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Healthy Food Marketing: Is The Health Food Store King Being Dethroned and can other marketers learn from it?

As a Whole Foods Devotee, it pains me to write this, but it’s a good marketing lesson. So what happens when the brand you’ve been aspiring to be for years starts to slip? ALDI, Wal-Mart, Albertson’s and Target have been taking cues from the success of Whole Foods Market for years. And now, they are actually starting to hurt the category creator.

Despite its strong cult following and innovative practices, Whole Foods stores are closing and sales are down. The Washington Post reported this is the worst it’s been for the company in a decade, “its sixth quarter of falling same-store sales”. Nine stores are kaput; the most Whole Foods Market has ever closed at one time. This decline was obviously unexpected, as Whole Foods was planning to open 470 locations in the U.S a little over a year ago.

So Why the Fast Decline?

Sales are down, but there’s more. 53.3% of Americans get their organics from mass market retailers, followed by 37.3% from natural and specialty retailers, and 9.4% from others. As Millennials propelled the Organic Movement forward, Whole Foods Market hit the trifecta with fresh produce, encouragement of a healthy and green lifestyle, and a resource for trendy artisanal brands.  Whole Foods was a role model.  And we all know imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and so the flattery began…

…And Everyone Went Organic:

Bloomberg says that organics went nation wide after Whole Foods Market took over the high priced end of the market.  In recent years the category has been infiltrated by big chains, like Kroger, Safeway, and Costco! The organic products at Costco “have doubled in two years to about $3 billion a year.”

And if that wasn’t enough, four years ago Aldi introduced fresh produce in five of their divisions across the country. And then in 2014 Walmart promised organic for everyone. Uh oh.

What’s a Marketer to do?

It’s not that millennials don’t appreciate the innovations of Whole Foods, it’s just that they can get more for less elsewhere. No matter how inspiring a brand can be, there’s always the issue of price and other brands catching up to you.

Is there Hope for Whole Foods Market?

Brands that are innovators will always start trends, and these trends will always be copied. Whole Foods Market may be able to take some comfort in Ronnie Cummins’ sentiment. The  co-founder of the Organic Consumers Association says most mainstream organic products don’t meet his definition of true organic. Consumers who truly care about the products they are buying will find out the truth about which stores’ organic is truly organic.

But until then Whole Foods needs a new strategy. Because Wal-mart and Target aren’t going to stop. And the really scary brands are the ones no one is paying attention to.  Aldi is moving  quickly and attracting the consumers Whole Foods was counting on with their new offering, 365.  So much so that customers will even wait out in the cold for a new store open.

This obviously can be applied to other categories where there is a clear leader. It makes you wonder who Amazon is worried about right now and what they are doing to make sure they stay Irresistible ? Let’s talk.

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Healthy Food Marketing: The Irresistible Chickpea

 

When I was a kid, I thought chickpeas were “old lady food.” My grandmother always put them on her salads at the salad bar. How things have changed. Hummus has become a staple in my diet and my fridge. And it’s not just me, America loves hummus. This didn’t happen on its own. Chickpea marketers brought this tiny bean to the United States and catapulted it into an ever-expanding industry. Marketers, here’s what you need to know to apply THIS success to your brand.

Make magic by launching a movement

Many brands tried to bring hummus to America, but Sabra made it stick. Even though Sabra has been around since 1986, 2007 was the turning point, when PepsiCo put some skin in the game. They released a fleet of food trucks to offer samples across the country. They launched a three step plan to introduce hummus to people who had never heard of it: hummus as dip, hummus as spread, hummus on everything. It worked. This was a classic case of brand management working strategic magic. They didn’t sell hummus, they launched a cultural movement. According to Scott Goodson, who worked on the Sabra launch: “Movements move brands to move people to move product.”

Bring global trends home

The hummus craze made chickpeas a household name. The one-time Middle Eastern staple, for example, is in 98% of homes in Israel. Now hummus can be found in almost 25% of homes in the U.S. I see it on just about every restaurant menu. And now I’m seeing all kinds of new chickpea products on the market. I picked up a bag of Hippeas at Starbucks this week. I could have sworn it was Pirate’s Booty (one of my longtime favorites) but it was actually a puffed vegan-cheese-coated chickpea. Leave it to Starbucks to be on top of the very latest food, flavor and health trends.

Innovate, innovate, innovate

ALL the work that Sabra did growing the hummus market is now being enjoyed by start-up brands. Because Americans now “get” chickpeas. They know what they taste like and how healthy they are. Sabra laid the foundation necessary for the current chickpea market. Now chickpeas are hitting the shelves as pastas, fries, snacks, chips and even a mayonnaise spread.

