UK-based supplement brand Vitawell is changing its business strategy and will put more focus on beauty and menopause support, as it has seen huge growth in these sectors.
We spoke to John Sutcliffe, who is group MD of Vitawell’s parent company Principle Healthcare, to find out more about the new strategy and to discover what industry trends he has been seeing.
Hi John, thanks for talking to us. Let’s start with the rebrand news. Why has Vitawell rebranded?
John Sutcliffe (JS): It is approaching eight years since the initial launch of Vitawell, and even though we have managed to build our range and distribution in UK retail, we felt that we were just adding to the complexity of the category. There is so much confusion in VMS, and we were making it a chore for customers to navigate their way through it.
Our research showed that consumers craved simplicity, affordability and convenience—our rebrand reflects our strategy to fulfil that need, with a new visual identity that’s vibrant and accessible, showing that making healthy choices doesn’t need to be complicated.
You’ve chosen to put more focus on beauty and menopause support. Why do you think these two sectors have a lot of potential for the future?
JS: The vitamins category is diverse, congested and complex. Since the pandemic we’ve seen an explosion of brands within the VMS category as consumers are now looking to support their wellness goals. Our vision in the last two years has been to focus on female health as one of the key growth segments of the category, with particular emphasis on beauty and menopause.
From a beauty perspective, there is an obvious connection to the broader beauty category with products like collagen and hyaluronic acid being prominent in multiple product formats including skin care and hair care, allowing a crossover into VMS as consumers focus on beauty from within.
With respect to menopause, we felt that the key challenges are elevating awareness, breaking down the stigma and improving visibility of menopause-friendly products in store and online. To support our strategy, we partnered with GenM to gain more insight into menopausal consumers. Their data overwhelmingly indicates that women need better signposting and access to products and for brands to be part of the conversation in breaking down the taboo of menopause. The benefits of this partnership mean we can reshape the way our customers discover and shop for menopause-friendly products, with the trusted MTick on our packaging to build trust and loyalty with our consumer base.
Additionally, we participated in projects with UK retailers Morrisons and Tesco to improve in-store visibility through the first menopause aisles in the UK, as well as improving the online taxonomy to make the shopping experience easier and more appealing. We’ve seen huge growth in menopause and beauty products over the last few years.
What kinds of beauty and menopause-support supplements are you launching?
JS: We already have an established range of beauty and menopause products with our best sellers including Collagen, Hair Lush Locks, Hormone Balance, Focus and Perimenopause, all available in different formats including gummies, tablets and capsules.
We now have an exciting NPD pipeline planned which will continue to build the momentum in these segments. This includes broadening the choice of formats, including powders and liquids, as we look to maximize the absorption effectiveness of our products to deliver the key benefits to consumers.
Longer term we see opportunities to move in adjacent categories in health and wellness, including skin care ranges where we can use our vitamins expertise to produce some unique products in the category.
What kinds of trends are you seeing in the beauty supplement category right now?
JS: The beauty supplements category will continue to evolve, and we’re already seeing a shift from just skin care or hair care to items that include wider wellness needs. While of course there’s still a strong focus on improving your appearance, there’s also a rise in demand from beauty supplements that address inner health—like gut balance and vitality. We’re definitely seeing a more holistic approach to overall well-being, and this includes a growth in the popularity of some of our products such as lion’s mane, sea moss, ashwagandha and Manuka honey.
Some of the key trends we expect to see in the next couple of years include the link between beauty and longevity. We’re seeing this in things like NAD+ supplements that manage cellular energy production and repair, which is an essential element of skin preservation and healthy aging. More products will become available as consumer interest increases in NAD+ supplements, and we’ll see it in more convenient formats such as drinks, powders, gummies and pills. The popularity of NAD+ will drive demand for beauty supplements that have the added value of cellular repair and anti-aging properties.
There is also an emerging trend in GLP-1 supplements, which have taken the world by the storm due to their remarkable action on weight loss and control of blood glucose. Beauty supplements that deal with the elasticity of the skin, metabolism and even general well-being already have significantly high demand, and this will increase as more people begin to rely on GLP-1 solutions for weight management and wellness.
Finally, there is a growing trend among younger health enthusiasts for vitamin patches. These patches offer an alternative to the more traditional vitamin format options, and we’re likely to see more brands enter this market as it grows.
You’re also launching a D2C subscription. Why have you decided to take this direction?
JS: We’re launching D2C because our research made it overwhelmingly clear that buying our products online is something that consumers expect. Filling this gap complements our retail distribution in supermarkets and gives customers the convenience to shop our products in the way they prefer.
Additionally, in alignment with our overall brand relaunch, the D2C option lets us provide an exciting brand experience for consumers, where we can create loyalty, relationships and build connections. It also allows us the opportunity to communicate our brand’s story and values, and to build a community through engagement on our website and other social channels.
Longer term we will look at how we can broaden our global reach into new markets and also explore how we can offer competitive differentiation by offering exclusive products, subscriptions, bundles or limited editions.
The UK VMS category is buoyant and in a very exciting place. It is worth £500 million in the UK alone, growing at 8% year on year and we’re looking to claim a much bigger stake of that.
Our new strategy and visual identity provides us with the distribution and a strong brand to make a huge splash in the sector and shake things up. We want to stand out and be seen as the most credible vitamin range in the category. We’ve got big ambitions—we want to be the number one brand in VMS, with huge global appeal.
