In recent years, the sports nutrition products market has gone solidly mainstream. The days in which the category was closed off to bodybuilders and elite athletes are history as more casual gymgoers and active people buy into the process of using nutrition to support their everyday exercise regimens.
 
FMCG Gurus’ Mike Hughes, head of research and insights, discussed the importance of identifying the motivations of more casual consumers who aspire to active lifestyles.
 
To start with, Hughes noted the considerable boom in the sports nutrition consumer base directly tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Today, people generally take a proactive rather than a reactive approach to health and are interested in a long-term approach. Today, there is no age or gender skew in the active nutrition consumer population, and over half of the global population is considered to be active nutrition consumers.”
 
“One question we’ve gotten is,” he continued is “are consumers going to be fundamentally changed for the long-term as a result of COVID-19? And that’s what we’ve seen. Six in 10 consumers today still say they are aware of the importance of preventing health issues by leading healthy lifestyles due to COVID-19 and we’re seeing a focus away from aspirational health goals to goals more focused on proactivity and reducing vulnerability to health issues.”
 
The Attitude-Behavior Gap
This holistic, proactive attitude is branching out to other areas of health across the lifespan, especially chronic health conditions, Hughes said. Consumers have a greater sense of urgency and focus in areas they were unsatisfied with prior to the pandemic.
 
However, “Just because COVID-19 happened doesn’t mean that all barriers to entry in this category have gone away,” Hughes said. “There is an attitude-behavior gap among consumers when it comes to their well-being. Consumers make active attempts to improve their health, yet rates of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and other issues have increased. Attitudes don’t always manifest successfully in healthy behavior.”
 
The leading barriers consumers have to achieving their health goals in the area of active nutrition are cost, having too many things on one’s mind, difficulty understanding nutrition labeling, using unhealthy foods as a means to cope with stress, lacking the time to exercise, poor sleep, and certain perceptions about the taste of healthy foods and beverages, Hughes said.
 
“This means that successful products need to be hassle-free, with no compromise when it comes to both taste and cost,” he noted. The sensory appeal and affordability aspects of proteins, for example, may outweigh concerns about the source, quality, and quantity of proteins for less high-performance oriented consumers.
 
Some attitude-behavior gap bridges appear strong across consumers, however. For example, it’s more likely that people will take a positive nutrition mindset over an approach that involves avoidance and moderation, meaning they will seek out the basics: affordable, natural, and trusted ingredients that are economically-viable, Hughes said. When it comes to avoidance, however, “the war on sugar will intensify in the years ahead. Sugar is the number one dietary evil in the eyes of the consumer and this focus will increase.”
 
The Need for Mindset
Issues such as stress and sleep are significant barriers to the active consumer’s health and fitness goals, Hughes noted, and these health concerns are the number-one adjacent issues to tackle for many who are trying to adhere to more intense regimens. For many, it takes good sleep and stress management to stick to a diet plan; on the other end, nutrition can exert a strong influence on sleep quality and the impact that stress has on the body.
 
“People’s sleep troubles are often self-inflicted and related to diet,” Hughes said. “Changing a diet was the number-one strategy consumers have taken to change their sleeping patterns. We know that active nutrition consumers will have a real focus on sleep health over the next few years, and that this could serve as a key entry point for botanicals and other ingredients positioned to help consumers relax and unwind […] Cognitive health benefits such as focus, concentration, and alertness are important when engaging in physical activity in order to meet fitness goals.”
 
Establishing Trust
Hughes said that, in today’s world, consumers largely don’t believe that private companies and brands have their best interest at heart, and might be skeptical or sensitive to certain claims that seem sensationalized. Establishing credibility and authenticity will be crucial.
 
Likewise, “Free-from claims are also continuing to rise in importance,” Hughes said. “People want products deemed natural and devoid of things detrimental to their wellness. This means clean-label positioning in the sports nutrition market will become more and more important, and the low-sugar claims priority will intensify. Consumers also think that nutrition labeling is intentionally confusing to disguise certain unwelcome ingredients, so simplification is important.”
 
With issues like digestibility a concern in the sports nutrition category, especially when it comes to proteins and dairy, it’s important that manufacturers ensure products are formulated with digestive sensitivities in mind. Otherwise brands risk turning more casual consumers away from the sports nutrition segment for the long-term.
 
Furthermore, consumers in the sports nutrition category are following broader food trends and buying into the “good for me, good for the world” mentality. For example, 61% of consumers now find appeal in upcycled products as a best means of addressing food waste and environmental issues. Eco-friendly positioning and ethical sourcing will continue to have an edge on the competition so long as no compromises are made in efficacy.