What is creatine monohydrate—and why is it suddenly everywhere?

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound made from amino acids. It’s stored primarily in skeletal muscle, where it helps regenerate ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the body’s immediate energy source during high-intensity activity. It’s also found naturally in foods like red meat and fish.

Creatine monohydrate is the most extensively studied and widely used supplemental form of creatine. Multiple position stands from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) describe it as the most effective form for increasing muscle creatine stores, improving high-intensity exercise performance, and supporting gains in lean body mass when combined with strength training.

Historically, creatine was marketed almost exclusively to athletes and bodybuilders wanting increase strength, power output and muscle gains. More recently, research and marketing have expanded to include things such as muscle preservation in perimenopause and menopause, exercise recovery, healthy aging, cognitive health and overall brain function, especially in the realm of women’s health.

While many studies include a loading phase of 20 grams per day divided into four doses for the first five to seven days, followed by a maintenance phase of three to five grams per day from then on, for consumers starting to use creatine don’t necessarily need a loading phase, as lower daily doses have also been found to increase muscle creatine stores over time.

Powder forms of creatine have been most common but as its popularity has grown we’ve seen it added as a functional ingredient to drinks, gummies, protein bars and even cookies. It’s also being combined with other functional ingredients. Even traditional creatine monohydrate powder is being packaged differently, into single-serving sticks and sachets to enhance convenience.

How creatine moved beyond sports nutrition

The overall creatine supplements market has expanded dramatically, pushing it into the mainstream wellness category. Grand View Research estimates estimates the global market at $1.37 billion in 2025, with projections reaching $8.68 billion by 2033. A 2025 review on creatine in women’s health noted that creatine sales increased approximately 120% from 2021 to 2022, with continued projected growth through 2030.

That’s a big shift for a category that was historically considered a niche sports nutrition product. Several trends appear to be driving the shift, including healthy aging (especially as it relates to preserving muscle mass, physical function and strength and supporting bone health), optimizing metabolism and body composition (through supporting lean muscle and exercise recovery) and promoting cognitive health.

Elizabeth Shaw, M.S., RDN, CPT, internationally-based nutrition authority and author, says, “Creatine can be a valuable supplement for women throughout the lifespan. Most people associate it with the literature that supports muscle health, strength and exercise recovery, but creatine is also important for brain function. Emerging research suggests it may help support cognition, mood, energy levels, and physical performance, making it particularly relevant during times of increased physiological demand, including various phases of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and midlife transitions.”

Shaw also points out that creatine is a well studied supplement with minimal side effects. “The side effects people most often talk about are bloating or mild digestive discomfort, especially during a creatine loading phase. In my experience, those issues are often reduced when people take a smaller, consistent daily dose rather than trying to load large amounts all at once.”

Creatine appears to be safe and well tolerated for most healthy adults, she adds, “but everyone's situation is unique, and anyone with a chronic health condition, particularly one involving kidney health, should discuss supplementation with their healthcare provider before getting started.”

How creatine brands are reinventing the category

For Lauren Rinaldi, founder and CEO of Arrival Creatine, her mother’s diagnosis of osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis, was a wake-up call. “I started looking into supplements she and I could take to maintain strength, and creatine kept coming up.” After doing a lot of research, she decided to buy some to try, but found that all of the packaging in the products she found on store shelves was very masculine (she recalls lots of black plastic tubs of creatine) and what was geared more towards women was overly sweet. “I wanted to make something that felt clean and premium that my mom, my friends and I would want to take.”

While Rinaldi and her research and development team played around with several formats, including gummies, they ultimately kept coming back to a powder form of creatine monohydrate, which was combined with dried organic blueberry powder to add a mild, pleasant flavor that’s not too sweet and a light pink color. “I knew this needed to be something that women wanted to take every day, as consistency is very important with creatine.” The powder form also was appealing because it made it easier to consistently provide a five gram dose. She notes that the decision to use glass jars was also an intentional step with the goal of promoting sustainability and reducing microplastics exposure.

While powders remain the most popular format, other companies have found creatine to serve as a complement to other functional ingredients in formats customers can chew.

For MOSH, founded by Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger, creatine was a natural addition to their high-protein bars, which launched in 2025. The bars also include the “brain blend” found in the brand’s original snack bars (a combination of Cognizin^® Citicoline, flax, omega-3s fatty acids, vitamin B12, vitamin D, lion’s mane and ashwagandha) but as designed to appeal to consumers who may be more active and seeking products that efficiently fuel the mind and body.

