Health... something to worry about?

Confusion, uncertainty, ambiguity, opportunity… the issue of health and wellbeing prompts all kinds of reactions in consumers and manufacturers alike.

But there can be little doubt that it is becoming an increasingly important subject for consumers – and a growing market for suppliers and retailers. “Is it going to become the new ‘price’?” Maureen Johnson (WPP) asked, when she opened a session on health and wellness.

The panellists’ views seemed to suggest that if it isn’t already, it is well on the way. As Tamar Kasriel (Henley Centre) pointed out, it is complex, controversial and increasingly political. Research across Germany, France, Italy and the UK showed that while views on health and wellness differed from country to country, there were certain common threads. Confusion, for instance, was growing and consumers were constantly balancing the “credits and debits” of healthy food while contending with conflicting messages about healthy eating. Weight management was another almost universal concern.

But the research showed there were opportunities for products offering specific health benefits as well as those which offered broader wellness benefits. She summarised with six key points:

• the health and wellness platform can be “incredibly powerful, but has to be approached thoughtfully”
• there is no one-size-fits-all solution “and it may be naïve to assume a global approach will be effective”
• understanding and segmenting your consumers and brand message is a must lthe market is evolving rapidly – and smaller brands might be better placed to respond
• there will be a significant communications challenge.

• “Consumers may be looking for technical health benefits but they still need to be packaged in a way which is emotive and compelling”
• word-of-mouth and the Internet will remain critical – however much manufacturers try to rely on trust.

Joanna Scott (Kraft) and Onno Franse (Ahold) described their supplier and retailer stances. Both emphasised the need to help consumers make informed choices. Scott saw clear nutritional labelling as “absolutely essential” and added: “If we don’t guide consumers in making a healthy choice we are not doing our jobs as we should.”

Download the presentation