So marketers, are you hungry yet? Well fill up on some Banza chickpea pasta and dessert hummus, then get ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. The lessons the little chickpea have taught us could apply to just about any market. Wanna hear more? Let’s talk.

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Healthy Food Marketing: An Unlikely Love Story, Millennial Parents and Club Stores

By now you know millennials are obsessed with locally sourced, hand crafted and artisanal brands. So it makes perfect sense that they love… Costco?! It’s surprising and true. Whether it’s Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s, the generation that’s redefining shopping and retail “are on the rise at clubs.”

So why then, do millennial parents love “clubbing”?

Even though millennials are willing to spend more on quality, priorities shift when they have kids. Reality sets in and their budget shrinks to adjust. According to Jeff Fromm, co-author of Millennials with Kids: “there are more than 15 million millennial families in this country, and they’re more likely to shop at Costco than the general population.” Just because millennials are popping out kids, doesn’t mean that they’ve lost their shopping integrity. They’re still looking for customization, convenience and a cutting edge experience. And Costco is delivering.

Yep, there’s an app for that

Game changing consumers love “clubbing because of the brilliant balance club stores are developing.” They’re meeting them in the middle with cost-saving opportunities AND the quality millennials demand from their favorite brands. Older millennials in their late twenties and early thirties are more likely to belong to a retailer’s loyalty program and more likely to download the retailer’s app on their phone. The Costco app allows users to look through tons of monthly coupons and “clip” the ones they want. Once they clip their coupon, it gets added to their virtual shopping list so they don’t forget it about when they are in the store.

Not your grandmother’s clubstore

The love for Costco goes beyond the app. The in-store experience at Costco is very strategic. Richard George, professor of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University’s Haub School of Business, says that “Costco really reinforces the experience beyond price savings. They really make it a treasure hunt.” Who can turn down a Costco sample? But it’s more than samples millennials are hunting for: they love discovering brands they love and even new brands at Costco.

Watch out Whole Foods, Costco has fresh

Also, riding on the coattails of the fresh revolution, club stores have paid attention to how strongly millennials feel about their food. Costco and Sam’s are offering more and more organic and fresh options. In fact, Costco is the leading organic retailer in the country. More than Whole Foods. Yes, you read that right, more than Whole Foods.

So what can marketers learn from all of this?

Hold on to the tactics that work for you as a brand, but don’t be afraid to evolve. No one is moving faster than today’s consumers and no one is harder to please. Millennials want tasteful, thoughtful and innovative products but they don’t want to spend too much. They love unusual products. But when their beloved kombucha becomes loved by the masses, they’re no longer impressed.

The bottom line: Clubbing is irresistible

Millennials love Costco because it’s everything they know they can count on plus delightful surprises. Buying toilet paper is bulk not so exciting. Buying Kombucha in bulk? Hello sweet spot.

Marketing to millennial parents is both easy and tricky at the same time. And Costco can provide some helpful clues. So can I. Let’s talk.

 

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Healthy Food Marketing: The Irresistible Almond

Almonds. Feels like they are  everywhere and in everything. So it’s no surprise that they’re consumers’ favorite nuts to snack on, according to a survey conducted by the Almond Board of California.

The almond industry has clearly tapped into some genius marketing insights. And for you, marketers, I dug into that success to uncover insights all brands could apply.

You don’t have to go it alone.

Blue Diamond can singlehandedly claim responsibility for the almond industry. And that’s because Blue Diamond is actually a “cooperative owned by half of the state’s almond growers who produce over 80 percent of the world’s almond supply.” Takeaway? Don’t feel like you need to act alone If you consider uniting with like-minded businesses or products your whole category could take a giant leap forward. This reminds me of the exponential growth story of the avocado. If you missed my blog about irresistible avocado marketing, find it here.

Be passionate and people will be passionate about you

Just thinking about almond butter makes me hungry. And I know I partly owe that feeling to Justin’s, my very favorite almond butter. And it’s not just me. When it comes to nut butter, Justin’s almond butter wins the crown. Justin’s founder (Justin, himself) started his business in his kitchen. “My roommates thought I was totally crazy,” he says. Now he’s been on the Inc. Top 15 on the 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies list for the Food and Beverage category for two years in a row. And the innovation that comes from Justin’s fun flavor combinations, squeeze packs and my favorite, almond butter cups, makes this brand just plain irresistible.

