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Brands reflect better nutrition options

3/6/2017
The top three brands in this year’s list of breakthrough brands, defined as those brands either introduced within the 52 weeks ended Dec. 25, 2016, or those brands that experienced blockbuster incremental growth in that time frame, feature the leading meal-replacement solutions on the market today in Premier Protein, Clif Bar and SlimFast, according to IRI. A fourth brand — Quest Nutrition’s Quest Bars — also ranks high on the list. It’s reflective of the consumer need for products that embody an aspirational health- and-wellness direction that many U.S. consumers are pursuing.

(To view the full Category Review, click here.)

Another four breakthrough brands that really drove sales across all OTC aisles in 2016 all share one common denominator — a need state driven by a baby-boomer consumer. According to calculations from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, 15% of the U.S. population already accounts for 30% of the spend in over-the-counter solutions. Four meal-replacement solutions represent better nutrition options that have one of several pathways to success.

Premier Protein and Quest Nutrition, for example, are both realizing growth via increased distribution. Post Holdings CFO Jeff Zacoks attributed 40% of Premier Protein’s recent growth to improved distribution and 60% to velocity. “The product is very well received, customer loyalty is very high, repeat rates are very high and household penetration is very low,” he told Wall Street analysts in February.

Quest also is riding a significant growth trajectory following its introduction into mass outlets like Walmart last year. “Now that our bars are mature enough that we have the consumer visibility and pull-through, we’re able to go to mass channels,” Tom Bilyeu, Quest Nutrition president, told Drug Store News this past summer.

Clif Bar continues to deliver on its “all-natural” and “purpose-driven” reputations, catering to both active lifestyles and consumers interested in the philanthropic pedigrees of the brands they buy, as evidenced by Target’s inclusion of the brand in its “Made to Matter” product portfolio several years ago.

And SlimFast continues to capitalize on a strong weight-loss heritage. Healthier snack and meal-replacement solutions will continue to matter in 2017. According to a January Harris Poll, this year one-quarter of Americans are actively seeking to lose weight.
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