Posted on

The Language Of Healthy Food Marketing

A consumer walks into a grocery store today and they’re bombarded with healthy label claims like…fresh, local, gluten-free, antioxidants, and all natural. Healthy buzzwords are firmly implanted into the lexicon of food marketing. Now, more than ever, it’s important for health food brands and healthy food marketing to choose their words carefully. Because consumers are confused and frustrated.

The Daily News states that many food brands throw around buzzwords seemingly at will to try and differentiate their brand and resonate with consumers. Because of this, definitions have been grayed and misconceptions have been made.

You can’t blame a brand for trying. A study by Consumer Reports found that 59% of consumers look to see if a product has a “natural” label, even though there is no federal or third-party verification system for the term. The majority of people surveyed think the “natural” label has health significance, even though it may not, and Consumer Reports is calling for a ban on the term.

“Natural” may be one of the most used buzzwords, but it’s just the tip of the wholesome iceberg. “There are no federal definitions for sustainable, local, or artisan in regard to use of the terms on food labels,” says Arthur Whitmore, health communications specialist for the Food and Drug Administration.

In fact, several years ago, Cherry 7Up added ‘antioxidant” to its label, which has become the emblem of anti-aging and prevention of cancer and heart disease. The misleading labels have since been taken off the shelves, but the fact that it made it to the shelf in the first place is cause for concern.

“Saying Cherry 7-Up contains antioxidants is misleading,” says Temple Northup, an assistant professor at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at UH. “Food marketers are exploiting consumer desires to be healthy by marketing products as nutritious when, in fact, they’re not.”  Something that healthy food marketing should never do.

My biggest objection to unhealthy brands marketing themselves with healthy buzzwords is that it waters down the intended meaning of the words for the brands that actually are good for you. Health conscious brands like Annie’s Homegrown or Justin’s Peanut Butter market themselves as “natural”, and they have the right to. But then, down the aisle you’ll find a “natural” brand of Cheetos or Tostitos made with “natural” ingredients. Consumers are confused!

Brands will continue to look for lingo loopholes to give them an edge. But eventually consumers will catch on. Healthy food brands and healthy food marketing need to stand their ground. Continue to use the honest words and phrases that best describe your product. Don’t fall into the game played by brands that don’t actually understand the true definition of “natural”. The brands that survive long term will be the ones consumers trust.

 

Posted on

Marketing Healthy Food To Millennials

If you think kale is everywhere these days, you’re right. It’s on 400 percent more restaurant menus than it was just four years ago. Millennial kale aficionados have even been known to wear kale T-shirts and sport kale stickers. Brands and those marketing healthy food have to wonder. Is this simply a passing fad, or is kale here to stay? I believe it’s the latter.

The popularity of kale will continue to grow because it has huge awareness with Millennials, and has firmly planted itself into the digital conversation. It’s the hero Millennials need, and deserve.

And there’s a good chance aligning your brand with the leafy greens will help you reach young adults and increase your overall sales.

Kale’s rise in popularity could be equated to an increased awareness of health. As Jennifer Iserloh, co-author of 50 Shades of Kale, puts it, “Kale is the king of the superfood kingdom. People are incredibly interested in health and more and more people are cooking at home—kale is cheap, versatile, and one of the best foods you can put in your body.”

In an interview with BlueApron.com, Kristen Beddard Heimann, founder of The Kale Project equates the soaring rise to a combination of health awareness, an increased popularity in farm-to-table restaurants and the rise of the Internet and high profile food bloggers and celebrities. As she puts it, a lot of it has to do with stars “creating a lifestyle that people aspire to.” Case in point, Gwenyth Paltrow makes kale chips on Ellen. People go crazy.       

Then there’s the influence of our personal relationship to food and our ability to share that relationship; thanks social media! “If Instagram had been around when sundried tomatoes (1985) or arugula (1990) were hot, I’m sure there would have been more backlash because the trend would have spread so much like it has with kale. Kale just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” says Beddard Heimann.

Kale has ridden the wave of a perfect marketing storm, and has reached almost cult-like status. Unlike other passing fads, I believe it will continue to stay on top of the Millennial food chain.  That’s something to cheer about when marketing healthy food.