Legacy brands, jump on the trends entrepreneurs are setting!

Jif has jumped onto the almond butter craze. Smart move, Jif! This is a prime example of a legacy brand expanding their reach by offering a product that health conscious, but cost conscious consumers would be interested in. Let the new guys test the waters. And then jump in quickly.

Connect to an existing behavior.

Could a brand become “the brand” of real food diets like Paleo, Whole 30 and my personal favorite, The Virgin Diet? This could be a win-win for almond brands and other natural products and their consumers. Connecting with these consumers and getting the endorsement of the plans themselves, could be an instant path to their hearts.

Almonds have become irresistible. And that’s partly because of the health benefits, but it’s also because of the brilliant marketing.

They figured it out, Avocados figured it out. Could your brand be next?  Let’s talk about how.

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Healthy Food Marketing: What makes a brand truly irresistible?

Chop’t, Aleve, So Delicious, RiteAid, Happy Baby/Happy Tot, Larabars, Polar, Nutella, Baskin Robbins, Goldfish, Snapple.

What do these brands have in common?

High consumer knowledge and the highest I-Factor® scores in their category.

I love figuring out what makes a brand irresistible. It’s not just cool (which it is), it’s crucial. It’s information a brand absolutely needs to survive and grow in this crazy digital age. And it’s why we created I-Factor®. I-Factor® is a revolutionary brand-building tool that digs into the three dimensions of the unique relationship consumers have with brands right now.

We’ve done 60 proprietary studies and no matter what categories we are looking at, the same thing keeps surfacing.

Love (Crave) is not enough to make a brand Irresistible today.

If brands want today’s consumers to spend more and share more (and who doesn’t) they need to do something very important, let consumers really get to know them.

The brands with the highest I-Factor® scores are the ones with the highest score in the Comprehend dimension. That means brands that consumers are most connected to, are brands they have an intimate knowledge of.

If you’ve been following the blog, you know I-Factor® is based on 3 things:

  • Do consumers COMPREHEND (understand) the brand?
  • Do consumers CRAVE (love and addiction) the brand?
  • Is there CRAZE (wear it/ share it) around the brand?

We kind of assumed that brands with the highest CRAVE (love) scores would be most Irresistible, but that’s not the case. Love is not enough.

If you really think about it, it makes sense in this age of transparency.

Knowledge is on trend.

To sustain a relationship, consumers are really looking for compelling brand stories to help get to know a brand on a deeper, more personal level. So COMPREHEND scores rely on a consumer’s deep understanding of a brand. We are in a time where transparency builds trust. Consumers want to know what’s actually in the products they buy, if the brand is open and honest and how the products are really made.

So exactly why are these brands winning? Let’s take a look.

For our snack bar study, we looked at Kashi, Kind, Larabar and Nutrigrain. Larabar had the highest overall I-Factor® score AND the highest Comprehend score. Their tagline “Food made from Food” and their packaging gives consumers a clear insight into exactly who they are and what they stand for: clean ingredients made from real food. Very simple and very effective.

Nutella is another great example. Consumers – especially millennial moms – know who Nutella is and exactly what to expect from it. Their COMPREHEND score is high and they win their category with the highest I-Factor® score. This brand was built on authenticity and it still works.

So what does this mean for your brand?

Comprehend is critical. Brands that want to be successful need to let consumers under the tent. It makes sense doesn’t it? If we want consumers to share, we need to give them content that’s shareable, content that adds value.

Do you know how Irresistible you are?

Is there a more compelling brand story that you could be telling?

Let’s see what kind of magic we can unlock for your brand. Let’s talk!

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Healthy Food Marketing: Pet Health, Food Is Just The Beginning

I’m a foodie and my dog happens to be one too. His current favorite cheese is Parmigiano Reggiano (really). I choose his foods just like I do mine. I scrutinize labels and search the aisles looking for the very best ingredients. Every once in a while I indulge. And so does my dog.

Pets have become almost as natural of an extension of their parent’s identity as children. If a pet parent is super curious about ingredients in their food, they are likely to be just as curious about ingredients in their pet’s food.

And the awesome part?

It’s EVEN easier to make healthier choices for your pet. Because they can’t exactly complain. Sure they cast their vote by eating or not, but it’s a different kind of complaining.

Human trends = pet trends

Marketers, tune in. Because if you’re a pet brand — or even considering tapping into the pet business, here’s what I’m seeing in the pet marketplace.

Healthy pet food is just the beginning of the story. There is so much more opportunity.  Mars knows how important pets are to their human parents. That’s why they’ve invested in a whole new category — pet hospitals.