Sephora Noormand Rosenberg, head of brand marketing at MOSH, shares, “MOSH is about showing that your brain and body work together. We wanted to innovate and have a new ingredient included that has a tie-back to brain health, and it also has a tie-back to body health. Through our work with the Cleveland Clinic and the studies they’re running, we were seeing benefits of creatine on brain health, and the 20-gram protein bar felt like the way in for creatine.”

Once they’d decided to include creatine, the brand spent a lot of time getting the product just right, Noormand Rosenberg shares. “We intentionally chose a creatine brand that doesn’t have an effect on the taste or texture. We know that a shopper or consumer won’t come back for more if it doesn’t taste good.”

“Heatlhy” cookies have been in the functional snack space for some time, but best friends Ashley Fields and Kim Anderson, co-founders of Fields Good, noticed a lack of functional food products that actually taste good, so they set out to create a cookie that delivers benefits without sacrificing taste. “I grew up learning to bake and cook and started thinking about how to make cookies do more for you,” says Fields. The cookie format was especially appearling, she adds, because it’s something consumers are already familiar with. “You don’t have to show people how to use them.”

They wanted to make sure the customer fell in love with the taste of the cookie first, she explains, “Then we started thinking, what are the clinically relevant doses that can go in this? This needs to taste like the best soft baked cookie in a packaged format you can have, and it has to make you feel something.”

The development process required a lot of trial and error as they developed the three core flavors they launched with, including a mocha Focus Cookie, which includes 250 milligrams of Cognizin citicoline and three grams of creatine monohydrate.

“I tried to pack five grams of creatine, as that’s the standard dose, into the cookie size I wanted and I just couldn’t do it and still make the cookie taste good,” recalls Fields. “So I did research to look for the minimum dose that could do something for cellular regeneration and three grams is still a meaningful dose.” The company does third party testing to ensure that what is on the label is what’s in the cookie, she adds.

Reframing creatine for women

While traditional messaging around creatine has been about building muscle, many companies, recognizing that women are fearful of “bulking up” and may not be aware of the benefits of creatine, have been highlighting its effects beyond promoting muscle mass. While “creatine for women” is not, inherently, an actual thing, marketing creatine to women certainly is.

When developing Arrival, Rinaldi wanted to make sure that the way creatine was talked about was just as evolved as the product itself. “As women, we are inundated with messaging about how our bodies should look, and there is a lot of messaging right now about being as small as possible. Arrival is about strength and energy and feeling capable in your body and not just chasing another impossible standard. We’re not here to prey on women’s insecurities and make them feel that they have to fix or change themselves.” The company’s website shares resources like links to studies, and they are planning to expand to hosting educational events.

Noormand Rosenberg shares that while the typical MOSH customer is already interested in brain health, with the high-protein bars with creatine, it was important to address some of the common misconceptions about creatine. “Our target audience is women, and they are worried about breaking out, bloating, and getting bulky. As a brand, we’re willing to push the boundaries and tell you that creatine isn’t just for the gym-bro—It’s also for the 40+ woman who’s taking an active walk or doing Pilates. It’s our opportunity to continue to educate the customer on taking care of their brain and body.”

Anderson explains that it was a very intentional decision to let Fields Good cookies still be cookies rather than aggressively trying to “healthify” them by removing everything that makes a baked good enjoyable. “We exist in this fun space where we’re functional and fun,” she says. “We do have functional ingredients but we do use real sugar and real butter. We didn’t want to remove the joy. This is for when you want a treat that also happens to have some benefits.”

Considering creatine? Start here.

The rapid growth of the creatine category reflects more than just interest in a supplement. It highlights a broader shift in how consumers—especially women—are thinking about their health, fitness and aging. Rather than pursuing quick fixes, many are seeking ways to support strength, energy, cognitive health and long-term wellbeing.

For those who choose to use creatine, Shaw says, “For most healthy, active women, I typically recommend three to five grams of creatine monohydrate per day. At that dose, there's generally no need for a loading phase, which keeps the routine simple and sustainable.”

And as to whether there is one form that is best, she shares, “The most effective form is the one you'll remember to take consistently.” She also recommends doing some research before purchasing a creatine supplement. “Look for brands that undergo third-party testing to verify quality, purity, and label accuracy. Third-party certification helps ensure that what's listed on the label is actually what's in the product. Trusted certifications to look for include NSF Certified for Sport, NSF, and the USP verified mark.”

Whether it appears in a traditional powder, a gummy, a protein bar or a functional snack, creatine's appeal ultimately comes down to a strong—and growing—body of research on its relevance to overall health. As companies continue to innovate with new formats and messaging, creatine appears poised to remain a prominent part of the wellness landscape, especially for women.