Launching a successful brand requires more than a great product or service in today's fast-paced and competitive health and wellness market.
It demands a strategic approach that begins with understanding your target audience and extends to creating a compelling brand identity. These best practices are not just nice-to-haves; they're essential tools that make the difference between a thriving brand and one struggling to gain traction.
By following this approach, you'll be better equipped to navigate the complex landscape of the wellness industry, connect with your ideal customers, and create a brand that stands out and resonates deeply with consumers' health and lifestyle aspirations.
- Understand Your Consumer
- Research the Competitive Landscape
- Develop a Unique Selling Proposition
- Conduct Consumer Research
- Create a Strong Brand Identity
- Leverage Social Media and Influencer Partnerships
- Prioritize Transparency and Authenticity
- Offer Personalized Experiences
We have included relevant examples from leading health and wellness brands for each best practice. Let’s get started!
1. Understand Your Consumer
Before you create a product, you need to know who you're creating it for. Understanding your target consumer is like getting to know a new friend—you want to learn about their likes, dislikes, habits, and challenges. This knowledge will guide every decision you make for your brand.
Example:
Ritual, a vitamin and supplement brand, surpassed $100 million in net sales in 2021 because it was laser-focused on its customers. The founder realized how important it was for her, as a pregnant woman, to know what was in her prenatal vitamins and where they were sourced. This morphed to a company focus on ingredient transparency and a more simplified approach to supplements. Once the brand had developed a relationship of trust with pregnant women, they expanded their portfolio to include solutions for gut health, stress relief, and more. But it all started with deeply understanding the needs of their initial consumer, pregnant women, when they were most vulnerable.
2. Research the Competitive Landscape
Imagine you're building a house. You wouldn't just start hammering without blueprints, right? The same goes for launching a brand. You need to know who else is out there, what they're offering, and where there might be gaps in the market that your brand can fill.
Example:
The founder of Eight Sleep received hundreds of nays before launching, yet is now valued at $500 million. Eight Sleep produces high-tech mattress covers that regulate the temperature to enhance overall sleep quality. How did the founder stay the course? He deeply understood the competitive landscape and noticed one of the biggest challenges for couples at night is staying comfortable with the right temperature. At the time, no one had an easy solution that worked. The founder pitched his mattress cover as “a painkiller that tackles temperature at night.” The rest is history.
3. Develop a Unique Value Proposition
Your unique value proposition (UVP) is like your brand's superpower. It's what makes you special and different from everyone else. Think about what problem you're solving or what benefit you're providing that no one else is.
Example:
Garmin watches came to the forefront of wearables in 2003 by offering one of the first running watches. Since then, they have had to reinvent themselves repeatedly and redefine their UVP. Their current UVP is based on the insight that wearables can only transform health and performance if the user wants to wear them. One common frustration with health-focused wearables is battery life, so the company focuses on far exceeding comparable battery life. For example, an Apple watch lasts ~3 days, whereas a Garmin lasts 5 days and longer while offering similar high-quality metrics, including stress, heart rate variability, and skin temperature measurements.
4. Conduct Consumer Research
Consumer research is like having a crystal ball - it helps you predict what your customers want at scale and how they'll react to your product. This can involve surveys, focus groups, or testing prototypes with potential customers.
Example:
Hims & Hers, a telehealth company, used extensive consumer research to identify and address stigmas around seeking treatment for sensitive health issues. This insight led to their discreet, direct-to-consumer approach for products like hair loss treatments and erectile dysfunction medication.
5. Create a Strong Brand Identity
Your brand identity is like your brand's personality. It includes everything from your logo and color scheme to your brand voice and values. A strong, consistent identity helps consumers recognize and connect with your brand across all forms of communication—online, offline, and in-store.
Example:
Glossier has built a cult following with its minimalist aesthetic and "skin first, makeup second" philosophy. Their consistent branding across all touchpoints has created a strong, recognizable identity in the busy beauty space.
6. Leverage Social Media and Influencer Partnerships
Social media is like a megaphone for your brand in today's digital age. It allows you to reach and engage with your target audience directly. If appropriate, partnering with influencers can further amplify your message, especially if their followers trust their recommendations.
Example:
Athletic Greens (now AG1) has successfully used influencer partnerships, particularly with podcast hosts and health and fitness influencers, to build credibility and reach a wider audience for its all-in-one nutritional supplement. AG1 selects creators who have a natural, authentic fit with its brand values. If your consumers are on social media, pick talent intentionally to ensure you are reaching your target audience.
7. Prioritize Transparency and Authenticity
In the health and wellness space, trust is everything – particularly at the start of a new business. Being transparent about your ingredients, processes, and company values can help build that trust. Think of it as having an open-door policy with your customers all the time.
Example:
Thrive Market, an online grocery store that sells organic and non-GMO products, has built its brand on transparency. Thrive Market makes it easier for families to eat healthy by clearly communicating its high product standards for any brand on its website and then delivering these items to the front door. The company was valued at $2 billion when first considering an IPO in 2021.
8. Offer Personalized Experiences
Personalization is like tailoring a suit - it makes the customer feel special and shows that you understand their unique needs. In health and wellness, this could mean customized product recommendations or personalized wellness plans.
Example:
Care/of, Persona, Rootine, and more supplement brands use a detailed quiz to create custom supplement packs for each customer. While personalized packs may have helped vitamin subscription brands stand out a few years back, personalization is quickly becoming a must-have when it comes to health and wellness.
Closing Thoughts: Launching Your Health & Wellness Brand
As you embark on your journey to launch a health and wellness brand, remember that success doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, effort, and a willingness to learn and adapt. If you have questions about what next steps to take, you are not alone.
At Compass Marketing Boston, our agency works with wellness brands like yours to help navigate the ever-changing world of consumer health and wellness online, in-store, and most importantly, in the hearts of their consumers. Whether you're looking to identify consumer insights, elevate your brand relevance, or craft insight-driven ideas, we can help you shape how health and wellness consumers see your brand and prepare you to scale, even in highly competitive markets.
Next Steps
- What unique value can your brand bring to the health and wellness market?
- How will you ensure your brand stands out in this competitive landscape?
By answering these types of questions and implementing these best practices, you'll set a strong foundation for your brand's success.
Annette is skilled at identifying growth opportunities and successfully guiding products from concept to launch. At Compass, she advises leading brands and category disruptors in the health & wellness, personal care and digital health sectors.
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