Annual Health and Wellness Study Indicates Positive Growth Trends
Published: Monday, October 01, 2001
industry trends.
The HWTR is also predictive of future consumer behavior within the marketplace. NMI concludes from the data that consumers are indeed looking for optimal solutions to manage their health. However, combined with escalated concerns about food safety, the relentless struggle with weight loss, the groundswell return of environmentalism, and the intensified association of personal values with brand choice, it appears that consumers remain overwhelmed by the many health and wellness choices.
The inundation of conflicting information has distracted consumers and created specific entry and exit behaviors that must be addressed by marketers wanting to retain consumers within the health and wellness marketplace.
For example, the awareness of specific terms such as mad cow disease, E. coli, and foot-and-mouth disease (94 percent, 91 percent, and 89 percent respectively, among the general population) reflects one motivation for 30 percent of the general population who say they make a regular effort to have a meatless meal. But with 9 percent of the general population indicating they used soy foods/beverages for the first time last year, total household penetration (percent using) only rose from 24.6 percent in 1999 to 26.1 percent in 2001. This is indicative of specific exit behaviors that must be reduced for the market for these products to grow significantly. General population consumers cite taste, price, lack of convenience and unrecognized nutrition benefits as reasons they don’t eat better or have stopped eating healthy foods such as soy. Thus, significant opportunities exist for improving multiple product features and benefits such as taste expectations, the price-value equation, convenience paradigms and relevant nutritional characteristics.
In addition, attitudes toward the importance of supplements are moving upward, which should be reflected in future positive market behavior and product usage. “Importance to maintaining health” is internalized with consumers as they gather and understand general knowledge about, or the specific benefits of a product or service, and experience the need within their lives. Needs subsequently form beliefs. Belief then drives importance, which drives market behavior and product usage. From 1999 to 2000, importance ratings dropped 10 percent and 13 percent for vitamins/minerals and herbal supplements, respectively. However, The 2001 HWTR showed growth within these ratings of +8 percent for vitamins/minerals and dramatic growth of +21 percent in importance of herbal supplements, both predictive of a continuing upturn in sales.
Further evidence of new consumers within the marketplace also indicates positive potential. For example, 7 percent of the general population used organic foods for the first time last year, and 10 percent indicated initial use of herbal supplements. However, analysis of more than 60 leading healthy brands indicates the lack of overall relevant, meaningful brand relationships. This low consumer awareness of and loyalty to leading organic or healthy brands creates a fragmented market and a lack of retailer and consumer critical mass. Because consumers are overwhelmed, and with evidence of specific entry and exit behavior problems, it is more important than ever to target your consumer. NMI’s new consumer segmentation provides the strategic foundation for such activities.
As part of the HWTR, NMI examined more than 40 health and wellness attitudinal, lifestyle and product-usage patterns, as well as brand/price dimension drivers, to develop maximum differentiation between consumer groups and maximum homogeneity within each consumer group. A variety of statistical examination techniques were used, such as hierarchical clustering, iterative partitioning and structural equation modeling, which provide a predictive accuracy of 93 percent within these segments.
n Within a general population base, the consumer group Well Beings accounts for 17 percent of the population, who are driven to health by all factors, including most wellness products, services and lifestyle activities. They are values-based, early-adopting opinion leaders to whom price and brand image are not very important.
n Food Actives, 21 percent of the population, are dedicated to health through food. They are driven by a desire for balance of diet, exercise and nutrition but are late-adopting opinion followers.
n Magic Bullets, 25 percent of the population, use the easiest means available, i.e. supplements and OTC and prescription medicines to maintain their health. They are also highly driven by price and brand image.
n Fence Sitters, 19 percent of the population, are neutral on most health issues, driven sometimes by food, but they disdain supplementation. They are also price sensitive.
n Eat, Drink & Be Merrys, 18 percent of the population, are unconcerned about health and seek immediate gratification. They are also later-adopting opinion followers.
Analysis across the segments can point out the primary and secondary targets for any new product and will assist the marketer in identifying entry and exit strategies that are key to attracting and converting new customers. For example, “Well Beings” spend the most on health and wellness, accounting for almost one-third of all spending on healthy and natural products. (See Table 1.) Reflective of higher spending patterns, they are 18 percent to 58 percent more likely than the general population to use soy, organic, fortified and functional foods. As so, understanding their motivations and attitudes will be key to successfully positioning any health and wellness product.
Note: All figures are drawn from NMI’s “Health and Wellness Trends Report” (HWTR), an annual, nationally projectable study based on 2,000+ consumer household respondents, containing information on consumer attitudes, behaviors and motivations across 16 shopping channels, more than 90 product categories, 80+ attitudes/beliefs, and much more.
Maryellen Molyneaux is president of The Natural Marketing Institute, a market research, consulting and business-development firm in Harleysville, Pa. For additional information on the health-and-wellness consumer and marketplace, contact 215.513.7300 ext. 226, or visit www.nmisolutions.com.