Health and wellness is a growing industry! But today’s hectic lives can certainly make it difficult and challenging to make the healthiest choices all the time. Between running a busy household, attending client meetings, or working long hours, it’s difficult to always stay committed to your health. To help one achieve their dietary needs or goals, people can turn to supplements. The supplement business has seen record growth recently, and for good reason. In particular, subscription-based supplement sales are on the rise. What is this business model, and why is it positioned for success? We’ll cover that in greater detail below.
What Are Supplements?
Before addressing the business model, let’s start with covering some of the basics. What are supplements? Supplements are dietary products that help the consumer supplement their diet. Supplements can be a pill, a powder, or a liquid.
Common supplements include:
- Vitamin packs
- Protein powder
- Protein bars
- Performance-enhancing supplements, such as; creatine, a pre-workout, or a fat burner
- A hair, skin, and nails combination
People take supplements for a variety of reasons. Many supplements are not directly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA, but many supplement companies and manufacturers spend extensive time and money on research, development, and safety.
What is a Subscription-Based Supplement Sale
A subscription-based supplement sale is when a company offers its customers the opportunity to purchase their supplements via a subscription model. For example, if you buy protein powder, a supplement company may offer you a slight discount to enroll in their subscription. Instead of needing to remember to purchase protein powder every month, the supplement company will automatically ship you a container of protein powder each month.
The Benefits
One’s health changes through consistency. You can’t just take a magic pill one month and expect to achieve or see all the results you wished for. Whether you are trying to lose weight, put on muscle, improve your endurance, eat healthier, lower your blood pressure, or even improve the health of your nails, one thing is for certain – you must be consistent. Results do not happen overnight. That’s exactly why a subscription-based supplement program is so beneficial.
Subscription benefits include:
The consumer doesn’t need to remember to purchase the items.
There are plenty of supplements that could be taken daily! Ensuring you have the right amount in your house plays a main role in keeping you consistent. Vitamin packs can be a great supplement to take every day, and vitamin subscriptions can make remembering to take the vitamins easier!
The supplement company can better forecast their demand.
As a company, if X % of your customer base is enrolled in a monthly subscription plan, you can more easily forecast the future demand for specific products.
Your business can drive more revenue while providing a better cost to your customer.
One of the most important factors of running a successful business is predictable income. You can provide your business with predictable income via the subscription-based model. Your business can also incentivize customers to enroll in a subscription-based model by way of a slight discount.
Provide your customer with the flexibility to select a subscription period.
For example, customers do not need to be on a fat burner for the entire year. Allow them to purchase a three month or more subscription. Vitamin packs may be more appropriate for a yearly subscription.
Secrets of the Trade
As a company, there are plenty of variables you could do to ensure your customers stay on your subscription plan.
Live up to your promise.
Remember, customers are typically enrolling in the subscription plan so they do not run out of product. Make sure you ship their orders on time!
Layer in free gifts or discounts.
If a customer is purchasing a fat burner, surprise them with a few free samples of meal replacements. These supplements often compliment each other. You may gain a new sale because of this free offering.
Offer incentives to shop at your store again.
Just because you are selling your supplements online via a subscription-based model does not mean you shouldn’t offer customers incentives to come back to your store/website or to spend more money. Offer coupons, discounts, promotions, free t-shirts, etc with various purchases.
Leverage a 3PL.
If you’re a supplement company, your number one focus should be on creating the best supplements for your customers. Let a 3PL worry about all the logistics, and shipping the product to your customers. Generally speaking, supplements are a perfect item for 3PLs to handle as they aren’t bulky and can be picked/packed through a lot of automation.
Supplements are Perfectly Positioned for Success
Today’s modern world has brought plenty of amenities. One of those amenities is the ability to enroll in subscription-based sales. If you’re in the supplement industry and you’re looking to provide a superior service to your customers and drive increased revenues, offering a subscription-based sales model is a great way to accomplish both of those great goals.
A busy customer will likely appreciate not needing to worry about running out of product. Subscription-based products are on the rise and it’s no secret why. Customers can save money without ever leaving their house for a store, and businesses can better plan and forecast future sales. A supplement company is perfectly positioned for a subscription-based service as many supplements should be taken on a regular basis.