The recent sales figures of kale are hard to ignore. Earthbound Farm, which sells salad greens at supermarkets in England, says it’s selling 8 times the kale from 2 years ago. Kale is even for sale at Wal-Mart.

So, to all you marketing healthy food out there, I say go green with kale. The benefits to your brand are ripe for the picking.

Posted on

Marketing Healthy Fast Food

The McDonald’s Happy Meal doesn’t exactly come to mind when one thinks of healthy food options for children. And that’s something they’re aiming to change. Happy Meals now include smaller portions and healthier options, because McDonalds knows if they are going to survive, they need to provide healthier options to their Millennial customers. And you know what, they’re right.  They have to shape up when marketing healthy food.

Millennial parents may have grown up eating McDonald’s burgers and fries, but they certainly aren’t “lovin’ it” anymore. Parents are more likely to bring their kids to fast-casual restaurant with more perceived health benefits, like Chipotle or Panera Bread. A study by a restaurant consultancy found that fast-casual restaurant sales are up 5.2 among 22- to 37-year-olds, while McDonald’s sales fell flat for the same group.

So it’s no surprise to hear that McDonalds’ overall sales have been taking a hit for nearly a decade. In fact, sales have been slumping for so long, they decided to stop reporting monthly sales figures.

Now, McDonalds is betting on health. And Happy Meals.

When it comes to marketing food to children, no one has done it better than McDonalds. Little ones have always been an important demographic for the fast food chain. They know if they can reach kids at a young age, they’re more likely to crave their food as they enter adulthood.

Perhaps McDonalds’ most impressive marketing effort is the Happy Meal. Introduced in June 1979, the traditional Happy Meal contained a main item (burger or McNuggets), fries, a soft drink and a toy (often a tie-in to an existing TV show, movie or toy line).  Something that those marketing healthy food would never touch.

The new and improved Happy Meal hit stores in 2011. The newly re-imagined meals still come with staples like hamburger, cheeseburgers and Chicken McNuggets, but now they’ve lowered the sodium and calories by decreasing the size of their fries from 2.4 to 1.1 ounces, and adding healthy sides like apple slices and yogurt. Sugary sodas are also no longer an option. Kids now have a choice of milk (1% white or chocolate) or apple juice.

McDonalds is banking on appealing to an all-new healthier generation of kids. This is an important lesson. If food brands (even ones perceived as being unhealthy) are going to survive, they need to reinvent themselves for Millennial needs. You need to offer new healthier food options, adjust the recipe of current products, and market yourself differently to Millennial parents.

Some trends pass us by. But healthy eating is here to stay. And if a fast food giant like McDonalds knows it, we should all probably take notice.  Marketing healthy food just got a bit faster.

 

Posted on

Marketing Healthy Food: Millennials Will Put Money Where their Mouth is

29% of Millenials say they are “very willing” to pay a premium price for foods they consider healthier, and their trends in spending support this figure. That percentage is higher than any other generation and something that brands should pay attention to when marketing healthy food.

So, marketers in the food and beverage industry have an interesting opportunity to provide healthier options at a higher price and gain Millennial support.

Besides being important in sheer numbers, Millennials tend to take action. Which is why they have become the focus of countless marketing campaigns. They’re a generation of “do-ers” – if they say something, they mean it.

Chipotle is one of the most “It” brands of today to really cash in on this phenomenon of Millennial willing to pay more for higher quality food. The franchise has become a Millennial hotspot, largely due to its widely advertised focus on better quality ingredients. Chipotle is so focused on keeping these youngsters around that they are even willing to take a short-term pay cut in order to prove to Millennials that they mean business in their quest for purity.

For example, Chipotle faced a pork shortage at hundreds of restaurants because it suspended a supplier that violated its strict health standards. And recently, they’ve made good on a promise to eliminate all GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) from their menus. This came after studies showed GMOs to be the number one food concern for consumers, ranking ahead of even calorie count and artificial ingredients. Chipotle now stands behind catchy taglines like “ G-M-Over It” to celebrate the healthy changes.  That’s marketing healthy food done right.

