Something we’ve seen a lot of in the US lately, so much so that we’re calling it a trend, is supplement companies pushing more towards selling direct to consumers (B2C). A few years ago we were used to seeing brands selling products for twice the usual price through their own websites, which is now quite the rarity.
The most interesting thing isn’t that brands are just selling their supplements direct to consumers, but they’re doing it at great prices. A few examples of the companies out there doing it well include MAN Sports, Muscletech, Redcon1, Olympus Labs, Inspired, and that’s just to name a few.
Benefits for brands
To get a better idea on the benefits of moving in the trending direction, we reached out to a few of those bigger names doing it well. A Couple of the major upsides seem to be controlling the entire purchasing process from exclusive promotions to delivery, as well as learning more about the people buying the products.
Alex McCray, MAN Sports – “We want every customer to have a great experience with our brand. By going direct to consumer we control the website, the messaging to the customer, customer service, ship times and the way the products look when they arrive (packaging).
I don’t think B2C hinders brick and mortar sales much, I believe those are 2 separate types of customers, but it does compete with e-retailers. Going direct allows us to control our pricing more and make sure our products aren’t being devalued (super low prices), ensures products are always in stock and there isn’t a constant battle for exposure (paying for homepage banners, funding specials or buying into email blasts vs 400 other brands).”
Muscletech – “Offering products on MuscleTech.com is our way to gain deeper insights into our consumers, learn more about their personalized preferences, and to create an accessible platform with supporting content – to help connect with and give back to our fans. On occasion, we offer exclusive deals, new launches, and new flavors that are special to our brand website. We also offer exclusive, limited-edition clothing that is worn by our popular and inspirational brand ambassadors, and we hope to expand this area even more in the future.”
Direct to consumer only
The supplement industry trend is becoming so common that there are even brands out there only selling directly to the consumer. Kai Greene’s Dynamik Muscle recently announced that it is moving in that direction, with another major one being Max Effort Muscle from Cory Gregory who we’ve also got a few words from on the topic.
“I have always made customer interaction & satisfaction the foundation of any business myself and my team build. From the beginning, I have always been highly engaged with people who support me since I signed up for Twitter in 2010. I have answered every tweet, snap, IG DM etc for years. I figured out with the relationship I had built over the last 8-10 years, why not try a model direct to the customer. Simply put, it’s more my natural style.
I built a company the other way, meaning retail and figured I would just enjoy life & business better dealing directly with the customer and truth is, I really do! My managing partner & Co-Founder John Fosco & I love this model and are having a blast working on it daily. Our management team knows we can give a higher quality product for a better price going direct. The middle is cut out, it’s that simple.
The challenge of being different in a very saturated space is always the key & the challenge. We found that with our new brand MaxEffortMuscle & its truly unique brand positioning that it’s working extremely well. Our completely unique stack model & burlap shipping sack wouldn’t be the same in retail & it’s a huge differentiator for us.”
Consumer benefits
The direct to consumer trend is definitely an interesting development, that as mentioned, we are seeing more and more of. It’s perfect for people that like to buy everything under the one brand, which is becoming increasingly easier to do as growing companies expand their lineups to cover a wider variety of categories.
Another thing that seems to come from the trend is that new brands are confidently launching their supplements without any store presence. Using Amazon as a platform is another way newcomers are going, although that’s an entirely separate story. The main point is that consumers can now get their hands on new products from smaller, passionate brands from the day they’re ready to go.
Summary
The direct to consumer trend certainly seems to have its benefits and as you can see above, there are a lot of big name brands who believe in it. We imagine the number of supplement companies taking that route will increase and wouldn’t be surprised if a few more follow in the footsteps of Dynamik Muscle and Max Effort Muscle, and only sell direct.
