If you’re new in the health food arena it’s more than likely someone will have thrown some jargon your way and you’ve been completely lost. If you’re moving in foodie spheres it will be important for you to keep up to date with the key foodie buzzwords that will no doubt come your way.
In fact, using specific health food marketing terms can really benefit your product. Whether it be picking up on the most coveted health claim, to defining your startup as a market disrupter to ramp up the PR, it’s not a bad idea to get clued up. So, what are the health food marketing terms brands are using across the industry?
Disruptor
It’s more than likely you’ve heard this term before may be used in conjunction with ‘challenger brand’. For some, it can sound like a negative, but in fact, it can be great for your brand.
A market disruptor is a brand that transforms a market with game-changing innovation, whether this is through product design, technology or simply turning the game on its head. Typical examples would be Uber to the taxi world, Airbnb to hotels, Dollar Shave Club to male grooming. In terms of food products brands that have exploded onto the scene and stirred up traditional categories. Think Fever Tree Tonic, Halo Top Ice Cream, Brewdog to Beer and Hello Fresh with their home delivery model.
Natural
Although there are no set guidelines for using the term natural, it has come to adorn new health food branding and packaging. According to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), natural product claims (which include no additives/preservatives, organic and GMO-free) appeared on 29% of global food and drink launches from September 2016 to August 2017, which is an increase from 17% of global food and drink launches that used natural claims from September 2006 to August 2007.
As there have been no set definition by regulatory bodies to determine what makes a product ‘natural’ it requires the consumer to look closer at the ingredients list to see if they are in fact naturally based. There have however been recent reports that suggest consumers are becoming distrusting of natural claims, turning to more strictly regulated packaging claims to influence their final purchasing decisions.
Organic
Organic food is defined as food that avoids the use of man-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives, as well as the exclusion of genetically modified organism (GMOs) in the food production.
In the UK you can only label food as organic if 95% of the ingredients originate from organically produced plants or animals. This is controlled and monitored by several different governing bodies, that perform regular quality checks and ad hoc inspections.
Superfood
This is another marketing term that is widely thanks to media rather than on any scientific basis or testing system. It is widely adopted in marketing to the modern health-conscious consumer. Many foods that have been around engrained in different culture since time began suddenly become ‘superfoods’ and consequently boomed in popularity.
Think goji berries, matcha, avocado, kefir, Cacao, Acai. So, if your product includes one of the go-to ingredients of the year be sure to include ‘superfood’ messaging on the pack.
Free-from
Again free-from poses another claim that doesn’t follow any set legislation or guidelines. The only free-from claim that does, in fact, require rigorous testing and certification is gluten-free. There are however several principles that your product should meet for you to be able to use the claim free-from on the pack, but usually, brands used the claim to help consumers avoid allergens.
If your product is targeting a specific dietary requirement then seeking advice and guidance on how to meet these principles could be extremely important. To be able to claim your product as ‘free-from’ could communicate your product’s suitability to your core market almost instantaneously.
Food labelling is not only a crucial legal requirement but creative labelling and packaging design can soon take your product from zero to hero. Highlighting trending claims on pack can really capture today’s time-poor consumer, looking for quick health fixes to help meal preparation and on-the-go snacking.
If you’re looking for some help with health food marketing, check out our recent blog with some top tips for health food brands of today. Or if you’d like to chat with our team about an upcoming project simply use the contact details below.