I spent the last couple weeks ranking my competitors value propositions in relation to mine and using that analysis to identify a couple possible brand positioning strategies, and planning a conference call with a manufacturer. The former two documents can be found here.
Using a 1-5 ranking scale (1 being closest to my value propositions) of the importance of my competitors value propositions, I identified my top 4 competitors from my competitive positioning analysis: Momentous, Thorne Research, Legion Athletics, and Klean Athlete. I then looked for possible positioning gaps between these companies to create two strategies of my own that I believe could be effective. I plan on refining these strategies and creating one more over the next couple weeks. I also used this time to plan for a conference call with a prominent supplement manufacturer which I did on 11/30. During the call, we discussed my formula and goals for the company. Although I am not manufacturing the supplement for the project, the company representative gave me important details to consider such as the high MOQ for capsule supplements, the MOQ for the commercial ingredients in my supplement, the poor smell and taste of valerian root (an ingredient in my formula), and the supply chain shortage that makes my form of Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate (TRAACS) unavailable at the moment. Because of the high MOQ for capsules, we discussed making the supplement in tablet form and he planned on giving me a quote for it since the tablet MOQ is much lower. Additionally, he referred me to another prominent manufacturer that is able to work with lower MOQs so I can have an accurate estimate for the supplement in capsule form––I plan on talking with them this week. Aside from this, I purchased business plan software called LivePlan that should allow me to more easily start putting together my plan. I have watched tutorials on it so I have a better sense of how to use it. I have a lot of momentum in my project right now and I am excited to continue working on it!
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These last couple weeks have been busy with research, strategizing, and planning! Last week, I Zoomed with Mr. Manickam to discuss turning research into strategy (in regards to my positioning), as well ways of qualitatively measuring my closest competitors. In addition, Mr. Manickam gave me some examples of way to test potential positioning strategies through brand asset mock-ups and surveys or focus groups. My full meeting notes are attached to this post. Using his advice, I set up a spreadsheet (pictured below) that measures the relative importance of my potential brand value propositions in relation to my competitors. For each brand, every value proposition is ranked on a 1-10 scale (1 is very important, 10 is not important). By then averaging out each competitor's rank across all value propositions, I will be able to identify my three closest competitors (competitors with average ranks closest to 0). Using this approach, I will eventually be able to find positioning gaps between three of my closest competitors, and then strategize a few potential ways to position my product in relation to them. My hope is to 1) create brand asset mock-ups for each of these strategies, 2) qualitatively test each set of mock-ups for adherence to brand values/positioning, and 3) refine the best mock-up to create an entire brand identity. Lastly, I began brainstorming possible brand names. I plan on spending the next two weeks using my competitive positioning analysis that I completed a few weeks ago to populate data in this spreadsheet in order to identify my top three competitors and begin looking for potential ways to position my product.
Since I finished my college applications early, I had an extremely productive two weeks.
Firstly, I completed a comprehensive positioning analysis of some of the top competitors in the recovery supplement field. The document can be found here. I looked at attributes such as their name, mission, benefits positioning, marketing tone, and packaging, just to name a few. Overall, this information should help me greatly as I decide how I want to position my product within the market. In the next week, I will use my analysis to make some perceptual brand positioning maps of some of the key attributes within the market. By doing this, I will be able to visualize the information I collected and identify potential gaps in positioning. I plan on discussing all of this information with Mr. Manickam during our meeting in a couple weeks, and hope to strategize with him how I can best position my supplement. Aside from my research, I adjusted my supplement formula. After some thinking, I realized that a powder supplement would not be ideal because it is not recommended to drink the required water needed to dissolve that amount of ingredients directly before bedtime. By removing betaine, standardizing ashwagandha and valerian root to extracts, and replacing the collagen with a more concentrated form, I created a formula that should be able to fit into 3-4 capsules––making the product not only much more convenient to take, but also eliminating the need for a large quantity of water right before bedtime that would likely disrupt sleep quality. Lastly, I updated my website design and created a logo for the project. I am excited to continue working! *Pictured below is a photo I took of some of the products I had on hand to research In the last couple weeks, I finished researching my competitor's email flows––a review of which can be found here. While it was a very broad review, it gave me insights into some of the strategies some competitors employ to help onboard new customers. The most prominent of which, specific to the supplement industry, was that many of the companies sent out helpful fitness content after placing an order. Upon further research, content creation seems to be a vital part of most successful companies, so it will be something to consider when I am planning a “launch.”