Other marketers are following suit. In the same month as Chipotle, grocer Whole Foods announced it would require all U.S and Canadian stores to label products that contain GMOs, in effect 2018. This no doubt will affect consumer behavior in-store, especially Millennials, who have proven hesitant to buy products with GMOs and “very willing” to pay more for food that’s better for them.

It’s tactics like Chipotle and Whole Foods are taking on that earn big companies Millennial trust. Which ultimately gains these companies Millennial dollars. Products claiming to be “all natural” have enjoyed 24% sales growth over the past two years and organic products have seen a 28% sales growth over that same period. If marketers act, Millennials will too.

But transparency is vital, because this generation won’t stand for false promises. To get an “in” with them, brands need to talk the talk. To keep the relationship, brands need to make like a Millennial and walk the walk. Otherwise, there will always be another “do-er” brand they can turn to. And they won’t hesitate.

Overall, the marketing message to brands is pretty simple. Think healthy when you’re ideating. Advertise healthy when you’re executing. Be healthy through it all.  Make marketing healthy food great again.

Posted on

Brands Taking Sides on GMO Issue in Marketing Healthy Food

Brands Taking Sides on GMO Issue in Marketing Healthy Food

The market for non-GMO foods is growing fast, as evidenced by sales of $1 billion in 2011, and brands are taking notice of the rising demand. As the debate intensifies and the anti-GMO movement gains traction, brands may be forced to take a stand on GMOs or risk falling behind.  And that has those marketing healthy food scrambling to pick sides.

 Regardless of what science says, the consumer’s perception is the brand’s reality. Scientists may sign off on GMOs, but the mess of fear and uncertainty surrounding these ingredients in the minds of consumers demands attention from brands.

According to a study conducted by The NPD Group, over half of U.S. consumers express some level of concern about GMOs. Companies like Whole Foods and pharmaceuticals company Abbott Laboratories have capitalized on this concern, casting themselves as the proactive brands that have the customers’ best interests at heart.

Whole Foods has vowed to label all products with GMOs in their stores. Abbott Laboratories took action as well, removing GMOs from their Similac Advance baby formula, making it the first mainstream baby formula with no genetically altered ingredients. Cheerios has also jumped on the anti-GMO bandwagon, removing GMOs from their cereal.

All of this comes despite the general consensus among the scientific community: GMOs pose no threat to consumers. In fact, a poll of scientists revealed that 89% of respondents believe they are perfectly safe. Many studies reached the same conclusion. As a result, critics like the University of Florida’s chair of the Horticultural Sciences Department, Kevin Folta, have said that gestures like these are “corporate deception in the name of a buck and anti-GMO deception in the name of ideology.”

Moves like those made by Whole Foods, Abbott Laboratories, and Cheerios lend legitimacy to the claims that GMOs are harmful. Not all brands or people who are marketing healthy food know whether or not they are really safe, but the truth is that it doesn’t matter; an increasing proportion of the U.S. population is alarmed, and many marketers are willing to make drastic changes to relieve their worries.

So what should your brand do? Is removing GMOs the only way to avoid scaring away consumers? Not necessarily. Here are some options:

  1. Launch a transparency campaign. First make sure you understand the science of GMOs, and then you may address consumers’ wide array of worries. By willingly starting this conversation, you could help consumers keep their confidence in your brand.
  2. Buckle down and remove GMOs. Maybe this is the best plan of action for you, after all. This can be an expensive transition, but it has great potential to create goodwill with your audience. Make sure to make the change with all of your product offerings, or consumers may question their safety in comparison to your non-GMO offerings.

However you decide to cope with this perception problem, the fact remains—the issue of GMOs can no longer be avoided. Why not get ahead of the discussion and take a position before your consumers decide for you?  Become proactive when marketing healthy food.

Posted on

Marketing Health Food Companies Who Have Been Bought Out

Consumers of health food shuddered in September when Annie’s Homegrown sold to General Mills, joining the ranks of other health brands who have been bought out by larger corporations.  Those marketing health food may ask why.

When trusted health brands are acquired by larger distrusted corporations, consumers struggle to believe that the integrity of the product they love will remain. So how can both the corporation and the health food company maintain the trust of their loyal consumer?

