Weight Management and Wellbeing in the US

PROSPECTS

Weight management now incorporates fitness

Obesity rates continue to rise in the US, and consumers still want to lose weight by trying different diets, such as paleo, keto and flexitarian diets and The Whole30 diet, amongst others. Besides following a diet, consumers are changing their weight management strategies by moving away from weight loss pills and the word “diet” and trying to have a more integrated weight management strategy that includes fitness.

Demand for clean label

Nevertheless, some brands, such as Soylent and Premier Protein, are seeing rapid growth. Soylent’s RTD meal replacement products, backed up by Google’s venture capital firm Alphabet, capture millennials with clean label and claims such as vegan, animal-free, lactose-free, nut-free, good manufacturing practice (GMP) and Made in the USA (ie locally sourced).

The usage of apps and wearables continues to rise

US consumers are increasingly tracking their weight and fitness goals with apps and wearables such as FitBit, MyFitnessPal, Lose it!, Sweatcoin and Diet Hero, amongst others. Consumers of all ages are getting used to logging calories, weight and physical activity to stay accountable to themselves and/or to a community that also works as a support system.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for clean label and rising competition push the leaders to adapt

Weight management and wellbeing remained highly fragmented in 2018. Even though Abbott Nutrition remained the leading player, its sales declined in 2017 and 2018 due to competition from smaller players which have a clean label offer, and as US consumers shifted to sports nutrition.

Room for innovation in weight management and wellbeing

An innovative example of clean label, and maybe what could be the next generation of meal replacement products, is Bear Squeeze. The company has a meal replacement product that is keto-, paleo- and vegan-friendly, with a nutritional equivalent to two kale salads, with probiotics and almost no carbs; hence, hitting many trends with one meal replacement.

The shift from direct selling to internet retailing

Whilst historically, the main distribution channel for weight management and wellbeing was direct selling, the rising competition is causing a channel shift, with many smaller players launching products via the internet, whilst strongly leveraging social media and mobile commerce. This will be reflected in shares in the forecast period, with the projection that sales via internet retailing will surpass direct selling sales by 2022.

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