As access to information continues to speed up, so does the desire to apply this knowledge to our pets. Consumers (the human ones) are learning more and more about their health. The next natural step is for it to overflow into the decision-making for their pets. Look at what’s trending in human food, fitness and even fashion then blink. You’ll be seeing that same trend apply to pets. For example, what’s trending now in pet food is all the same stuff trending for us humans.

Packaging could be a deal maker or a deal breaker

The whole BPA conversation is about to make its way to pets. Many – especially millennial – consumers would never buy something in BPA packaging. But BPA is found in pet food packaging. While there is not conclusive research YET about the effect of BPA on animals, isn’t it a logical assumption that consumers would FEEL BETTER knowing a brand was committed to safe packaging? Once you know about BPA you can never UN-know it. You make sure your food is packaged safely. The same goes for your pets.

Pet fitness is the new big thing.

We’ve all joked about putting a FitBit on our pets. Now there is a WHOLE CATEGORY dedicated to pet fitness trackers. The most-loved brand right now is FitBark. So loved, in fact, that the KickStarter that was created to raise funding for it earned $80,000 in just 27 hours. How’s that for a testament to how obsessed pet parents are? But so far, I’m not seeing any already established pet brands connecting with these trackers? This could be a huge opportunity for a legacy brand to reconnect with a fresh audience.

When it comes to pets, if you can dream it, pet parents will buy it. The innovation and marketing opportunities are endless.

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Healthy Food Marketing: Why Irresistibility is the new Brand Love

2017 has arrived. And consumers (especially the health-conscious) are changing fast.  This year, brands will have to connect more deeply to earn loyal consumers. They’ll have to be irresistible because Love is no longer enough.

We all know love is fleeting, especially with Millennials. So brands have to become irresistible.  They have to break through, keep consumers engaged and motivate them to take action over and over again.

But how?

How can you protect your brand in this crazy climate where even the most loved brands are quickly becoming commodities?

And how can a brand begin to think about growth before truly understanding the complexities of what today’s consumers find irresistible?

These are some of the questions I ask myself every day. And one day a little over a year ago, it hit me. Just about everything we know about how brands market has changed, except for the way they do research and dig for insights.

That’s why we created I-Factor®.  A revolutionary, new brand building tool that really digs into the modern, fragmented, complex relationship your consumers have with your brand and to your category.

Let’s face it, there are so many kinds of research studies out there (brand tracking studies, A&U’s, segmentations), but literally NONE give you clues as to what your messaging AND your media should be. None can truly lead you to what to say AND where to say it, the magic combination when it comes to creating real irresistibility.

Until now.

With I-Factor®, you can dig into all the aspects of your consumer’s relationship to your brand and other brands in your category. And you get to understand the way your media and messaging choices are affecting that relationship. That information can be very powerful when it comes to helping brands grow and thrive in this crazy and fragmented digital age.

An I-Factor® study gives you a “report card” with scores in the three critical dimensions of Brand Irresistibility: Comprehend, Crave and Craze. And then we get at the why’s behind the relationship by using metaphor elicitation to tap into the consumer subconscious where 95% of all decisions are actually made. The result for brands; consumers that are willing to share more and spend more.

We’ve already completed 60 I-Factor benchmark studies on food, QSR and Wellness brands and we’re adding more every day. We have studies across categories like frozen foods, yogurt brands and pet food. The reports are full of information about what brands are strong, which are vulnerable, and why. And the results may surprise you.

I’ll save the juicy details for the coming weeks.

If you want to go from a brand that’s loved to a brand that’s irresistible you know how to reach me.

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Healthy kids: The future of healthy food marketing

Childhood obesity is a national epidemic. And brands are finally starting to be held accountable for their role.

 

From my seat, I’m singing hallelujah. When my daughter was little, I was one of the more health conscious moms. That meant giving my daughter Earth’s Best: the ONE brand of healthy baby food that was available. Making sure she actually ate was my health priority. I really believed that chicken fingers and juice were a win.

 

Now, millennial moms have SO many healthy choices for their kids it’s almost overwhelming. And they have unlimited access to healthy food information both in-store and online. As a result, even legacy brands are cleaning up their acts. Gerber keeps adding products to its organic line. Cheerios, which were already naturally gluten-free, updated their production facilities so they’d be able to guarantee that no stray gluten got into their products. Now gluten-free is part of their marketing platform and is stamped literally all over their boxes.

 

Brands are slowly starting to catch on: KNOWING what’s in food leads to FEELING good about buying it.