1. Address the concerns of the consumer head on

Ignoring the problem won’t make the consumer forget. The consumer may feel betrayed by their healthy food brand. Their concerns need to be addressed immediately and consistently. When Clorox bought out Burt’s Bees for $193 million in 2007, the chief executive of Burt’s Bees personally called consumers who had contacted them with concerns.

Both the corporation and the health food company should make PR efforts to communicate honestly with the consumer. Many brands have utilized social media to create a conversation with the consumer that makes them feel heard. And that goes a long way.

2. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it

One of the greatest concerns that consumers have is that the product they love will change. This concern isn’t without reason. General Mills also purchased Cascadian Farms back in 1999, when Cascadian Farms cereals was famous for having “no added sugar.”

In 2009, a consumer noticed that one of their cereals had tripled its sugar. Complaints arose from consumers eventually forcing the company to stop adding sugar, returning the product to its original state. However, this created a huge rift in the trust between the consumer and General Mills.

Obviously, if Annie’s is worth purchasing, they must be doing something right. Corporations should tread carefully when considering making changes to a beloved product or risk facing backlash from their consumers.  If not, marketing health food will be a nightmare.

General Mills made a statement after acquiring Annie’s Homegrown that they intend to allow them to have relative autonomy. General Mills CEO stated, “We’ve learned a tremendous amount from these various natural and organic companies we have acquired and we have been very good about leaving them alone, letting them do their thing.”

3. Keep it transparent

Consumers fear corporations will make “subtle ingredient changes that would slowly de-healthify its natural and organic brands to save money.” Very often, these companies don’t address these changes or are even able to hide them behind the loose standards of food labeling, particularly when using word like “Natural”, which has no exact definition developed by the FDA.

Brands would be wise to keep it real. The more open and honest a brand is with their consumer, the more loyalty they can expect in return.

So to the corporations who are wise enough to recognize the power of smaller healthy food, be wise enough to take the proper steps to nourish the trust of the loyal consumers who will sustain you and help you grow.  Marketing health food doesn’t have to be a corporate takeover.

Posted on

Strategic Consumer Segmenting in Healthy Food Marketing

As marketers, in the most basic sense of the term, we’re tasked with meeting consumer demand with the supply of a particular product or service. But we know our roles are so much more than that. With the influx of digital technologies that give us the capability to capture more and more data than we ever could have imagined, it seems that our jobs in healthy food marketing are becoming more and more difficult.

This feels especially true when segmenting consumers into strategic targets. While digital media has afforded us the capability to target consumers 1 on 1, we know we cannot create strategy that way. So when it comes to the healthy consumer, how simply can we segment while keeping our targets tight and actionable? A few thoughts:

Through years of research and tons of experience marketing healthy food to families, I have identified four key segments that I would pursue when marketing an array of healthy food products. In a way, this is a scale from least health-conscious to self-motivated health and wellness to life-dependent health consciousness.  If you’re in healthy food marketing, read on.

Flavor-Driven Fledgling

  • Motivations and Triggers: Making the most of what ingredients and time she has
  • Exercise: When possible
  • Attitudes and Behaviors: Shopping on a budget shouldn’t mean sacrificing flavor. Turn to inexpensive and convenient flavor solutions for dressing up cheaper cuts of meat and making everyday meals more exciting. Overall, they try to make the “less bad” choice whenever possible.
  • Barriers to the next level: Balancing cost, convenience and flavor

Motivated Moderate

  • Motivations and Triggers: Feeling and looking good, especially after starting a family. Teaching the family healthy habits.
  • Exercise: Every other day or so for weight maintenance and stress relief
  • Attitudes and Behaviors: Delicious and healthy is the end goal, within the framework of familiar foods the family already enjoys. Preference for colorful balanced meals that are nourishing, yet indulgent.
  • Barriers to the next level: Balancing flavor and health with less emphasis on cost (although going all organic and all-natural is still cost prohibitive).

