I am Worried About Discovery
Before the outbreak of COVID, I was concerned that too few brands had a clear strategy to drive discovery and trial in brick and mortar retail. Distribution gains would come, but the actions that get the product off the shelf were expensive and inefficient. Further, a lot of money was spent online to drive eCommerce sales.
Young natural product brands must have the means to build their tribe. They can’t hope that they will simply be found on the shelf. Online is not the panacea. The unit economics of eCommerce often means that the consumer has to take a “risk” to try a new product or the brand has to subsidize that first purchase. This was before the world turned upside down.
Guess what; I am even more concerned now. None of this has become any easier as consumer behavior has changed since the outbreak of the pandemic. I worry that many brands have been too focused on getting unstuck, pushing to be in front of buyers (virtually), and finding their way onto shelves.
How are consumers going to find your products? At retail, the basket counts are down while the average basket size is up significantly. That is telling. It means that consumers are shopping less often, and when they do, it is prescribed and planned. Treasure hunting and impulse buying are both suffering. You need only look at impulse-driven categories, such as RTD beverages, to…
