Even though it doesn’t always look so, human society is making big steps forward. We are becoming more socially aware. We are becoming much more environmentally aware. And, what’s most important, we take much better care of our health than our ancestors.
Just for the illustration, at the moment the global health and wellness food market is estimated at about $104.27 billion. These numbers will grow to $162.09 billion by 2026. So, if you were planning to start selling healthy, organic, and fair trade food, this is the perfect moment.
However, this rapid growth and spreading interest still put the healthy food market in a very unique position where the established consumers are facing excessive overexposure while people who are still on the fence have a very hard time finding some established brand to follow.
Let us see then how both these problems can be solved and what you can do to successfully put your company on the healthy food market map.
Be as transparent as possible
In the introduction, we have briefly mentioned that people are becoming very interested in different social, environmental, and economic issues. All these topics are usually under the close observation of the social and consumer groups interested in healthy nutrition. So, allow your future customers to take a peek behind the curtain and make sure your products are 100% healthy, organic, and in compliance with the fair trade economy. This simple move will lend you a great deal of credibility, easily set you apart from competitors and turn you into a force of good your customers won’t have a problem recommending.
Define a market niche
The food market may seem niche enough, but we are still talking about a massive market with thousands of different products and sub-markets. Firing up on all cylinders and simply trying to appeal to a general consumer may sound like a good marketing offensive but you may also run into a danger of spreading your resources too thin. What we recommend instead is to try to define some niche where you won’t face fewer competitors and be able to focus your marketing efforts. For instance, focusing on fitness food will open doors to already establish customer pools, and tried and true marketing strategies.
Leverage the power of social media
People who are interested in healthy food are usually inquisitive persons who like to research, discuss and learn new things. Social media platforms present the most important channel where these bits of information and recommendation are exchanged and this process will happen whether you take part in it or not. Do your best then to establish a strong social media presence and be allowed to steer this conversation in whatever direction you want. As long as you maintain open two-way communication and keep the community engaged with various posts, giveaways, and fresh content, you will do just fine.
Develop a strong brand voice
The purpose of a strong brand is to incite some kind of emotional response in the intended customer pool. Speaking in cold numbers, we can refer to a recent survey that indicates that as much as 64% of female and 68% of male consumers would more likely buy from a company they feel an emotional connection with. That is why you should infuse your brand with a healthy dose of personality the buyers will be able to relate with. So, develop a unique voice and CRM approach, send consistent messages, try to be educational and helpful, and let your employees serve as real-life ambassadors of these qualities.
Use certified products and reliable vendors
Both these things can be used to your advantage and leveraged across social media channels. What’s even better, by using the certified and established food brands and publically displaying the info about the ingredients you will be effectively tapping into the established pools of their established consumers? In some cases, the manufacturers may be open to some sort of cross-promotion and shared marketing initiatives. Therefore, as soon as you find a reliable health food store and pick your product slate, try getting in touch with the manufacturers and get a green light to use their brand for promo purposes.
Start a killer educational blog
Blogging is the perfect way to lure in people who are still uncertain about some brand or type of product that is a match made in heaven for the health industry. People like to read about different types of diets, nutrition regimens, recipes, and the effect food has on their personal wellbeing. Offering this knowledge for free will invite all these persons to visit your website, get familiar with your brand and portfolio, and eventually consider buying some of your products. Starting a blog will also considerably help you with developing the brand voice we have mentioned above, so don’t waste your time and start writing now.
Rally customers around some cause
Embracing some popular cause can be a very powerful tool you can use to rally the consumers behind your banner. According to a recent survey, as many as 71% of buyers stated they would buy from companies that are aligned with their cited values. Furthermore, an astounding 94 out of 100 people would be ready to switch brands to support some good cause. These are very powerful numbers. Now, you only need to find some charity or local cause worth supporting. Even if you are unable to donate some substantial sums of money, organizing fundraisers and collecting donations will spark a lot of good buzz.
Raise your SEO game
In this day and age, any kind of sensible online marketing campaign couldn’t be imagined without a good effort on the SEO front. To put it simply, 93% of all online experiences start with a search engine. If you want to have any hope of standing out from the crowd and getting noticed by consumers you need to rank your website as high on the Google SERP as possible. Also, a growing number of people use their phones to look for immediate services in their proximity without performing previous research queries. Using the power of the local SEO will help you drive a lot of these folks to the doors of your niche food store.
Develop a mobile app
Don’t get us wrong – a professional website will make starting and endpoint of the marketing efforts you are going to take. But, no one can deny that developing a mobile app offers some unique perks that can’t be achieved through this channel. First and foremost, the app always stays on allowing you to send notifications and personalized messages as well as gather more comprehensive info about the users’ behavior. Second, the apps are easier and simpler to use, motivating the consumer to pop it open far more frequently. And that icon stays always on the screen doing some really good things for your brand. This is why you should start looking for mobile app development services that will fit your needs and help you grow your business.
We hope these few examples gave you some general idea about the strategies you can use to stand out from the rapidly growing health food market as well as motivate countless people who are still on the fence to explore this new nutrition option. What’s important to remember is that your future clients are very open-minded people who take health very seriously. So, instead of throwing things against the wall to see what sticks, try to understand these persons as best as possible and play your campaigns to their specific tastes.
In the end, you both have the same goal – you only need to fill in the missing dots.