Devoted Well-Doer

  • Motivations and Triggers: Living longer, sharing healthy habits with children and social responsibility
  • Exercise: 100% integrated into lifestyle. Long-term, not needs-based.
  • Attitudes and Behaviors: Food is a means of feeling nourished in mind, body and soul. Preference for simple, authentic and sustainably sourced foods, made with integrity and pure ingredients that inspire.
  • Barriers to the next level: None as these consumers are at forefront of health and wellness, however they still strive to do better than the day before.

Restricted Reactive

  • Motivations and Triggers: Better health/minimize symptoms and live longer
  • Exercise: To the extent of doctor’s orders or ability
  • Attitudes and Behaviors: Looking for healthier options that only require subtle changes in diet
  • Barriers to the next level: Limited healthy knowledge beyond doctor’s orders, lack of desire to sacrifice flavor for health.

 

Check out more insights on healthy food marketing on my twitter.

Posted on

Marketing Healthy Food: Don’t forget taste!

If you’re a marketer trying to talk “healthy”, remember that people have deep-seated beliefs and perceptions around eating and what it takes to eat and ‘be healthy’. It could take years of therapy (and your budget) to change it. So work with your consumer and meet them where they’re at. And please, don’t forget taste appeal!

Consumers read into health messaging more deeply and emotionally than marketers do. It’s not clean cut. There’s a tug of war in their subconscious. Years of the diet industry have wreaked havoc on the average American. People don’t know what’s “good” or “bad” anymore. Is a baked potato considered healthy these days? They’re as mixed up and skeptical as ever.

Marketers, on the other hand, must know what side of the fence their brand/product is on.

Are you the healthier cookie or the yummier yogurt? Are you trying to offer a better, guilt-free treat (heavy on the “health”) or are you selling a more pleasurable ‘healthy food’ (heavy on the “taste”). These are two different consumer mindsets and thus challenges for you to face. Either way, be positive! Nobody wants to summon the latent guilt or negative associations.

In order to do that, we have to acknowledge that there’s a strong inherent tension between Health and Taste. There’s a general consensus that healthy food tastes bad. Let’s explore.

First think about the imagery and feelings conjured up in your mind when I mention the word “taste”. Taste is mostly what makes eating pleasurable. Science shows us that without our sense of taste, many of us lose our appetites and drive to eat altogether. It becomes a chore (I couldn’t imagine that!).

Taste (the ability to recognize flavor) is also what helps us make connections with people – the better the flavor, the better the food and the longer people linger and talk. Taste can invoke memories, define an event/moment, and inspire people to create.

Now lets think about ‘health’. On one side, “health” offers an unlimited list of benefits that span far beyond the moment of eating something delicious. It’s a wise choice, few would disagree. And the old adage, ‘health is wealth’ couldn’t be more true. Especially as people start families and head toward middle age and retirement years, health is a central part of their lives and values.

However even if one fully subscribes to a healthy lifestyle, it’s not always pleasurable. We’re living in a culture that’s surrounded by overabundance and quick fixes. It takes work to be healthy. Conscious shopping, aware consuming, restrictive diets and exercising far more than one would like. Regardless of viewpoints, it’s not the easy path.

For more in-depth reading on the topics above:

Why it’s hard to change unhealthy behavior — and why you should keep trying
Taste Remains Consumers’ Top Preference for New Foods and Beverages
Emotional Eating? 5 Reasons You Can’t Stop
Posted on

Marketing Healthy Food to the Millennial Moms

Millennials… just when we think we have them figured out, we discover that they still preserve some traits from previous generations.

Turns out that despite all the self-obsessed, me-generation stereotypes, “parenthood is an important, if not the most important, aspiration for the majority of them.”   And because of this, there is an ever-emerging segment among the Gen Y target audience, which have been coined the Millennial Moms –representing 46% of total women in their age group.

And while there are many attributes that make the millennial mom unique from a Gen X mom what we found most interesting is their intense desire to feed themselves and their family as healthy as possible. In fact, it has been reported that 6 out of 10 Millennials report eating healthier than their parents.

And when they are on the brink of becoming parents themselves, this becomes even more true. From the moment they realize they are pregnant, most millennial moms start to think about everything they eat and how it might affect themselves and their children. This trend continues into parenthood and intensifies as their child begins to eat “real food”.