 

This is a huge  marketing opportunity. Here are some insights for ready and willing brands:

 

  1. Build a relationship with your consumers early. Like really early.

    Our next generation of influencers aren’t even walking yet. In his book Good Food Today, Great Food Tomorrow, famed pediatrician Dr. Jay Gordon states that “the eating habits we give our kids at 6 months and right into their toddler years stick with them their whole years. It’s an incredible long term investment.” While this book is geared for parents, I suspect marketers could really benefit as well. Your brand could get AHEAD of the trend now.

 

  1. Make parents love you, not hate you

    Grocery shopping is hard enough for moms. Make it harder for them and they might  resent you. Think about it. We’ve all witnessed a kid swiping sugary food into their shopping cart. Mom gives in “just this once” due to sheer exhaustion. Marketing to kids just plain works. But does it have to have such a negative cost? Kids who see unhealthy food marketing are more likely to eat more, even when they’re not hungry. The good news is that the opposite could also work. YOUR BRAND could be the one responsible for inspiring kids to eat better. That would make parents love you. And you might feel pretty good too.

 

  1. Get kids excited about healthy food

    Brands like Coca Cola and Powerade are getting dinged (and rightly so) for associating their sugar-heavy products with healthy behaviors. Thus, creating the illusion that their product is actually healthy. So who is going to be the brand that gets kids excited about healthy food and healthy behaviors. Will it be yours? Check out this video about kids copying other kids eat fruits and vegetables. How’s that for influence?

 

Bottom line: when moms feel good about giving YOUR brand to THEIR family, they begin to trust you. Being welcomed into a millennial mom’s shopping cart, fridge, pantry and heart is not an easy feat. Once you make your way in, you just might be there to stay.

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Healthy Food Marketing: How Juice went from Hero to Villain.

How did juice brands go from hero to zero?

There was a time not too long ago when we looked to brands like Tropicana and Ocean Spray to add nutritional value to breakfast.

 

Fast-forward to today where these brands have become villainized due to the high concentration of sugar.

 

It’s interesting to see how the perception of juice has shifted from really healthy to really unhealthy. So how did we get to this place? When concerned consumers and organizations attacked these brands exposing the high levels of fructose in our favorite juices, consumers began to wonder if they should be drinking so much of it. The conversation took on a life of its own and the investigation turned consumers’ deeply engrained behaviors upside down—juice quickly went from the daily drink of choice to a watered-down, occasional treat.

 

So what’s a juice to do?

There appears to be a formula that many parent companies are following to protect existing brands and open up new growth streams.

 

1. Show consumers a little something-be honest about your nutritional content

Making an active effort to be transparent with consumers and give them the information they’re looking for is an easy way to stay relevant in the juice industry. While consumers may not be drinking at the same rate, you still want them to feel good and be in-the-know about your brand and remain their juice of choice.

 

2. Make Existing Legacy Brands Healthier:

Companies like PepsiCo are rethinking the way they do juice by announcing their new Probiotics addition to the Tropicana brand. This approach positions the brand as more than just a drink. It is a functional food. So a juice with added health benefits( which we know consumers are looking for), is another way to keep consumers in a relationship with your brand.

 

3. Acquire Small, Healthier Brands:

While Coca-Cola owns brands like Minute Maid and Simply Orange, they know that the long game has to include smaller, healthier brands. That explains Coke’s acquisition of cold-press brand, Suja Life, and PepsiCo’s acquisition of Kevita. What’s in it for Coke and Pepsi is obvious, a future. But what’s the play for Suja and Kevita? Broad reach and big budgets. Suddenly these small brands that we’re fighting for distribution find themselves with lots of shelf space and exposure to consumer they could only have hoped to reach on their own.

 

So will today’s juice brands become tomorrow’s soda brands, and only show up when kids need a treat?

 

The big-brand juice industry isn’t dead – but like many legacy brands, when it comes to keeping the relationship with consumers exciting, constant engagement and innovation is just what the doctor ordered.

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Marketing Healthy Food to Health Conscious Humans And Their Pets

The health food trends of human food brands are now being marketed to man’s best friends. Now more than ever before, pet owners have an overwhelming variety of healthier choices to feed their beloved pets. Gone are the days of fillers and mystery meats.  And gone are the days of marketing healthy food only to humans.

 

According to Nielsen Reports, today’s dog foods are becoming humanized. Dog food Brand Managers and Marketers should absolutely be taking a serious look at human food trends, because pets are officially members of the family.

