Making Nutrition Engaging & Exciting To The New-Age Consumers

Ajay Khanna Mar 11, 2022

Good nutrition forms the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. Remember, our mothers trying to make us eat green vegetables, seasonal fruits, and supplementation with Chyawanprash? Over the years, especially, as a part of the post-pandemic reality, the shift in consumer interest from reactive to proactive in nutrition and immunity is highly evident.

Across geographies, consumers are looking at a more holistic idea of nutrition. In this era, thinking about it through the limited lens of just diet, fitness, or niche health trends is simply outdated. For these new-age tech-savvy consumers, health and nutrition are now a part of the everyday choices they make. Hence, its incumbent on the brands to evolve with the emerging trends and engage with consumers to simplify nutrition, making it fun and on the go, alongside providing a complete wellness solution, encompassing the optimal health philosophy of EARN, which stands for Adequate Exercise, Positive Attitude, Adequate Rest, and a well-balanced diet & Nutrition. Therefore, a holistic solution-led approach is what works best with this generation who are looking at experiences that are relatable, engaging, educative, and is customised and personalised to their specific needs. Few of these clear trends, if leveraged correctly, can help the brands meet consumers’ needs while driving growth:

Fun With Formats

Never underestimate the value of fun. Even though the awareness of the benefit of supplements is clear, consumers, especially new-age consumers, are unenthusiastic about conventional pills and tablets, and instead, seek to get their supplements in different formats or even in the food form. According to global nutrition trends, consumers, especially millennials, are looking for alternatives that are fun, easy to consume, fit their on-the-go lifestyles yet are tasty and effective. Here, gummies and jelly strips have emerged as winning formats in terms of taste, fun elements, and effectiveness.

While this is becoming a competitive space quickly, it is still an emerging category. Fun and easy to consume formats are a tremendous opportunity for nutrition brands to deliver value to consumers with targeted innovations. Aligning to the consumer needs and with the aim to simplify nutrition, Amway recently introduced a range of nutrition supplements in trendy, tasty, convenient, and simplified formats like flavorful gummies and mouth dissolving jelly strips under its flagship brand Nutrilite.

Coming Clean & Transparent

Nutrition has always been a part of wellness, but now consumers want the products and brands to help them accomplish their goals in addition to tasting good. More and more consumers are looking for products with ingredients that are minimally processed, natural, and free from artificial ingredients. This is evident from recent reports that observed massive 58% of consumers believe clean eating has high nutritional value; it plays a key role in their buying decision.

Today, it’s even not a trend anymore, it’s the basic rule. This global consumer-driven movement has also evolved to encompass transparency,i.e., how the ingredients are sourced and how the product is made and packaged. Consumers want to know and understand the entire product lifecycle - the ingredient journey, from source to the final product and beyond. These ideas are increasingly becoming key pillars of trust under the clean label movement. This is a clear opportunity for the brands to align their products and tailor their communication as per the values consumers are seeking to engage with them on a deeper level.

Plant Forward: Back To Roots

As a part of a holistic approach to better living, people are increasingly turning towards a plant-based diet. Especially, the tech-savvy young Indians who are more inclined towards conscious eating habits backed by health benefits and ethical reasoning. A recent study observed that over 85% of Indian consumers prefer plant-based foods. Traditionally, a plant-based diet such as whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, herbs and spices and everything that comes from plants has been a huge part of the diet of Indians. This makes India an ideal base for a plant-based food solution, as it is already a part of the cuisine culture.

The plant-forward movement essentially checks all the columns today’s consumers look for through products – health, sustainability, and animal welfare. This is the moment in the sun for the plant-based nutrition solution. Brands such as Nutrilite by Amway have an 80-year long legacy in perfecting a plant-based approach to supplementation, which resonates well with what consumers of today are looking for. Derived from natural sources, plant-based supplements are absorbed well and safe for long-term consumption. Further, they can easily be converted into fun formats such as gummies with innovations in modern food technology. Addressing this growing need, allows brands to play a critical role in enabling better nutrition and ultimately, connecting with this rising consumer base.

Nutrition has never been one-size-fits-all. Unlike many other categories, people rely on leading nutritional brands to help them make a positive change in their lives. The best brands in the segment must be adaptable, agile, and resilient as they align to the purpose-driven conscious consumers and create value to build long-lasting and trusting relationships.

*The author is Ajay Khanna, CMO, Amway India