What’s even more interesting is the priority for eating healthy transcends economic levels. A Millennial mom with more a disposable income tends to get more organic or natural foods- that tend to be more expensive.

However, lower income millennial moms don’t let this stop them because it is such a priority for them.   So, they have found other ways to be healthy without breaking the bank. They tend to make sacrifices just to make sure they can feed their families the healthier alternatives.

One easy way they accomplish this is by simply cooking at home. They seek out the healthiest recipes and recreate them on their budget. They know that by cooking at home they can have full control of what they are feeding their children.

So knowing how important these millennial moms are and how important it is to speak to them, the below highlight a few key points to remember when talking about food.

  • Millennial Moms on average spend 17.4 hours on social sites which is 4 hours more on average than any other ‘mother’ group
  • 7 out of 10 of Millennial Moms are watching food videos weekly
    • 68% purchase food products featured in videos they watch
    • And 9 out 10 are open to watching branded content
  • 35% of food and beverage product page views are accessed from a mobile device and 40% report using a smartphone while shopping in stores
Posted on

Healthy Food Marketing and the Future of the Clean Label

Healthy Food Marketing and the Future of the Clean Label

Consumer perception of “Natural” labeling on packaged and processed foods range from ‘no artificial materials during processing’ to no ‘artificial ingredients’, to ‘no pesticides’ and ‘no GMOs’. Knowing that there is less regulation around “Natural” than say, “Organic”, brands have been known to resort to ‘natural washing’ to find their place in the healthy consumers’ consideration set. However, today’s consumers expect more from food brands and their labeling practices when it comes to feeding themselves and their families.

In fact, 66% of consumers believe that natural means no artificial ingredients, while 86% feel that natural should mean no artificial ingredients. According to a Consumer Reports survey of 1,000 consumers, similar gaps exist across the other perceived meanings of “natural” when it comes to food labeling signifying the opportunity for smart brands to fill these gaps between perceived meaning and wanted meaning when using claims on packaging.

graph

This perception/ expectation gap should come as no surprise to marketers as the family food-shopper is more knowledgeable and savvy than ever, looking beyond the front label for information. Today’s food-shopper has a world of information at their fingertips. If there’s something they can’t pronounce on a label, chances are they’ll be searching it on their smartphone before the product earns a place in their cart. With all this knowledge, the average consumers find themselves seeking the cleanest labels, and often wanting more from their brands.

So what does this mean to food brands looking to claim their place in the healthy family lifestyle? Rather than ubiquitous labeling of natural, building trust may require labels that answer more questions than they raise. Kraft has taken this seriously with the removal of artificial colors and preservatives in their blue-box Macaroni & Cheese, instead using natural coloring agents such as paprika, annatto and turmeric. While there may be some blowback from those who hold this mac and cheese nostalgia near and dear, we believe the brand will only benefit from such shifts towards more natural, less processed ingredients. Sure, this may come at a price premium but with the proliferation of organic options spawning from specialty markets and now reaching the masses via supermarkets and even Walmart, we all know consumers are willing to pay more for quality that they can trust.

Posted on

Follow the Food Marketing Leaders When It Comes to Healthy

Follow the Food Marketing Leaders When It Comes to Healthy

If you’re a healthy food brand struggling to market yourself, take a cue from the brands that have been doing it with success.

An excellent place to start doing that is here, the nominees of Food News Media’s inaugural HALO awards, which seek to recognize restaurant chains for making “genuinely positive contributions, through both menu and messaging, to a Healthy, Active Lifestyle for consumers.”

“But these are just fast food chains,” you say. “What can a fast food brand teach me about marketing in an industry where health and wellness is top of mind? Why should I care what a brand like Chik-Fil-A does?”

Despite a ton of press around Chik-fil-A’s polarizing politics, the brand’s business and communications appear to be a bright spot.

Any brand that spends seven years and more than $50 million testing a healthier grilled chicken recipe, like Chik-fil-A just did, is doing something right and deserves some recognition. That’s seven years and more than $50 million that could have been spent researching ways to sell more product, open more locations, and put out communications in favor of their (then) less healthy menu items, but instead was spent listening to their consumers and their desire for an option that both fit their healthy lifestyle and that didn’t taste awful. They even developed their own kind of grill specifically for their new grilled chicken.

Food News Media explains its initiation of the HALO awards by saying that “chain restaurants should get the widespread recognition they deserve for encouraging health and activity, and…the positive coverage winners receive will spur further innovations.” I say it’s an awesome idea.

So what has your brand done in the name of health lately?

Or, more crucially, what has your brand done in the name of health and shared lately? Because that’s what’s just as important for your brand’s image in the minds of your consumers—not only that you make the effort to offer a more health-conscious product but that you announce it to the masses and are proud of it.

And for Chik-fil-A it’s paid off. A recent USA Today article commends the brand:

“The chicken chain with more than $5 billion in annual sales is listening and responding to the needs of Millennials by promising to remove antibiotics from the chicken, high fructose corn syrup from its dressings and perhaps even plastic from its serving trays.”

Chik-fil-A proves that if you listen well to your consumers, great things will happen. All the buzz around the brand’s do-good, pro-Millennial attitude has potential investors salivating at the possibility of a long-awaited Chik-fil-A IPO this year.

But there’s your lesson; you can either be the brand that changes the norm or you can change your norm because of other brands. You’ll have to pick one—or risk being left behind.

Posted on

Healthy Food Marketing and Wearable Tech Innovation

From the Apple Watch to Samsung Gear’s S. From the Fitbit Flex to the Jawbone UP. Wearables are the hot topic in the tech world – there’s even the Whistle, a smart activity-tracking dog collar.

Lucky for the healthy food marketer or those looking to push into the trending health(ier) food and beverage businesses, many of the latest wearables were developed with health in mind and with the ability to track heart rate, sleep patterns and activity levels.

Accordingly, athletic brands like Under Armour also have claimed their stake in market with their own first-party apps or through the acquisition of established apps (Under Armour went on a shopping spree purchasing multiple existing fitness apps).

Through their vast capabilities, these devices can empower the consumer to take control of leading a more active and healthy lifestyle.

Here are a few ways for healthy food brands to get involved.

 

1. Gamification

Currently, fitness tracking apps such as MapMyFitness have challenge features that consumers can interact with to push their fitness to the next level. When they reach a specific goal, they may qualify for points, be granted premium app features free of charge or win prizing from sponsoring brands.

With the proliferation of wearables and the enhanced tracking abilities, this has the potential to become a huge opportunity for brands, especially those marketing healthy benefits to consumers.

A key opportunity is the ability for brands to target specific types of athletes and healthy lifestyle consumers, or their goals and accomplishments by the activities tracked. For instance, GU Gels might offer awards to the long-distance runner while Special K could target the casual walker.

2. Supplementing

While still a work in progress, the next phase of wearable devices and health tracking is diagnostics beyond steps walked, calories burned and heart rates.

According to an article by Smithsonian contributor and digital strategist Randy Rieland, many developers are working on hardware and apps that can track the body’s hydration and electrolyte levels through a variety of technologies which then alert the consumer to drink some water.

As this technology evolves we may be able to glean even more information than hydration with the ability to serve consumers advertising specific to their needs, whether it be to drink a bottle of water, a sports drink or take a vitamin.

3. Geo-targeting

Last but not least, with wearables constantly connected via wifi, GPS and 3 or 4G connections, marketers can take advantage of geo-targeting opportunities. So when your device senses you are in need of water, marketers could serve ads leading you to retailers or brands, vending machines or kiosks where their products are sold. And as these technologies evolve, these alerts could become more and more specific.

Who would have ever imagined that consumers might actually be wearing a device that would give brands such incredible data, and that they could also use to market directly to them?

Posted on

Healthy Food Marketing Starts With Honesty

Healthy Food Marketing Starts With Honesty

The most successful health food brands today are the ones that pride themselves on having an open dialogue with the consumers that choose their products. The takeaway? If you want to market health food successfully, you must be as transparent as possible.

There is no denying the fact that consumers today, especially Millennials, demand to know where their food comes from, how it’s treated, who handled it, etc. For the brands out there that have chosen to ignore this trend in health (and in our national psychology), it’s time to either get with the program or get into a different line of business.

