superfood brands

It has never been about making quick money by speculating on the concept of health. Instead, it relies on the three basic principles of "traceability of raw materials + implementation of consumption scenarios + no exaggeration of efficacy". There is neither an absolute "track trend" nor an "IQ tax". How far it can go in the end depends on whether the brand treats consumers as leeks or really wants to solve the small pain points of daily diet.

I went to the China Food Exhibition last month and saw an interesting scene in the health food section: a salesperson in yoga clothes held up a can of acai berry powder and shouted to the girls gathered around, "Take 28 days of anti-spot anti-aging, which is better than applying 100 facial masks." It works." Standing next to me was a nutritionist from a tertiary hospital who I knew. He turned around and complained to me, "How dare you boast that no matter how high the anthocyanins are, it cannot replace skin care products. The price is three times more expensive than imported blueberries. Isn't this just an IQ tax?"

This is where the whole industry feels torn apart: One group is the "conceptual hype group", which uses the four words "superfood" from overseas as traffic passwords. Whether it is kale, chia seeds or ordinary quinoa, as long as it is named, the premium can be increased by 3 to 10 times, and the efficacy is even more hyped. It can do everything from weight loss to anti-cancer. In essence, it is to eat the dividends of poor information, and cut off a wave of consumers who pursue health but have no time to study nutrition.； The other group is the "pragmatic group" who don't worry about whether the name "superfood" is right or not. They just regard these high-nutrient-dense ingredients as a supplement to ordinary food and honestly make products.

I know a girl born in 1995 who started a small brand by herself last year. She didn’t even get any financing. She just focused on the breakfast scene of office workers to make products. Instead of selling pure kale powder, she mixed kale, chia seeds, and freeze-dried diced bananas in proportion. One pack is just enough to mix with a cup of sugar-free yogurt. She didn’t even add sugar. She only relied on freeze-dried fruits for seasoning. Pesticide residue test reports for each batch of raw materials. They are all posted in the most conspicuous place on the product details page. There is no mention of weight loss or anti-aging in the details page. It just says, "When you are in a hurry in the morning and don't eat enough vegetables, add a pack to supplement 30% of the dietary fiber throughout the day." For such a small product, it made 21 million yuan in revenue in the first half of last year, with a repurchase rate of 36%, which is better than many internet celebrity brands that have received financing.

The brands that are running now are actually taking two completely different paths. No one is right or wrong. They are all choices that suit different groups of people. One is a niche brand that focuses on organic and traceable products, and is specially designed for vegetarians, fitness enthusiasts, and Minbao families who have extremely high requirements for food quality. For example, I often buy an imported organic brand, which is only available offline at Ole, yoga studios, and high-end parent-child stores. The unit price is basically more than 200 yuan. , their brochures rarely even mention the efficacy, and only clearly state that "this chia seed is produced in the organic production area of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and the alpha-linolenic acid content is 2.1 times that of ordinary cultivation." Relying on data, user loyalty is ridiculously high, and even if it is twice as expensive as the ordinary model, there are still people who are willing to pay. The other is to take the affordable route. Simply hide the name of "super food" and add it directly to the food that everyone eats every day, such as noodles with quinoa, whole wheat bread with chia seeds, and dumplings with kale. A pack costs ten or twenty yuan, which is the same price as ordinary food. The difference is less than 30%. Consumers do not need to change their eating habits at all, and they can just supplement their nutrition when eating. Last year, the sales of "popular foods with high nutritional density ingredients" on an e-commerce platform increased by 172% year-on-year, and the growth rate was nearly three times faster than that of pure superfood powder.

Of course, if you want to say that there is no IQ tax in this track, that is impossible. I stepped into a trap last year and bought a certain Internet celebrity brand's "Super Vegetable Powder". When I came back and looked at the ingredient list, the first ingredient was maltodextrin. The content of kale powder was less than 10%, and it was more expensive than pure kale powder. ； There are also many brands that promote ordinary wolfberry as an "Oriental super food", and the price has increased five times. In essence, they still charge an IQ tax. Moreover, the nutrition community has always been controversial about the term "superfood." The Global Nutrition Society issued a statement two years ago that there is no such thing as a "universal superfood." All high-nutrient-dense ingredients are only supplements to a balanced diet and cannot replace meals, let alone cure diseases. Those touted miraculous effects are basically marketing words concocted by brands.

I have been drinking yogurt mixed with chia seeds for almost a year, and my biggest feeling is that there are no super foods, only "foods that suit me." The same is true for brands. Don’t always think about the concept of creating gods. Make the ingredients more transparent, taste better and more delicious, and make the scene more practical. Even if you don’t say you are a super food, consumers will be willing to pay for it. I have seen too many Internet celebrity brands that became popular through marketing disappear within half a year. After all, consumers today are much smarter than before, right?