 

Here are some of the top food trends for both man and his furry friend.

 

Organic

People are more concerned about organic food not only for themselves, but for their pets as well. Organic food can cost as much as 30 percent more than non-organic, but an increasing number of dog owners are willing to pay the higher price for the family pooch. California Natural is a great organic brand that has set itself apart from other organic brands due to their strictly enforced manufacturing guidelines. grown amidst this trend. The product is made for pets with food sensitivities in mind with only 3-6 ingredients.

 

Paleo Diet

Dr. Jean Hofve author of “Paleo Dog: Give Your Best Friend a Long Life, Healthy Weight, and Freedom from Illness by Nurturing His Inner Wolf”, has an interesting insight on the Paleo diet. She compares it brilliantly to “taking your dogs out of your purse and putting them on the grass.” The Paleo Diet has a firm foothold in the dog food industry—creating a new sector of “ancestral” foods reflective of earlier diets of canines that are focused on the high quality of proteins and grains in pet food. Sojo’s “wholesome raw” pet food offers two types of innovative products for the Paleo movement. The Complete and The Pre-Mix. The complete comes with raw freeze-dried meet to the other raw ingredients. The Pre-Mix is allow you to mix in your pup’s favorite protein.

 

Vitamins

Inspired by the success of human food brands, half of new pet foods have added vitamins, antioxidants, protein, DHA for puppies, and no fillers, artificial ingredients or byproducts. Lucky Dog Cuisine makes a product that is appropriate for all stages of a pet’s life. They use meat with a butcher-like quality and all fruits and vegetables are GMO. Specific product blends are most importantly filled with healthy vitamins and prebiotics.

 

 

Made in the USA

Patriotism has even made its way to the dog bowl, with 51 percent of dog owners believing that “Made in the U.S.” is a very important package claim as fear of contamination and product safety is a large concern among pet owners. Grill-icious dog treats from Loving Pets come in chicken, turkey and beef. They are made in New Jersey from USA sourced ingredients.” They are even gluten and soy-free. These treats have zero additives or preservatives.

 

 

Meal Excitement

The best meals get us excited even before we take our first bite. And dog food brands know this too. That’s why a top driver of sales in pet foods includes adding “excitement” to the dogs’ diets via flavors, gravies, look-alike human recipes, and meal specific foods such as appetizers and breakfast. It makes sense. A happy dog is a happy dog owner.  Marketing healthy food through appetite appeal works on both humans and dogs. Hill’s awesome Balance Breakfast Medleys are waffle shaped and are meant to be breakfast treats for your dog. They are naturally made with no grains or wheat, proving that even dog treats are made healthy now.

 

 

Gluten-free

With the popularity of grain and gluten-free options for humans, it’s no surprise that the trend is creeping into the dog food aisle. Theoretically, there is no reason dogs couldn’t be gluten intolerant. And “wheat is not an essential food for dogs,” says Marion Nestle, professor of food studies at New York University, so there’s no harm in trying a gluten-free diet if your dog has allergies, skin problems, digestive issues, or other health ailments. Nestle-branded Organix know grain-based foods don’t work well for all of our dog friends, which is why it uses tapioca (a gluten-free starch) as a substitute.

 

When it comes to dog food, humans are your best focus group.

 

Since our pups are basically our children, when it comes to selecting food we only want the best for them – just like us. While humans see the word “healthy” flashed on numerous puppy chow bags, the real print we should be paying attention to is the nutrition facts. So when it comes to marketing healthy pet food to humans, the key is being upfront about all the great benefits of a premium and specialty brand. It’s also about embracing the trends and varieties that consumers crave. True pet parents want what is best for their pets. The trick is figuring out what that is.

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Healthy Food Marketing: Small Batch vs. Science Driven Food

Not all that long ago science and standardized production gave consumers reassurance that they were getting the kind of quality controls and taste that they had come to expect from their favorite foods.

We didn’t want surprises. We wanted consistency.

 

So why are consumers being drawn so quickly away from the legacy brands they used to love and trust, in favor of smaller brands that they may not know as much about?

 

Brands with ingredients we can’t pronounce in big factories we have no access to are becoming persona non grata.

 

Science has come to equal scary when it is connected to the food we put in our bodies. For example, we are abandoning Hershey Bars for Theo Bars to get our chocolate fix.

 

Consumers (me included) love the way Theo tells its story about artisanal quality and small batch production. We love that their mission is to make the world a better place by bringing out the best of the cocoa bean. And that they “think about every choice we make, every action we take and how it will impact our interconnected world.” Visit their site, it is so beautifully written and their story is so compelling.

