for manufacturers (estimates range from 15 to 90% depending on the cost of ingredients). And because supplements are taken every day, they are—even more than perfume—a replenishment business, with a steady stream of income possible through subscription programs.

And there’s never been a better time to launch a supplement line. During the COVID-19 pandemic, scores of customers began purchasing supplements claiming to boost immunity, especially as mistrust in traditional medicine swelled (see the so-called anti-vax movement). The vitamin and supplement industry is a $40 billion market that’s only growing, expanding at a rate of 1.0% per year on average between 2018 and 2023. Peddling cure-alls to susceptible people on social media has never been easier, and the cost of selling direct-to-consumer is low compared to running a brick and mortar business.

Plus, supplements are a lot easier to sell online than perfumes, which people typically want to smell before purchasing. Today, the size of the supplement industry dwarfs the U.S. perfume market, which is at roughly $3.5 billion in 2023.

Having a supplement line can often make celebrities’ other endorsements or business ventures seem a little incongruous. Kate Hudson has said that she seeks to “democratize wellness” through her nutritional powders (InBloom), sportswear (Fabletics), and . . . vodka (Kin St. Vodka). But does anyone notice? When I added Alba’s pills to my cart, I just wanted to feel good. Then again, being tired when the alarm clock rings, feeling sad when you’re up alone at midnight, or getting stressed about a mortgage payment, are all, a lot of the time, just part of the human condition. No pill can change that.

Today, consumers may be wising up. The Dream podcast host Jane Marie points to the recent trend of de-influencing, where users on TikTok or Instagram post about heavily-promoted products that they actually dislike as a sign that people are getting savvier and may not fall for heavy social-media marketing down the line. These “de-influencing” posts tend to be about skincare and makeup rather than supplements, perhaps because it’s harder to demonstrate that a supplement doesn’t work; it can take a while to yield results, and users may see results from the placebo effect. “There’s nothing wrong with the placebo effect,” Marie says. “It’s wonderful. And if you take a bunch of Goop pills and they make you feel better because of the placebo effect”—and don’t cause any adverse effects —“that’s great. I just feel bad that a celebrity like Gwyneth Paltrow might be making a lot of money from selling you trash.”