The Vitamin Shoppe and WW kick off new year with partnership

07-Jan-2021 - Last updated on 07-Jan-2021 at 17:48 GMT

Image courtesy of TVS

The Vitamin Shoppe and WW International, Inc. (formerly Weight Watchers International, Inc.) are joining forces in the name of health.

The collaboration includes a variety of integrated offerings and products to support health, such as co-branded nutritional supplements, select member-favorite WW snacks and protein boosters, as well as the opportunity to purchase WW memberships through The Vitamin Shoppe.

"Over the last year, the pandemic has elevated the need for the democratization and accessibility of wellness and, as a result, people are going through a reappraisal of how they live, how they work and what they value and want in their life," said Mindy Grossman, president and CEO, WW International, Inc. "I'm thrilled to launch this new partnership with The Vitamin Shoppe because together, we can provide more resources to more people to empower them with sustainable, science-backed products and solutions to live their healthiest lives. With our combined communities and expert guidance and support, we can be the world's partners in health."

“The Vitamin Shoppe and WW are like-minded businesses that are both seeking to democractive and demystify a holistic approach to health and wellness,” said Joshua Schall of J. Schall Consulting, adding that great strategic partnerships never go out of style.

Strategic partnership

The omni-channel specialty retailer of nutritional products told NutraIngredients-USA that they started talking partnership opportunities back in late 2019.

“We first began our partnership by offering The Vitamin Shoppe gift cards as part of WW’s WellnessWins loyalty program back in May, and have seen a steady mix of new and existing customers take advantage of that offer,” explained the retailer, who also said they saw a number of customers choose The Vitamin Shoppe reward as part of the WW loyalty offering.

“WW has been vigorously attempting to diversify away from their predominantly female customer base,” noted Schall. “The announcement of a recent deal with late-night host James Corden will help, but I think allowing sign-ups for WW at The Vitamin Shoppe locations is genius. This will give WW a great consumer touchpoint that can attract memberships from The Vitamin Shoppe customers, which tend to be split evenly between males and females.”

Indeed, the Vitamin Shoppe told us their customer base tilts slightly towards men, with 53% male and 47% female shoppers in 2020. WW members are primarily women, garnering a 90% female customer base.

“So there’s a broad opportunity to introduce this health-conscious female membership to The Vitamin Shoppe brand. At the same time, our male customers will have the opportunity to learn about the wellness benefits of WW within our stores, providing this demographic exposure to WW,” the retailer said.

Offerings

The two co-branded nutritional supplement packs available in-store and online through The Vitamin Shoppe and WW include:

WW by the Vitamin Shoppe Daily Essentials: This daily pack features essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, including vitamin C, magnesium, omega-3, and L-theanine. It helps fill nutrient gaps that play a role in whole-body health, including immunity and bone, heart, brain, skin, and eye health ($29.99 for 30 daily packs).

WW by the Vitamin Shoppe Daily Essentials + Heart Health: This daily pack combines the nutritional supplements in the Daily Essentials pack with alpha lipoic acid and ubiquinol to help support cardiovascular health ($46.99 for 30 daily packs).

When asked about WW’s role in ingredient selection, The Vitamin Shoppe told us “WW helped identify a product category they know is meaningful to members, especially considering the nutrient shortfalls in the American diet, with many key nutrients that may be lacking in people’s day-to-day eating patterns.”

In addition to the co-branded nutritional supplements, select member-favorite WW snacks and protein boosters are now available at The Vitamin Shoppe.

“This partnership represents a momentous opportunity to provide comprehensive health and nutrition support, from easy-to-use daily supplements to healthier snack and protein choices, in addition to access to WW's highly effective and personalized wellness offering in all of our stores,” said Sharon Leite, CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe.

Demand shifts

The pandemic severely disrupted global consumption, with many consumers adopting new health, fitness and buying habits.

Schall said companies seeking to emerge from the crisis in a stronger position must adapt to this new environment.

“As the supplement category disseminates across all retail channels, specialty retailers like The Vitamin Shoppe must evolve and adapt to this reality. While unique merchandising is still an important pillar of specialty retail, it must be paired with an equally special customer experience that goes beyond those products.”

Schall, who regularly commentates on go-to-market strategies for sports brands, will be part of the online event titled The changing retail landscape for Sports Nutrition On January 28th. It is the first of four events in the NutraIngredients-USA Sports & Active Nutrition Summit 2021.

Interested in attending? Register for free here.