When looking through the rising number of food supplements available on the market today, how can you separate the most popular brands? Quite frequently within advertising and promoting supplements, brands use the power of 3 to get consumer’s attention. Countless business owners believe that no one can remember 3 points from the first impression of a brand.
Using the power of 3 online
The beauty industry is a fantastic example of the use of the power of 3. Within beauty, consumers are often looking for new and exciting beauty claims on packaging. As we all have easy access to the internet now, consumers prefer to do their own research around which ingredients are beneficial or not, so the front face of packaging is essential to grab attention and spark curiosity to find out more.
With consumers being busier than ever, the motivation to stop and read large amounts of information before purchasing a product is not desired anymore, leading a trend of very minimalistic, sleek packaging.
Brands often use the power of 3 to communicate the base information within a short time a consumer looks at the web image. OUAI, for example, have perfected this with their oily hair supplements, using a modern clean carton, with three key bullet points:
- They state that it is a hair supplement
- They state the type of hair it is specific to, being an oily scalp
- They state the number of tablets per carton
This small and concise amount of information is enough for the consumer to tick off their needs vs the product’s use and decide if they would like to click and find out more.
Another great example is The Nue Co. Skin Food powder. This antioxidant-packed prebiotic powder is shown online as a sleek amber pot with three key pieces of information printed on the front:
- They state the brand name
- They state the product name, Glowing Skin Food
- They state what the product contains, skin food and prebiotic.
Again, for a powder blend, the pot has a large amount of label space that could be filled with all of the information the consumer could swallow, but opting for the minimalist design, it resonates with the busy, younger consumer they are keen on targeting.
Using the power of 3 for its benefits in Sports Nutrition
In sports nutrition, the power of 3 is a little less visible, but it is still very much present within the industry. Throughout the product categories
This is typically within a consumer journey through the key products advertised to promote better physical output. Pre, Intra, Post.
- Pre-workout
Often including large quantities of caffeine sources to boost the user’s motivation, pre-workout sports nutrition products are essential for those looking to boost their workout from the get-go. Other pre-workout options tend to be energy blends, amino acid formulas and products to stimulate muscle growth.
- Intra-Workout
Intra workout sports nutrition supplements are great to take through the duration of a workout, helping to reach peak performance. Often containing products such as electrolytes, BCAAs and carb blends, this category helps keep the consumer hydrated and fuelled during a workout.
- Post-Workout
The post-workout sports nutrition category finalises the workout and helps to recover the body. Post workout formulas often contain blends of protein, amino acids, creatine and essential vitamins.
Having these three set categories allows consumers to believe they are purchasing a collection of items with separate benefits, which they will have. This also boosts motivation for the customer, trying different variations of this “stack” to find their own preference. This has a powerful impact on the industry, with 3 in 4 consumers purchasing more than one product at a time.
The Power of 3 – Weight Loss
Within the weight loss world, supplements are usually split into 3 categories: morning, afternoon & evening.
With increasingly popular products such as BoomBod entering the weight loss category, consumers are focussing on quick and easy ways to consume supplements to encourage weight loss that they can take with them on the go. BoomBod focusses on glucomannan as an appetite suppressant, with a morning, afternoon and evening dose to consume.
Fat binders are also advised to be consumed before your morning, afternoon and evening meal. This process of remembering capsules before meal times not only drives the consumer into a routine, making it easy to remember to take the product but also distracts from snacking during the meal preparation process.
Meal replacement shakes have grown consistently since their commercial inception in early 1970, with SlimFast entering the market in 1977. Roughly 17% of the UK have consumed a meal replacement shake within their lifetime, with this number growing year on year. Meal replacements are also advised to replace breakfast, lunch or dinner as part of the weight loss process, changing the routine of the consumer in the morning, afternoon or evening.