Speaking to NutraIngredients about the shifts in marketing strategy within the industry, Pauline Huang of Rousselot said that for many suppliers the digital world has not been very well developed, which has left consumers to rely on information from B2C brands.
“However, a growing consumer demand for transparency means messages need to be consistent,” she said. "Whether it's the brand, or the product, on the science behind ... having a mutually beneficial relationship between the ingredients supplier and the finished product manufacturer is so important.”
"Consumers today are looking for trust in a product you buy, in a solution, so what manufacturers should to build that trust is to basically to create a traceable and trustable brand around their product - whether its an ingredient or the finished product,” said Huang.
Sebatien Bornet of Horphag Research added that many brands are shying away from traditional 'short-term' marketing tactics, instead focusing much more on building a solid scientific basis for their product.
"It will keep on going like this for may years, I think," he said. "Which is good news for the industry."
Storytelling is key
Meanwhile, Todd Pauli of 24 Stories notes that the question of how are brands shifting, and trying to reach different audiences is most interesting because of different ways that's happening.
He noted that when thinking about the way brands are approaching marketing and communicating with the market, things have vastly changed from the days of putting out a few ads and hoping that some of it ‘sticks’.
"People are realising that storytelling is really the heart and soul of telling a good brand story,” he told us. “Content marketing, and putting out good educational content that's more helpful to their customers, first - versus being promotional - has been a trend that we’ve seen catch on and has brought good results for clients.”
“But it's also satisfying because it's also the right way to market in this industry, it's about quality and transparency, and producing a good product,” said Pauli. “So, why not tell that story.”
“If the companies have those quality processes in place, that’s an easy story for them to tell,” he said. "It's really just telling, what they do every day, and their mission."