Consumers often notice prices creeping up on everyday health products, and multivitamin tablets are no exception. If you’ve been wondering why Nutrabuff multivitamin and multimineral tablets (and similar brands) cost noticeably more in 2026, there isn’t one single cause it’s a stack of industry-wide and company-specific factors that add up.

Raw-material inflation and volatile ingredient markets

Vitamins, minerals and specialty ingredients are the core inputs. Global vitamin markets experienced a rebound in price during 2024–2025 after earlier lows, driven by supply disruptions, production force-majeure events at key producers, and shifts in manufacturing capacity. Prices for ingredients such as vitamin D3, some B-vitamins and provitamins rose, which directly increases the cost to formulate a multivitamin. When several active ingredients rise together, the unit raw-material cost for a finished tablet can move substantially.

Stricter regulation and higher compliance/testing costs

India’s food-safety regulator (FSSAI) has been tightening requirements for nutraceuticals and health-supplement claims. From 2026, new product claims must be backed by scientific evidence and expert review; compliance now often requires lab studies, stability testing, safety dossiers, and third-party verification. These regulatory steps raise up-front costs (R&D, testing) and ongoing costs (batch testing, documentation) that brands must recover through pricing. Smaller or newer producers feel these costs proportionally more than large incumbents.

Impact: One-time certification and ongoing quality assurance can add materially to per-unit costs — especially for small-batch or premium formulations.

Packaging, sustainability and premium presentation

Consumers increasingly expect eco-friendly, tamper-evident and attractive packaging (child-proof seals, recyclable containers, printed leaflets). Sustainable materials, printed cartons with high-quality finishes, and serialization for anti-counterfeiting are costlier than the cheapest packaging options. Nutribuff positions parts of their line as premium; that positioning often means better packaging and therefore higher cost. (You can see Nutrabuff premium pricing on their product pages.) Impact: Packaging can add 5–20% to the cost of a finished product depending on materials and design.

Manufacturing, energy and labour costs

Even when ingredient costs stabilize, manufacturing costs (electricity, fuel, wages, maintenance) fluctuate. India’s manufacturing input indices and WPI show periods of cost movement across primary and manufactured goods. When energy or labour costs rise, tablet compression, coating, and packaging costs increase too. Manufacturers sometimes pass these costs to brand owners, who then adjust retail pricing.

Impact: Higher factory operating costs raise per-tablet production costs — particularly for brands that maintain domestic manufacturing with higher compliance/quality standards.

Logistics, freight, and global supply-chain strain

Many vitamins or intermediates are imported or travel through long supply chains. Ocean freight rates, air freights, container shortages, port congestion and currency swings (INR vs USD) affect landed cost. Even small percentage increases in freight and import duties add up because ingredient shipments are large and infrequent. Global supply pressures in related industries (chemicals, packaging) also ripple through.

Impact: Freight and customs can change landed ingredient costs by several percent a meaningful increase for tight-margin supplements.

Taxes, tariffs and classification changes (GST / HSN effects)

Classification of nutraceuticals, HSN codes and applicable GST rates influence price. India’s GST framework has undergone revisions and reclassification efforts that can change effective tax rates or compliance burdens for certain product groups. If a product’s tax slab changes or the compliance to qualify for a lower slab becomes stricter, that adds a direct increase in consumer price.

Impact: A change in tax slab (e.g., from 5% to 12% or other slab shifts) will be passed to consumers immediately.

Product enhancements and formulation complexity

Brands frequently reformulate to add value: higher-potency forms, bioavailable chelated minerals, probiotics, botanical extracts, or clinically validated doses. These superior ingredients cost more. Nutrabuff and other brands offering “advanced” multivitamins (targeted blends, added botanicals or probiotics) will therefore have higher per-unit costs than basic multivitamins. Consumers pay for the extra efficacy or differentiation.

Impact: Upgrading a formulation can double or triple the cost of certain ingredients (e.g., switching to a branded, clinically tested extract).

Brand, marketing, distribution and retailer margins

Price isn’t only cost; it’s also positioning. Marketing (ads, influencer partnerships, doctor endorsements), e-commerce platform fees and retail margins contribute. Online marketplaces and brick-and-mortar pharmacies add commissions and logistics fees. Nutrabuff’s pricing on their own site and on marketplaces reflects both cost and the margin needed to fund marketing and distribution.

Impact: Marketing and distribution can add 20–40% (or more) to the manufacturer’s ex-factory price before the final retail markup.

