Focus on Sports and Nutrition: 22 September

Focus On: Sports and Nutrition by Rob Brown and Natalie Brown

Download the synopsis here

Publishing: 22 September (online listicle 21 September) 

Submissions deadline: 6 September

Advertising deadline 6 September

The Story

Wake up to the ‘woke’ sports buff. Today’s gym bunnies are no longer just chowing down on protein bars and extolling the virtues of a paleo diet. For starters, most protein bars contain dairy and paleo involves eating meat. Plus, there has also been publicity around the dangers of eating too much protein when a plant-based diet could give you all the muscle mass you need. The market is now evolving to cater for this new consumer looking for a holistic health kick. We have vegan protein powder, soya-free sports bars and organic-certified snacks. So just how far can this market go? And where does this leave traditional sports products?

Key themes:

Brands for the woke: Vegan brands have had huge success highlighting their ethical and natural credentials. Who is buying into these products and do they go beyond niche appeal?

Bars and flapjacks: The standout growth story has been bars and flapjacks, up 38.3% and 70.3% in value respectively. What is driving this? Own label is also contributing to this significantly. What are the major launches and to what extent do they pose a threat to brands?

Holistic health: It is no longer enough to rely on one source of nutrition (e.g. protein) to appeal to consumers – you have to offer a wide range of benefits, i.e. natural sourcing or organic. What are the most important claims?

Superfoods: Some brands are cramming in ‘superfoods’ to grab the attention of consumers and reaping the rewards with many other brands packing themselves full of blueberries and chia seeds. So what constitutes a holistic health product? Does the word ‘superfood’ still attract consumers

Ready-to-drink: Isotonic still has the lion’s share of the RTD market, but protein is growing faster. What is going on here? Are there any innovations/new claims?

Tablets and capsules: Tablets and capsules are having a hard time, down 23.8% and 45.3% respectively. This is partly down to drastic price decreases, but volume is also falling. Why?

Innovation: Key to this feature will be a discussion of the latest NPD from the category’s brands and own label players, large and small. The feature will explore the market trends that have inspired recent innovations and weigh up which new launches are most likely to encourage future growth in the market. We will profile 4 of these in separate innovations panel including launch date, RSP and an image.

Key questions the feature is likely to address:

 What consumer trends have impacted the category over the past year?

 How have promotional strategies (both in terms of price and marketing) evolved?

 How has merchandising changed in the market?

Online Listicle: The sports & nutrition launches targeting the wellness market