The trend has slowed down but has not stopped: who buys healthy products and how to promote them correctly
Despite a decline in the population’s purchasing power, sales of healthy products on the market are increasing from year to year. This is happening especially quickly in online marketplaces, where the target audience for this category is growing rapidly. In an article by Realnoe Vremya, the director of the marketing department of the Makheyev trading house, Inna Popova, explains how this market is doing today, the prospects for superfoods and healthy products in Russia and why major brands that do not have not yet worked on the “healthy” “The shelf is trying to reach it.
“We care about you”
The trend towards healthy eating is developing more slowly in Russia than in the West. But there is still some development, it has seen good growth until 2022. There are two types of key players in the market: first, it is the small producers (often local) who immediately concentrated on healthy products and superfoods. Secondly, these are industrial giants who have been trying their hand and producing ordinary food products for many years. For example, let’s take ourselves: the company was founded in 1998, when there was no trend towards healthy eating in general. During the turbulent years, the consumer did not care about a healthy lifestyle and superfoods: it was important for many families to simply survive. The economy has changed, so have we, trying to keep up with the trends over these 25 years.
Our two products have become a response to general healthy fashion. Sugar-free and starch-free ketchup was the first of them, and we started making it not even following the start of the healthy lifestyle trend. It all started with the need for a diabetic diet so that people with diabetes could meet their needs for delicious and diverse foods. This is a fairly large consumer group: according to official statistics for 2021, 5.2 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes in Russia.
We taught consumers to choose this product through packaging, experimented with communication and design. For example, we increased the sales element — the inscription “0% sugar”, created a special environmentally friendly design, different from the main line of ketchups, added a QR code with a recipe.
The trend has strengthened, as has the healthy products section and we have also followed the trend. This is how a sugar-free strawberry jam appeared in our range. Our adversaries from large companies have also chosen the same direction, in different segments. For example, our brand focuses on sauces and pantry products, while one of the largest oilseed processors in the country has chosen to expand into soy meat. So, all major umbrella brands today try to follow a healthy diet. This enhances the image of a brand. The main message conveyed by each of these producers is “We care.” There is a dialogue with the consumer, there is contact, trust is built.
“Now the consumer is more economical”
Many new products were hitting the market before the coronavirus crisis. Nielsen surveys showed a large number of new products, both in the FMCG sector in general and in the food category in particular. The consumer was interested in constantly trying something new, we discovered their moods for foodie trends. Moreover, with all borders opening, people could travel more and try new tastes and national cuisines and try to create a special gastronomic atmosphere at home. They were also ready to vote for healthy products and superfoods with the ruble.
However, since last year, there has been a downward trend in purchasing power and price is becoming the determining factor in the choice of products. According to Nielsen, 89 out of 100 consumers choose a product primarily based on its price. Now the buyer is more rational and makes a choice in favor of conservative and classic tastes. They try to buy familiar and tested products. This means that a producer runs the risk of not getting the expected response when launching a new product.
In this regard, brands developing only healthy eating continue to be active. They grow and develop because they have already taught the consumer to consume their product.
But we must also take into account that with the generation of consumers, their priorities change. Despite the economic crisis, the demand for healthy food is increasing, which means that the supply is also increasing. Besides, the target audience is also getting older, they are becoming more creditworthy and, therefore, sales are also increasing. The competitive environment is increasing, new brands and new types of products are appearing on the market – although this trend has seriously slowed down, we cannot say that it has stopped.
Online or offline?
We clearly see in our products that healthy products are sold better in federal chain stores and online marketplaces. In federal chains, deliberately allocated departments, where major brands active in the healthy food segment are usually represented, are developing.
Time is one of the most precious resources today. This is why people seek to make a purchase in as little time as possible – this means they use online channels more than offline stores. This especially applies to the target audience aged 19 to 29.
We joined e-commerce recently: the online grocery segment is very young and has actually only grown significantly during the pandemic. It is very convenient to promote and sell healthy products electronically, because here there are many instruments for shaping impulsive demand. And the majority of the target audience is online (or they actively own both – combine online and offline shopping). This is why if advertising campaigns are correctly targeted, the path to purchase turns out to be short, almost instantaneous. Additionally, the speed of delivery has changed, significantly increasing the intensity of products leaving dark store warehouses.
To sell a product on online platforms, you cannot do without promotion. This requires investments, both financial and intellectual, but also time. Good targeting costs money, but it allows you to target the audience accurately. A lot of routine work also needs to be done to design the context and maps. It should be clear from the start that a product is sugar-free, it is considered healthy. We support this process through different commercial marketing mechanisms. We use cross-promotion with other products: for example, we add our jam to a selection of cottage cheese of a no less strong brand and offer a joint discount.
The path to offline shopping is harder, more complicated – and smart category placement is very important here. But the consumer is there too, if everything is done correctly, he knows which stand to go to to buy the product he needs.
“Almost all sales channels now support healthy eating”
The category of people who care about what they do is not so small in Russia. They are on average between 19 and 30 years old, the number of women and men is around fifty-fifty. There are entire channels dedicated to this topic: they are growing both offline and online. Major chain grocery stores have a section with healthy products, even local ones. We can therefore say that almost all sales channels now support healthy eating.
As for forecasting, that’s a very difficult question. We see that consumers’ options are limited. Also, the cost price of the product range is changing: ingredients and logistics are becoming expensive. What happens next will depend on the situation in the world and in the country. External factors play an important role in the development of this trend. We recently faced an experience that no one has ever had. For objective reasons, the planning horizon has significantly decreased. Of course, we continue to sell with discounts and create promotions, but they must turn into targeted and personalized offers. Real sales can thus be stimulated.
We can say with confidence that it is difficult to experiment today for a large producer who has “taught” the consumer to use their products. It is easier to focus on products that consumers are used to. We see that the consumer has moved towards classic, family tastes that suit everyone.
We develop a healthy diet step by step and thanks to it we see a window of opportunities to strengthen the brand image. However, we can certainly say that a competitive environment has emerged for healthy foods and demand has already been shaped. The target audience increases from year to year as do the sales channels. There will always be supply where there is demand.
Inna Popova
Reference
The author’s opinion does not necessarily coincide with the position of the editorial board of Realnoe Vremya.