Quality control, third-party certification and liability insurance

Good manufacturing practice (GMP) certification, third-party lab testing (to confirm content, absence of contaminants) and product liability insurance are not optional for reputable brands. These safeguards cost money and are especially necessary after regulators tighten standards and consumers demand transparency. Brands that invest here charge more, but customers receive safer, more reliable products.

Impact: These costs are largely fixed or semi-fixed, so they add more to per-unit cost at low production volumes.

Currency movements and international policy shifts

When raw materials are priced in dollars or sourced from overseas, INR depreciation raises local costs. In 2024–2025 there were periods of exchange-rate movement and tariff chatter that influenced input prices. Trade policy shifts (e.g., tariffs or preferential duties) can suddenly change import costs.

Impact: Currency swings can create step changes in landed costs that firms must immediately reflect in prices or accept narrower margins.

Market dynamics and demand pressures

The overall supplements market continues to grow (rising demand for preventive health, personalized nutrition and specialty supplements). Strong demand allows brands to maintain higher price points; conversely, in a congested market brands may invest more in differentiation and quality (which costs more). Market reports show sustained growth and premiumization in 2025–2026.

Impact: Growing demand can sustain higher prices, especially for trusted or differentiated brands.

Economies of scale (or lack thereof)

Large multinational supplement manufacturers enjoy scale advantages (bulk buying, multiple plants, global sourcing). Smaller domestic players or brands that insist on local sourcing, small-batch production, or premium ingredients won’t get the same cost benefits — their per-unit cost will be higher. Nutrabuff appears to position parts of its line as premium/niche, which reduces scale economies.

Impact: Smaller scale = higher per-unit costs. This is why generic mass-market tablets are cheaper than branded premium blends.

Anti-counterfeit, serialization and traceability investments

To protect consumers and brand equity, companies integrate QR codes, batch traceability and serialization systems. These IT, printing and process controls add costs across the supply chain. Regulators and marketplaces increasingly demand traceability for supplements.

Impact: Traceability is an ongoing operating cost that slowly pushes prices up.

Putting the pieces together an illustrative cost waterfall

Below is a simplified, conceptual example of how costs can stack (numbers illustrative):

• Raw ingredients: 30–40% of manufacturing cost (rising 10–30% depending on ingredient mix)
• Manufacturing + energy + labour: 20–30%
• Packaging + labeling + traceability: 8–15%
• Testing / regulatory compliance amortized per batch: 5–10%
• Freight / customs / duty: 3–8%
• Marketing / distribution / retailer margin: 20–40%
• Taxes (GST) and company margin: variable

Because many of these components rose in 2024–2025 (ingredient rebound, regulatory tightening, freight volatility), the combined effect in 2026 is a noticeable retail price increase compared with pre-2024 levels. Industry and government reports confirm both rising input costs in some ingredient categories and stronger regulatory activity both key drivers.

Why Nutrabuff specifically may look expensive compared with commodity products?

1. Premium formulation — If Nutrabuff uses clinically dosed or branded ingredients, its input costs will be higher.
2. Smaller production batches — niche runs mean less buying power and higher per-tablet unit costs.
3. Higher compliance and testing — FSSAI’s stricter regime makes brands invest more in evidence and testing, which costs money.
4. Positioning and marketing — premium brand messaging and omnichannel presence (direct + marketplace + retail) mean higher marketing spend and platform fees.

What consumers can do? (practical tips)

• Compare ingredient lists (not just “multivitamin”) — check forms (e.g., D3 as cholecalciferol, chelated minerals), dosages and presence of added botanicals. Paying more for better, bioavailable forms can be justified.
• Look for third-party test results (consumer assurance that content matches label). This explains part of the price.
• Buy from brand stores or authorized sellers — avoids counterfeit/grey-market cheaper options that risk safety.
• Buy larger packs if you use the product long-term — per-tablet price often falls with bulk.
• Check for offers — retailers and brand sites sometimes run promotions that narrow the gap. (Example: observed Nutrabuff listings show pricing in the ₹1,100 range on official and marketplace pages; discounts may appear periodically.)

Final summary — price reflects many realities, not just “profit-taking”

The higher price of Nutrabuff multivitamin and mineral tablets in 2026 is the result of multiple cumulative forces: rebounding ingredient costs, tightened regulation and testing requirements, packaging and traceability investments, energy and manufacturing costs, freight and currency effects, and normal brand/retailer margins. Market growth and product premiumization mean brands are also investing more in R&D, quality assurance and marketing — all legitimate costs that are ultimately reflected in the retail price. Reliable sources across industry reports, regulatory announcements and product listings confirm these trends.