Getting Sales Into Shape
Making weight loss products more available could help add heft to grocers' profits.
Is category's your store's bottom weight line management as hefty as your shoppers' waistlines? Given that nearly everyone is on a diet these days in a bid to shed pounds, it stands to reason that grocery retailers should be seeing a sharp gain in sales. If not, then it might be time to send your nonfood department leaders to weight management merchandising boot camp, according to category experts, who view supermarkets at the forefront of arming consumers to wage their own private battle of the bulge.
According to a recent U. S. Weight Loss and Diet Control Market report by Tampa, Fla.-based Marketdata Enterprises Inc., sales of weight loss products are expected to reach $65 billion in 2012, which represents a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year. Estimating that 81 million Americans will be on a diet at some point this year, John LaRossa, Marketdata research director, says 80 percent of these dieters will aim to lose the weight on their own, 61 percent of whom will use regular grocery store food, 5 percent of whom will turn to meal replacements (shakes, bars) and 6 percent of whom will prefer to use proprietary diet-company prepared or frozen food products.
While supermarkets have garnered a large share of weight loss sales through diet foods and reduced-calorie products, they might be missing a large part of the market for products geared specifically to weight management and loss, such as beverages, supplements and pills, all of which have had more success in the drug and mass channels.
"We believe that there's a market for these products in the supermarket channel," says Dan Chlebowski, director of operations at Newport Beach, Calif.-based Pounds Lost. Currently, the company's weight loss products are sold in a growing number of supermarket chains as well as drug and mass retailers. "We are definitely trying to get into the food channel. In general, sales of liquid functional beverages are up, as well as capsules."
According to Chlebowski, supermarkets need to help promote these weight-loss products to get the word out that they're available within the store. The marketing and promotion emphasis on these products is different from many of the staples that the food channel is used to dealing with. The emphasis when promoting weight management products has to be on the initial sale, he affirms.
Manufacturers and retailers therefore need to build awareness of the products and their related attributes to get the shopper to purchase and try products. If the results of initial trials are successful, then repeat purchases will take care of themselves without much need for further promotion.
Easier Access
To be sure, there's no shortage of places where consumers can purchase various weight management products. However, being in the supermarket makes them more accessible to a wider range of shoppers. "We're doing very well in GNC and health food stores, but we're not currently in supermarkets. If we were in supermarkets, it would be easier for consumers to get access to these products," says Silke Ullmann, nutrition and marketing manager at St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Almased.
Ullmann believes that it's in supermarkets' interest to place more emphasis on natural supplements as weight management aids, so grocers should give these products greater access to their shelves. "I think that the category of natural dietary supplements is doing very well," she notes. "In general, dietary supplements are doing well, as there is a big movement to be natural. A lot of companies are doing these supplements. With the bigger conventional supplement manufacturers getting into the natural products now, it should help boost the whole category."
Making weight management products readily available to shoppers in supermarkets, whether they're natural or conventional, capsules, beverages or calorie-controlled foods, set up an interesting value proposition for both the user and the retailer. Most nutrition experts stress that to be successful over the long run, weight management has to a lifestyle-changing process assisted by such products. It's a combination of weight management products, food choices and lifestyle that allows people to be successful.
When these products are sold and promoted in supermarkets, they can potentially become a part of the immediate food decision-making process. Even when merchandised in supermarket HBC departments, the products are still within the customer's "total food shopping mindset," as opposed to when they're sold in drug stores, where they're separated from the food decision-making process, and instead become a "remedy" type of purchase as a short-term intervention to take care of an immediate problem.
Weight management products, especially items such as supplements, functional beverages and even calorie-controlled foods, are more suited to a longer-term role of helping users to lose pounds and maintain a healthy weight into the future. They become an integral part of the user's daily meal planning.
Building Enthusiasm
The best way to merchandise weight management products in the supermarket might be to take them off the shelves of the HBC section, where they're often buried in the aisle, and bring them closer to the food. Even a change in terminology might help consumers to become more aware of the presence of these products in the store. Instead of referring to the products as "diet aids" or even "weight management," a term such as "healthy lifestyle" might be more conducive to building shopper enthusiasm.
"Retailers need to set aside the real estate for a separate weight management or healthy-lifestyle section," Chlebowski says, noting the beneficial aspects for both manufacturers and retailers working to promote them. "At Pounds Lost, we have developed some nice sidekicks that feature our products," instead of simply housing the items solo on a shelf. "Having the sidekicks or using a standup display in an action alley makes a big difference," he affirms, noting the importance of a companion high-visibility kickoff promotion that lets the customers know that the products are available. "For instance, we started a new initiative with Walmart and quickly sold out in 640 stores. Our media helped drive sales across the country."
However, considering the extremely confusing nature of the category for many people who've heard countless claims and counterclaims over the past two decades regarding weight management products, merely letting shoppers know that a new product is now in stores may not be enough to help spur trial. To this point, Almased's Ullmann says a little education can go a long way. In addition to offering retailers point-of-purchase brochures, bag stuffers, window posters, and a sampling program to build trial and awareness, Almased has developed a new display for larger stores, which can be placed on a counter with signage and information.
"If we were in supermarkets, it would be easier for consumers to get access to these products."
— Silke Ullmann, Almased
"Retailers need to set aside the real estate for a separate weight management or healthy-lifestyle section."
— Dan Chlebowski, Pounds Lost