What Zoe’s ‘whole food complement’ says about its strategy

It’s a supplement, but not as you know it. On Sunday, Zoe announced the launch of a ground-breaking “whole food complement”. Daily 30+ isn’t a tablet, or a spray, or a gummy. Instead, it is – as the name suggests – a supplement that is designed to be sprinkled on whole foods. The slightly savoury flavour makes it particularly suitable as a topping for dishes such as eggs, cottage cheese and toast.

To start with, Daily 30+ will only be available to order on zoe.com. Then on 17 July, the product will roll into Waitrose stores, where it will be merchandised alongside fresh food. That placement was important to “help consumers understand how to use the product”, says Sara Gordon, GM of Zoe Daily 30+. A single-serve format will also be available as part of the £5 Waitrose lunchtime meal deal.

It’s all designed to make it as easy as possible for consumers to incorporate the supplement into their diet. Because Zoe knows that if it’s difficult, people simply won’t engage. So plenty of work went into making Daily 30+ both an accessible and enjoyable product. Gordon said it was hugely important to get the taste and texture right, with a crunch that elicits a “positive brain response”.

On top of that, the benefits are tempting. Daily 30+ contains over 30 plants and 35 different types of fibre that are designed to address common deficiencies in UK diets. According to randomised controlled trials, it can also help people feel fuller for longer – a powerful claim in the Ozempic era – and sleep better.

How accessible is Zoe? 

It’s undoubtedly a novel product. But what it says about Zoe’s strategy is equally interesting – especially as it comes in the wake of an urgent economy drive by the brand.

One of the main criticisms levelled at Zoe has been its inaccessibility. The testing kit and report come at a price tag of £299.99. Then there’s the monthly membership fee, which ranges from £24.99 to £59.99 depending on the length of commitment. The Zoe experience has become something of a status symbol among the health-conscious crowd. But it has never been mass market.

By contrast, this supplement comes at the far more digestible price tag of £10 for a seven-day pack and £2.25 for a single-serve format. It hits shelves five months after the launch of a branded gut health shot in M&S, which comes at an equally accessible price point of £2 for 150ml.

All this is part of Zoe’s ambition to become a brand for the many, not the few. “Our mission is to impact the health of millions, so we would like Zoe to show up in as many places in the UK as possible and make our science as accessible as possible,” says Gordon.

Zoe’s business strategy unknown

The suggestion is that Zoe could become a regular sight across UK supermarkets, rather than a niche proposition for the uber health-conscious.

Rumour has it some shareholders are getting jumpy about this direction of travel. The question is whether this is a move a “£220m valuation business would make”, says one source. “I think there are two pressures on the business: firstly the business model, and secondly a lack of cohesion around their brand, and what they actually are. Is it a personality, a product, a podcast, a movement?”

But if there’s confusion on this front, Zoe is very clear about its overarching aim: to improve population health. In this context, Daily 30+ makes complete sense. Because if Zoe is to truly improve the health of the nation – rather than the most affluent corners of the UK – accessible products like these are a vital step.

It’s a safe bet this will be just the start of Zoe’s product pipeline.