Healthy options

With New Year’s resolutions a distant memory and spring around the corner, the challenge for brands looking to tap in to the healthy eating market is how they engage with consumers across the year.

Following on from our article on ‘when is the perfect time to market healthy products?‘  a key challenge for brands is how engagement must be sustained beyond the first month of the year in order to achieve sustainable category growth. This is particularly challenging when our data showed that only 1 in 3 set a health related goal in January. Whilst 83% planned to continue with their goals beyond January, engagement must be sustained by brands beyond the first month of the year in order to achieve sustainable growth in the category.

Additional consideration needs to focus on generational skews. Over half of Gen Z set themselves a health-related resolution in early 2024, compared to just 17% of Baby Boomers. As they are more likely to have done so, Gen Z, as well as Millennials, were more likely to have purchased a product with healthy endorsements in January (which they would not have usually purchased).

Consumers seek to make small, achievable changes
Smaller dietary changes, such as cutting back on sugary snacks are the more obvious and achievable ways consumers look to be more healthy. For many consumers they are often not looking to completely overhaul their diet. This does inevitable present a challenge for new healthy products to capture audiences attention.

For example, high-protein items, coming in the form of drinks, snacks, or ready-made meals, present an easy opportunity to make dietary changes. Consumption is highest amongst Gen Z and Millennials, with around a quarter having purchased a high-protein item in January, followed by plant-based and meat-free products. These generations, therefore, present the biggest opportunity to drive forward new health-based ranges.

Nonetheless, older consumers often have more specific health goals which these products could also tap into if landed well. Our January data showed that 29% of Baby Boomers set themselves the task of improving their gut health this year (the highest of any generation), yet are least likely to have purchased a gut health product at just 8%, identifying a potential barrier in the purchase journey for this audience.

Shoppers need help to navigate the healthy-eating landscape
Our data also showed that just under half of Gen Z and Millennials find it difficult to determine which products offer real health benefits, and 4 in 10 feel overwhelmed by the influx of new products at the beginning of the year. It is therefore key for both brands and retailers to improve stand out, understanding, and navigation in this somewhat crowded market.

The M&S x Zoe collaboration is a prime example of how a well marketed product coupled with clear navigation can drive consumer engagement. Their marketing materials are bold, all harnessing a clear message about its health benefits – aligning to M&S’s wider drive for gut health products – and their in-store POS materials further help to differentiate and draw attention.

To help drive this kind of success, we at Savanta have three specialist teams who can help you throughout your journey, all the way from concept development to the shelf.

• Our Innovation team can help from trend monitoring and ideation, all the way to testing out new packaging, ensuring your product is communicating the right messages.
• With the perfect product in place, our brand & comms team can provide comprehensive evaluation of product marketing, adding clear guidance on how to reach and engage with the right consumers.
• And to achieve impact at point-of-sale, our expert shopper team can share clear insights on how to improve the customer journey through strong planogram, and activation.

To find out more, contact our team here. 

Further reading:

• Grocery Eye Q4
• For digital sake