Stimulating Growth With Health Beauty Wellness Brands

Retailers and manufacturers agree that innovation is crucial to growing sales. However, innovation is not only about new products—it’s about changing consumer behavior by remaining relevant.

Global Market Development Center (GMDC), a leading trade association that advances innovation in the marketplace, and enables members to connect, collaborate, create and drive commerce, has released a whitepaper: Health and Wellness Best Practices – Making a Legacy Brand a Growth Brand, which offers market insights and next practices for effective retailer-supplier collaboration.

The findings of the research show that the longevity of a brand is closely aligned with its ability to inject new value and meet consumers’ needs as they grow older and their lifestyle changes. Additionally, natural and environmentally friendly products have distinct advantages on their journey to become legacy brands as consumers become more and more conscientious of what they put in and on their bodies.

“Skin care is a category that can grow customer loyalty and lead to increased sales,” said Cheri Taylor, director of merchandise operations, Kinney Drugs. “Additionally, we are seeing increasing interest in natural skin products.”

In addition to meeting consumer needs as their lifestyles change, GMDC’s research also shows that it’s important to know how consumers define health and wellness. While 57 percent feel that health and wellness is centered around preventing and controlling chronic diseases, 58 percent define it as “being happier,” and 55 percent define it as “looking better.” This range of attitudes presents an opportunity and a challenge to retailers and manufacturers. With such diversity of thinking, how does one brand appeal to so many definitions of health and wellness, while also creating loyalty and longevity in the marketplace?

“Legacy brands that have the means and insights to recreate themselves, without changing their formula of success, will win,” said Patrick Spear, GMDC president and CEO. “Innovation is now an everyday strategy, rather than one reserved only for new-to-market products.”

Creating multi-purpose use alone isn’t going to drive longevity. Retail partners play a vital role in helping brands gain loyal customers, making collaboration a key driver.

“There are many ways brands can support retail partners,” said Harvey Goodman, vice president of sales, Dickinson Brands, Inc. “Ensuring sales involves more than just getting on the shelves. Product sampling and traditional and new media initiatives should evolve alongside consumer demand and trends.”

Additionally, GMDC offers next practices for effective retailer-supplier collaboration: