New year, new me. How often has that phrase been uttered and forgotten over the decades? Posh UK supermarket M&S, however, looks set to commit and is pinning its hopes on its shoppers doing the same too.
In the month of new and good intentions, it launched a raft of NPD with health and function at the core. It’s Yay Mushrooms beverages, seeking to tap into the apoptogenic lion’s mane mushroom trend that’s taken the States by storm, being a prime example.
Yay Mushrooms joins mood-boosting brands like the US’s Four Sigmatic and Ryze, tapping into consumer desire for a quick hit of positivity.
M&S’s brain food products
Though M&S hasn’t put its eggs – or should we say mushrooms – all in one basket. A full spectrum of cognitive foods, drinks and even condiments were launched under its new Brain Food umbrella this month. Each contains claimed brain health-supporting vitamins and minerals including iron and Zinc.
Another posh UK retailer, Waitrose – perhaps there’s a recurring theme here – has tapped into the same consumer health and wellness trend, though through listing the Zoe brand of Tim Spector fame.
European discounters Aldi and Lidl have also, though long before M&S and Waitrose, jumped on the own-label health food bandwagon by, as well as other offerings, focusing on protein with a range of products from yogurts to bars.
So what’s driving retailers towards health food and why is own-label an avenue that appears only now to be opening to them?
The supermarket own-label hype
Consumer trust in private label has continued to grow, thanks in part to a perfect storm of the cost-of-living crisis, discounters' brand dupes and most importantly, a distinct shift in quality. That’s not only the quality of the food or drink itself, but also its packaging and branding.
Own-label can be a cool, premium and desirable thing, after years of being a ‘no frills’ budget option. So much so, own-label has some of the highest sales in Europe, up to 52% depending on the country or retailer.
Add to that the overall projected growth over the next five years of the already mammoth global health and wellness food market. This category is already at $859bn and predicted to grow by a CAGR of 9.4% to 2030. That’s colossal.
The combination of a growing private label opportunity for manufacturers and retailers linked with the ever increasing health foods market is, on paper, a no-brainer.