Consumers Are Seeking Food As Medicine
Food as medicine is a phrase and a concept that has been part of the health & wellness lexicon for many years now. But it appears that consumer demand is beginning to drive it to the forefront for food manufacturers.
This article from FoodNavigator highlights that while, “[t]he acute health threat of COVID-19 may be ebbing for most Americans…the desire it instilled in many to bolster their physical and mental wellbeing continues to push consumers to seek food as medicine.”
We see this echoed in the work we do with food companies. Food as medicine is not simply a mantra for health professionals and the wellness-conscious consumer—it has become a core value held by Americans of all stripes.
Consumers are seeking health & wellness solutions through the food they eat and are looking to brands to provide products that meet those needs and aspirations.
As we have been emphasizing for more than two decades, however, health-conscious consumers want more information about the food they consume than that which can be communicated by a television commercial, internet ad, or grocery shelf-talker.
The burden is on food manufacturers not only to innovate and reformulate to meet consumers’ “Food as Medicine” demands, but also to educate those consumers about what’s in their products, what the benefits are, and how those foods help meet the consumer’s particularly health & wellness goals.
We, of course, recommend that food manufacturers turn to consumers’ own health professionals to deliver that education. As we have discussed previously, consumers trust their own health professional most for nutrition guidance. Digital influencers and bloggers? Not so much.
As food manufacturers deploy resources in R&D and product development toward meeting the growing demand for food as medicine, they need to be simultaneously investing in marketing resources that deliver those innovations with trust, credibility and substance to health-conscious consumers.
Focusing on engaging and educating health & wellness practitioners (not just influencers) is an essential part of an effective marketing plan for a healthy brand. If you arm those practitioners with the information, resources, and materials they need to recommend your healthy brand to patients and clients, you can drive trial and loyalty more effectively and efficiently.