 

Theo is committed to be the most progressive chocolate maker in America and in doing so they became the first organic, fair trade certified chocolate maker in the country. Now that sounds like a brand worth standing behind.

 

This blog wasn’t meant to be an ode to Theo but when it comes to marketing, they happen to be doing a lot of things right, including being absolutely delicious.

 

And they have the cult following to back it up.

 

Cheerios on the other hand, can reformulate their products again and again, but consumers don’t want “formulas” anymore.

 

They want craftsmanship and storytelling and something to get behind. So when Bob’s Red Mill is in the house, the health-conscious are probably going to pass on the Cheerios.

 

This move toward small explains why legacy brands like Hershey, are gobbling up small brands like Krave, and why the big beer companies are snatching up all the craft beers.

 

Right now consumers want small batch; they want artisanal; they want transparency.

 

The whole concept of food being anywhere near a lab so quickly conjures up negative associations like processed and artificial, that even if there are benefits rooted in science, brands probably shouldn’t be talking about them.

 

A question is, will the Theo’s and Bob’s Red Mill’s of today become the Hershey’s and Cheerios of tomorrow, or will those brands find a way to get relevant?

 

2016-10-26_smallbatch_sciencedriven

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Food Really Is Medicine – Marketing Healthy Food to Consumers Who Want to Get Healthier

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” Hippocrates – 400B.C.

 

This man was clearly ahead of his time. Two thousand four hundred and sixteen years later, and consumers are finally catching on.

 

Marketers who are paying attention already know that consumers are willing to pay more for foods promoting wellness.

What we’re starting to understand is that they will pay even more if they believe foods have the power to heal and prevent disease.

A poll from the 2015 Consumer Analyst Group of NY conference reported that 88% of the participants were willing to pay more for foods with real health benefits.

So many medical conditions can be actively managed with food (obesity, diabetes, gluten allergies, just to name a few), which presents a real opportunity for brands that are willing to initially give up broad targeting, in favor of making deeper connections with fewer, more highly engaged consumers.

Just think about how many people suffer from obesity and diabetes alone. And how motivated they are to manage those conditions.

Many actively seek out advice and are part of on and off-line communities that are easy to target.

What if brands talked directly to them about helping become part of the solution to the problems inhibiting their lives?

Those kinds of connections have the potential to be long-lasting and create raving fans that will work on a brands behalf.

Here are a few examples of my favorite brands that have become so relevant to their consumers that consumers are now spreading the word.

Udi’s Gluten Free:

Udi’s originated as a brand only for people with Celiac’s but is now widely available to consumers concerned about “gut health”. They are part of the growing population that believe the studies that show that a healthy gut may make you less susceptible to anxiety, depression and stress.

Udi’s can be found in over 16,000 stores and even at many baseball stadiums. That’s a real statement of the brand’s incredible reach.

 

 

GT’s Kombucha:

Kombucha has exploded, but GT’s has led the way. Who would have thought that a drink made from fermented tea that’s a combination of yeast and bacteria would ever be “mainstream”. But this one is.

What made so many consumers (including myself) fall in love with this brand? Part inspirational story (GT Dave’s mom drank Kombucha every day to recover from what appeared to be a terminal cancer) and part health benefits.

Kombucha has been touted as the cure for just about everything. Here are some of the things loyalists believe it does: aids digestion, weight loss, increases energy, provides immune support and prevents cancer-pretty compelling stuff.

 

Purity Coffee:

A relative newcomer to the market, Purity coffee was created to be “the world’s healthiest coffee.”

Purity is all about health from sourcing, to growing to drinking.

And there is plenty of research to support the health benefits of coffee. Three to five cups a day can reduce the risk of many diseases, but most impressively, Type II Diabetes and Liver Cancer.

Consumers want more out of their food than ever before. People don’t just want to eat anymore, they want foods that will lead them to a better, longer life.

Could you be one of them?

 

How marketing food as medicine has its advantages. Click through to learn more about GT's Kombucha, Purity Coffee and Udi's Gluten Free.

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Sparkling Water Is Far From Fizzing Out

The health-crazed nation may be spending less money on soda nowadays, but its still craving fizzy drinks.

 

Cue soda’s bubbly, healthier, replacement: sparkling water.

 

Between 2009 and 2014, the volume of carbonated bottled water sold in the U.S. has increased by 56.4 percent.

 

For consumers who are all about natural, minimally processed products, sparkling water appears to be the billion-dollar answer to our decade-long addiction to sugary soda. Sparkling water sales have spiked in the past few years. Between 2009 and 2014, the volume of carbonated bottled water sold in the U.S. has increased by 56.4 percent.

 

But even more interesting is that these sparkling water brands are not new kids on the block. Many of the major players have been around for decades, and are enjoying the renewed success of the category with some great marketing plays and refreshing strategies for millennial health-conscious consumers.

 

La Croix, a thirty-year old brand with a cult following, has watched their sales blow up from $65 million to $225 million in just a few years, with share prices soaring 300%.

 

Now the Number 1 brand of flavored bottled water and a quarter of the market share, La Croix’s rise happened without any traditional advertising.

 

An industry expert told Business Insider that millennials are “suspicious” of traditional advertising methods and that LaCroix played right into the millennial craving for authenticity and discovery with pure social media marketing, paying influential bloggers and fitness icons rather than airing commercials. Inc. says “LaCroix doesn’t spend big on TV spots or advertising campaigns. Instead, the brand has put itself smack dab in the middle of where its target audience is.” Instagram is one of those places where LaCroix’s neon colored cans have a popular and shared presence.

 

The Seattle-based beverage company TalkingRain is an iconic brand in the Northwest United States, but owes its national success to its line of Sparkling ICE drinks that has been part of their portfolio for 20 years. One of the first beverage companies in the U.S. to eliminate high fructose corn syrup, now has one of the fastest growing beverage brands in the country, TalkingRain’s Sparkling ICE.

 

CEO Kevin Klock noted that after funding an ambitious marketing program to “create a better brand experience” sales jumped from $10 million to $350 million.

 

Klock stated that their Sparkling ICE brands stay closely connected to their customers to maintain their company’s promise to deliver a refreshing taste. They even work with existing customers to develop their new flavors (often a two-year process). That’s a real commitment to consumer engagement.

 

Polar Beverages (one of my personal favorites), founded in 1882, revamped their image and boosted sales when they figured out that millennials wanted flavored soda alternatives.

 

They released a wider variety of flavors and changed their product’s generic green packaging to brighter, flashier, colors.

 

Polar Seltzer has a robust brand ambassador program and are incredibly active in social if you ask its consumers, they’ll say they’re “obsessed.” That’s what we call irresistible.

Sparkling Water Is Far From Fizzing Out. Why are these bubbly beverages are rising to the top?

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Paleo for Pets? Can Pet Food get anymore human?

You don’t have to be an expert to see that marketing pet food and human food is becoming more and more similar.

 

The intense dietary demands that we are beginning to put on ourselves have started to bleed into the realm of our pets.

 

That means expectations of quality ingredients aren’t going away any time soon and that “wellness” is a concept for our pets too. Not really that surprising when you think about how much a part of our families pets have become.

 

Also not surprising when you realize that the same factors that are taking their toll on us and our kids, are also effecting our pets.

 

Domestic animals are not only more overweight and inactive than previous generations, but they are suffering more from disease like diabetes and obesity.

 

When you closely examine the ingredients, a lot of pet food is basically the animal equivalent of highly processed snack packs, loaded with grains and various different chemicals.

 

And with all the access we have to information, we now know that none of this is good for our families, human or pet.

 

So like human food companies, Pet food companies are starting to pay attention.

According to the bark magazine, trendy diets like raw food, home-made and dietary rotations are gaining in popularity.

 

Similarities exist even through weight loss regimes for those pets that need them (an estimated 44% of dogs in the US). Brand, are certainly reacting as well. One look at Beneful’s packaging shows hoards of cascading vegetables, while Purina’s “Beyond” line comes in cans and juice pouches with a very artisanal design feel. Brands like Hill’s offer a line called “Ideal Balance” that has “natural ingredients perfectly balanced”. It includes lean proteins, vitamins and minerals, brown rice for natural fiber, and even Omega 3 and 6. Sound familiar?

 

And marketing to our furry friends is filled with familiar buzz-words like Paleo, GMO free, high protein. I even heard “small batch” in a dog food commercial this past weekend..

 

What’s out in Pet food marketing are claims that use language like “scientifically formulated.” Today’s health conscious consumers equate that to the notion that ingredients aren’t natural. It appears as if “Nature has overtaken science as a reason to believe” and we know consumers now trust nature over science for themselves and for their pets.

 

And when you really think about it, why wouldn’t this healthier generation of humans want the same healthy lifestyle for their pets?

 

After all, pets are people too.

Paleo for Pets? Can Pet Food get anymore human?