The occasion held in Vienna final month opened with a session targeted on how manufacturers can place even extremely particular merchandise by contemplating the broader life-style of the patron.
Take heed to the TikTok era
Dr. Mark Evans, senior scientist at Holland and Barrett, highlighted a number of key alternatives within the lively diet market, together with the significance of the affect of social media on Gen Z, with platforms like TikTok providing focused communication.
There is a chance to innovate in product codecs for youthful generations who’re “social-first, trend-driven, extremely visible,” he stated.
“You recognize, while you’re scrolling by means of TikTok, you come throughout numerous content material, and it’s overwhelming at instances. What we’re seeing is that Gen Z doesn’t essentially like how conventional manufacturers current themselves on these platforms, that means extremely polished, scripted content material.”
He cited the instance of working with a well known sports activities diet model and involving a revered educational to debate the product in social media posts. Nonetheless, the marketing campaign failed to attach with the meant viewers.
“We had been discussing a protein drink combine and attempting to coach customers, however the suggestions we received was that it felt robotic, scripted and albeit, inauthentic,” he stated.
As an alternative, what Dr. Evans sees working is content material that truly resonates and doesn’t seem polished, which is uncooked, direct, and attention-grabbing, akin to ‘myth-busting’ or ‘5 issues to find out about X ingredient’.
Stack components
The idea of “lively diet” is nicely understood to transcend conventional sports activities efficiency and embody a broader spectrum of well being missions and targets, together with stress and nervousness, coronary heart well being and circulation, sleep and rest, cognitive well being, vitality, immunity, joint, bone, muscle well being and intestine well being.
However as Dr. Evans stated, catering to those well being areas will be difficult as customers could affiliate sure research-backed components with well being advantages that will not adhere to EFSA claims. Such components embrace collagen for joint well being, some nootropics for thoughts well being and branched-chain-amino-acids (BCAAs) for muscle restoration and decreased fatigue.
He famous a chance for manufacturers to create merchandise that mix efficacious doses of a number of components for synergistic results akin to magnesium, zinc and vitamin C.
“If you consider what you need your product to say, there are methods to assist individuals make that connection,” he stated. “One strategy is to stack the product with components that both have authorized well being claims, akin to these acknowledged by the EFSA or are already generally related to particular advantages.
“What’s most necessary, although, is guaranteeing that any ingredient included is current at an efficacious dose, that you simply perceive the ingredient, and you realize the mission or aim you’re aiming for.”
App partnerships
Dr. Stephen Daniells, editor-in-chief of NutraIngredients, drew from the outcomes of a worldwide shopper survey involving 6,000 individuals throughout 9 nations. The Lumina Intelligence knowledge highlighted a key alternative in positioning merchandise: Partnering with in style person tech.
In keeping with the information, in style apps embrace MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, Strava and Nike as 78% to 79% of youthful customers (underneath 34) use health or well being trackers.
As Dr. Daniells famous, there’s a important alternative for manufacturers to associate with these apps, with 91% of customers reporting shopping for merchandise really useful by apps at the very least yearly, with a considerable portion (23%) shopping for month-to-month and (48%) quarterly.
Nonetheless, whereas digital suggestions current a transparent alternative, the overwhelming majority of sports activities diet purchases nonetheless occur in bodily shops, making it important for manufacturers to think about the in-person expertise when positioning their SKUs.
Accessible positioning
Throughout her presentation, Aishwarya Rajpara, marketing consultant at Euromonitor Worldwide, really useful that manufacturers contemplate format differentiation to broaden shopper well being perceptions.
Utilizing the instance of protein, she shared that whereas protein powder holds the biggest share (43%) within the European sports activities diet trade, there’s important development in different codecs. The very best development is being seen in ready-to-drink (RTD) codecs, and bars additionally present sturdy development, with an 11% CAGR in Europe between 2022 and 2024.
“European customers are more and more prioritizing merchandise which can be handy, transportable, ready-to-drink or in bar format,” she stated.
As for capsules, whereas bottle packaging stays dominant, there’s an upward development in versatile packaging as various to the standard plastic containers.
“We’re seeing new merchandise launched in codecs like tubes and pouches, as customers more and more search handy, on-the-go choices,” she stated. “Gels and lotions are additionally starting to emerge on this house, although the class stays underdeveloped and affords important room for innovation.”
Key takeaways
- Manufacturers should contemplate the broader life-style of their goal customers, not simply the product’s particular perform.
- Gen Z, particularly on platforms like TikTok, prefers unpolished, direct and relatable content material over scripted and overly polished model messaging.
- Combining a number of components at efficacious doses that both have acknowledged well being claims or are generally related to advantages can improve product enchantment.
- Youthful customers broadly use well being and health apps, due to this fact partnering with these apps is a significant alternative since a excessive proportion of customers buy merchandise really useful by means of them usually.
- Packaging innovation is necessary, and rising transportable codecs akin to tubes, pouches, gels and lotions may provide nice alternatives for innovation.
