Health and wellness, arguably the most compelling trend in today’s consumer packaged goods (CPG) environment, is also among the hardest on which to capitalize, according to Chicago, IL-based IRI Consulting. In its new executive briefing, “What’s in Store for Health & Wellness,” IRI noted that growth trends indicate a number of products with individual health and wellness claims have recently experienced declining sales; however, there is evidence that products providing a holistic approach that advance general health and well-being are gaining market traction.

While six of the top 20 products with health and wellness claims enjoyed a dollar sales growth rate higher than the food and beverage industry average in 2009-2012, just three maintained that growth momentum in 2012 alone, indicating a significant slowdown.

The report found that dollar sales’ compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of six health claims grew faster than the food and beverage industry average of 3.4%. However, when dividing these results into 2009-2011 and 2012, it becomes clear that growth for several of these is slowing substantially, and even turning negative for some. For example, products with natural claims achieved a CAGR of 8% in the combined 2009-2012 period, which is very impressive when compared to the industry average. However, in 2012 alone, this slipped to 3.9%. Even more revealing, dollar sales of products with natural sweetener claims grew 5.3% in 2009-2012, but when broken down into the two timeframes, sales grew 11.8% in 2009-2011, but had a negative CAGR of 6.5% in 2012.

How can marketers protect against the vulnerability of narrow health claims? “It is critical that manufacturers of health and wellness products peg their value proposition to comprehensive health and well-being, an umbrella that covers multiple attributes like natural, low calories per serving and organic,” said Dr. Krishnakumar (KK) Davey, managing director, IRI Consulting. “Products with ‘one-off’ claims are much less likely to succeed. CPG marketers must focus on several factors that impact health and wellness to achieve long-term, sustainable success.”

IRI Consulting’s analysis identified six factors critical for long-term success. These include:

• Focus on Cohorts: The most successful health and wellness product portfolios are tightly aligned to the needs of key cohorts. For example, most products with health claims rely on sales to higher-income households for growth. Marketers must also pay attention to changing demographic profiles: income polarization, multi-cultural households and growth of the millennial generation.

• Ensure Message Clarity: Product messaging must be clear, overarching and impactful. Crowding product packaging with multiple health messages and logos can muddy the health and wellness value proposition.

• Champion Well-Being: Brands should communicate a “well-being” message versus a single, highly-specialized claim.

• Price Attractively: To make products accessible to a broad set of distinct consumer segments, marketers must pay extra attention to pricing. Many good-for-you products can command premium prices.

• Invest in Innovation: Compelling brand extensions, vivid new packaging, engaging promotions and value-added programs can lay a strong foundation for new product success. Using innovation to accelerate demand becomes even more vital, as dollar sales per new item is trending lower than in the past.

• Watch Regions: Regions act as microcosms for analyzing the potential success of health and wellness claims and for comparing the success of healthful products to other food and beverage offerings.