On Amazon, supplements and vitamins make up a large part of the health and personal care category. And e-commerce sales of these products is projected to top $85 billion by 2022. With such strong growth projections, it could be assumed selling supplements on a marketplace like Amazon is simple. However, there are a number of unique challenges to consider. Here we explain more about supplements on Amazon and offer strategic recommendations.
There are tens of thousands of supplement listings on Amazon making for a very competitive environment. Yet many brands find success in launching new products in this category. In fact, some of the channel's leading supplement brands are challenger brands.
Success requires the time and investment in a strong presence and holistic approach. But these products have a unique advantage in that they generally have high margins. Supplements are relatively inexpensive to produce and shoppers are willing to pay premiums for the potential health benefits.
As alluded to above, a holistic approach to Amazon is crucial. But equally as important is how well brands understand their audience and leverage learnings throughout their strategies.
The challenger brands mentioned are successful in researching and identifying their ideal consumer. Not to mention, they think outside of the box to creatively appeal to their audience.
This can be done in a number of ways on Amazon. Listed below are some of the most influential:
Successful challenger brands almost always begin as smaller, private-label brands. This can work to a brand's benefit because it’s usually difficult for large legacy brands to pivot quickly on Amazon. Smaller brands also have less red tape to cut through and can more easily adapt.
Regardless of size and experience, there are several considerations applicable to any supplement brand. First, consumer education should be a primary focus for brands that sell consumable products. It's important to be thorough and answer common questions within product detail pages. Otherwise, brevity could confuse or isolate those that err on the side of caution when it comes to buying to consumables online.
Next, as we briefly mentioned, packaging is key to appealing to the right customers. But it can also create challenges for supplement brands. Regulations and the fine print on warning labels are always changing. And therefore, packaging often needs to be updated.
Finally, attention to detail within a brand's content and creative strategy is imperative. The language used within descriptions, bullets, images, and more need to adhere to local, state, and federal guidelines. Should the smallest detail be overlooked, listings could be removed. And when this happens, brands inevitably lose sales while trying to get ASINs reinstated.
These nuances are some of the many reasons why strategic partners are leveraged by brands. At MPS we constantly monitor client catalogs using proprietary technology. This allows us to ensure nothing is overlooked and issues are addressed immediately to prevent lost sales.
If you could use the support of a strategic partner, schedule a free consultation. And, as always, we’re here to answer any questions about your marketplace strategy.