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? 