Simple-To-Use Sports Nutrition Scores With Users' Complicated Needs
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Simple-use sports nutrition products with complex formulas but not an “all in one” approach are in demand, says Mike Roussell, nutrition consultant and founder of consultancy firm Naked Nutrition.
Sports nutrition marketers should think holistically about how consumers use products and how formulas fit into their daily regimens, says Mike Roussell, founder of multimedia nutrition consultancy company Naked Nutrition LLC.
At the Ingredients Marketplace trade show and conference in Orlando on April 28, Roussell, who has a doctorate in nutrition and is the author of three books on sports nutrition, spoke on the fast-growing market segment.
According to market research firm Euromonitor International, the sports nutrition and beverage market globally reached $28.7bn in 2015.
Consultant Mike Roussell says although complex formulations are common for nutritional supplements, the products generally should be “simple” to use.
Roussell, who also contributes content to Bodybuilding.com and health and fitness publications, says many sports supplements users practice complicated daily nutritional regimens that can include protein products, herbals, vitamins and minerals as well as amino acids. Leading hectic lives he called "friction," these consumers also are categorizing products into pre- and post-workout, and into mid-day and overnight use.
“Their lives are friction, so how do you create products that smooth that? The question is, how can you create products that work together throughout the client’s day? This is key for transcending how we currently think about products,” said Roussell.
Roussel said one of his clients uses two backpacks-full of supplements daily, with each product labeled so he could remember when to take the products and at what dosage. “There was this whole organizational feat to doing this, but it wasn’t helping him because he was stressed about everything he was supposed to take and how.”
He said nutritional products generally should be “simple” to use, though complex formulations are common. But he added, “Complexity is not necessarily in having a [massive list] of ingredients, but complexity in thought and design.”
For example, rather than launching another casein protein product, a firm can say “this is your nighttime prevention night snack” product, containing several ingredients to help suppress hunger, he suggested. “So that’s how it’s positioned, clearly, and that’s how to use it.”
Roussell also pointed out most consumers are more educated and will see past the “kitchen sink” products loaded with too many ingredients or promoted as addressing all active nutrition needs. “Pitching someone that idea that you just take a scoop of this and make it better everywhere – people are skeptical of that,” he said.
He also advised marketers to steer clear of launching products packed with stimulants or “under dosed,” so they offer all hype and no benefit.
As far as current preferences, he said consumers not only continue to prefer products free of stimulants, gluten and synthetic ingredients, many also are looking for dye-free options. “I’m surprised at how this is becoming a buying point decision for people. If you had two comparable products, the people would take the ‘no food dye’ product all day.”