With the help of Nutraingredients-USA, we’ve been able to gather some important facts and stats about the impact of online reviews, ratings, and social media validation.
Taking everything into consideration, you may be able to better navigate your 2020 private label game plan!
Reeling Ratings
Some brands still have an offline focus via traditional channels: sports stores, gyms, supermarkets, etc. However, the importance of positive online reviews and rising star ratings to sports nutrition brand success proves that there is no escaping the influence of the world wide web.
One brand found that the whole sports nutrition category, which includes animal- and plant-based protein powders, probiotics, BCAAs, pre-workout blends, and creatine had gathered some 2.5 million reviews in 20 countries, growing 15% between September 2018 and March 2019.
Mexico (+200%), Taiwan (+193%) and Finland (+93%) were the fastest-growing markets in sports nutrition with protein powders (23%), and pre-workout blends (22%) the fastest-growing sub-categories.
Sports nutrition frontrunners like Myprotein and Gym Max have well over 100,000 reviews for their brand variants across multiple markets. According to Shane Starling of Nutraingredients-USA, a feedback loop frequently forms between reviews and ratings, with elevated star ratings often the spark for exploding review volumes, so more stars could yield more success.
Probiotics → More Reviews
Probiotics are emerging in sports nutrition as science builds around the healthy bacteria’s ability to boost immune health, reduce inflammation and upper respiratory tract infections of athletes, and even help in areas like performance and recovery. While probiotic supplements are still considered niche, an organization observed that consumer engagement quickly climbed if products contained probiotics. In fact, four of the top 25 brand portfolios analyzed contained probiotics, and these products earned twice the number of reviews than those that did not.
Clean Labels → More Reviews
The growth of clean label products corresponds with the rise in not only health-conscious consumers, but reviews as well.
Today, one fifth of all sports nutrition products make at least one clean label claim, and these products are reviewed twice as often as those without clean label claims.
Popular clean label statements include ‘no banned substances…’, “no artificial sweeteners…’ and ‘non-GMO.’ Keep this in mind when making your next collagen, pre-and post-workout, or branched-chain amino acid product! The trend is most robust in North America and Australia, led by top sports nutrition brands.
Pre-Workouts Pushing Beyond Sports Nutrition
Plenty of pre-workout blends are marketed to athletes and fitness fanatics. There’s a physical and mental stimulation promise from these products that has pre-workout mixes blurring with the burgeoning nootropic, energy, and e-gaming sectors—video games, who would have thought?!
Whether you’re targeting athletes or e-gamers though, keywording is #crucial to brand awareness. Does your company have an Instagram account?
Pre-workout powders are popular on social media with the ‘preworkout’ hashtag garnering around 4 million posts on Instagram ALONE.
If hashtagging isn’t your strong suit, follow @MakersNutrition, your #1 supplement manufacturing company on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram to get an idea of how to properly lead consumers to your private label sports nutrition line. Let’s remember that reviews don’t necessarily have to be positive. If you choose the right provider, however, chances are those reviews will be favorable, invite more customers, including repeats, will bring you more revenue, and the cycle repeats!
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