There is also no denying the advantage in being completely transparent about food sourcing, business practices—well, everything—if you intend to be a successful brand with a consumer base that trusts you.

And that’s exactly what comes to a brand when it’s as honest as it can be with its consumers. Trust.

And what comes with trust? More revenue, better business, and a greater relationship with the people and the environment.

A perfect example is SunOpta, a natural and organic food product specialist.

Just visit their site and you’ll realize quickly not only how committed they are to the health and wellbeing of their consumers but how committed they are to making sure you know that. The pages of the site are chock full of their philosophy, mission statements, and ideologies (“we have long recognized what is good for the environment and society is also good for our business”). And if you don’t feel like reading, just watch the video.

The point is that the public’s demand to know where its food comes from won’t be going anyway anytime soon. SunOpta is just one of the many health food brands that are being as forthcoming as they can about their practices.

Maybe that’s why companies like Where Food Comes From, Inc. exist (I know, what a great name)—to verify the quality of food. The company describes itself as “an independent, third-party food verification company [that cares] about food, how it’s grown and raised, the quality of what we eat, what farmers and ranchers do, and authentically telling that story to you.”

And if you think being too honest might be detrimental, Where Food Comes From has been so busy auditing food producers that they just reported record revenue and earnings growth for the first quarter of 2015. How’s that for proof that consumers won’t settle for anything but the truth?

So just like SunOpta and Where Food Comes From, as long as your brand makes honesty a priority, only good things will come.

Posted on

Is the Alkaline Diet here to stay in Healthy Food Marketing?

Is the Alkaline Diet here to stay in Healthy Food Marketing?

From Atkin’s to the Zone Diet, diets come and go both in media and consumers’ minds, but as we’re all aware, not all diets are created equal. Some gain traction and go from diet of the day to movement, and as brands, it’s critical that we realize the importance of being a part of that movement when appropriate.

So let’s talk alkalinity. For starters, the body’s levels of acidity and alkalinity fluctuate from acidic in the stomach to alkaline in the blood. Proponents of the Alkaline diet believe that through the consumption of many fruits, vegetables, legumes and lots of water while avoiding alcohol, processed foods and animal-based products (meats, cheeses, milks), it is possible to produce less acid in the body and thus promote more alkaline blood. While the jury is still out on the extent of the health benefits of higher blood alkaline, few could argue that more fruits and veggies and less alcohol and processed foods would be a poor diet direction to take.

So, which brands should get involved? Here are just a few categories that are poised to position themselves within the alkaline-centric market.

  • Water – While Alkaline waters may be the first branded products to boast the functional benefits of the alkaline-diet specific water, brands are beginning to think outside of the bottle. Water brands are now opening retail locations where consumers can fill reusable glass bottles with alkaline-friendly water, customized with their choice of additional vitamins, minerals and supplements – and at a premium. Cameron Costa, in a CNBC article entitled, “Alkaline Water: Small Business Boom or Bubble?” noted that at one such retail location, Molecule in NYC, consumers can pay up to $4.22 for a single glass of water.
  • Cooking Oils – Most home cooks are familiar with olive oil as a salad dressing and cooking ingredient but there are a few more oils seeking a place in the healthy consumers pantry. Certainly not new products, but gaining traction, avocado oil, flax oil and coconut oil are becoming household ingredients gracing the shelves from Whole Foods to Costco. While all are candidates for cooking use while on an alkaline diet, coconut oil as the most trendy. In the New York Times piece, “Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World”, Melissa Clarks tells of how this product when from movie-theater popcorn demon in 1994 to the health food baby of today, with Whole Foods witnessing double digit sales growth for years.
  • Juices– We’re not talking about sugar-laden processed juices, but whole food, pressed juices. These juices can provide a great source of nutrient-rich fruit and vegetable juice that make it easy to get full servings of alkaline foods. And despite the premium costs, with some brands getting $12/bottle at retail, it’s hard to say what the ceiling is to this trend.

This Alkaline Diet is just one of many trends on which smart food marketers can capitalize.