In the next couple weeks, I am going to collect more research on how my competitors are positioning themselves. I determined certain attributes that I will research and set up a spreadsheet to keep track of all of them. Concurrently, I plan on making a few small adjustments to my supplement formula. I’ve done more research about certain ingredients (because I enjoy learning about it!), and there are a couple changes I’ve mapped out in my head that I think would improve the product… I just need to get around to formally updating it! Throughout the last few weeks, I have finished deciding on my goals for this Fall while also preparing for what is to come. After meeting with Dr. Martin to present my Summer Work, I confirmed that my immediate focus would be on developing my brand positioning and mission. I plan on spending the majority of the coming months working on this and have been preparing by obtaining 6 different samples of competing recovery products and beginning to map the email flows for each competitor. Soon, at the advice of Mr. Manickam, I will do further research all of my top competitors by taking note of various aspects of each company’s positioning (including their packaging, messaging, etc).
Since college application season is now in full swing, the next month will be a game of balancing both my Fellows project work and college applications; but I am looking forward to getting started! During the last couple weeks, I have mainly spent my time preparing for my summer work presentation. In the meantime, I also ordered 6 products that I identified as potential top competitors to my product. I tried to have variance in the products: some promote muscle recovery, some support joint health, and some help you sleep. So far 4 of the 6 products have arrived. I also set up a new email inbox to receive all of the marketing emails for the products. This way, I will be able to map out the email flows that my competitors are sending after a new order. More broadly, I will use these sample products to do research on how my competitors market and position their products so I can identify either a hole or specific positioning strategy for mine. The products I ordered are as follows:
1. Legion Athletics Recharge (Recovery) 2. Gorilla Mind Dream (Sleep) 3. 1st Photo Nutrition Joint Mobility (Joints) 4. REDCON1 TANGO Creatine (Recovery) 5. Klean Athletics Hydration (Recovery) 6. Momentous Elite Sleep (Sleep) After 6 weeks of research, research, and more research, I have come to a formula that I am very happy with and one that I believe is the best I could create with my current knowledge. Along with the formula, I summarized the mechanisms of action for each ingredient and the reason I chose it. Throughout this process, I have learned a lot, but I am especially proud of how much biology knowledge I have gained throughout the past month––reading a scientific research paper has become so much easier than it was just a few short weeks ago.
Overall, this summer has been very productive and I have made significant progress in many areas of my project. I have started working on my summer work presentation and I am eager to show off what I have done. After my presentation, I look forward to fully delving in to developing my product positioning. Throughout this month, I have continued working on formulating my supplement. While the initial part of selecting ingredients didn't prove challenging, choosing correct doses and understanding the mechanisms through which these ingredients act has. My original plan was to have my completed formula done on August 18, and though I am almost done, I think it is in my best interest that I give myself a couple extra weeks to finish it until the end of August. In the end, the brand I am trying to build with this project is product-centric, and I want to ensure that my product best aligns with the two principles I originally set out for it to be: scientifically backed and correctly dosed. I believe giving myself the extra 13 days will allow me to do this. Furthermore, since I started the business portion of my project simultaneously (and 3 months earlier than expected), I am still on track––if not ahead of schedule––for the overall project. I have planned my schedule until November accordingly.
I am pretty much done with choosing ingredients, so the majority of my time as of late has been allocated to dosing and writing scientific explanations of how each ingredient works (mechanism(s) of action)—which takes considerable amount of time due to the length and reading level of the journal articles I have read. One problem I have also ran into is making sure I do not include too many potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative substances in my formula. While inflammation and excessive reactive oxygen species (free radicals) within the body can be detrimental to one's recovery, I have learned through my research that too much anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative substances can actually hurt the process of muscle protein synthesis (muscle building) because it is rooted in inflammation to the muscle. Because of this, I have debated which and how much anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative compounds to use (I am deciding between a combination of ashwagandha, tart cherry juice extract, magnesium glycinate, or methylsulfonylmethane) to ensure I do not create too potent of a recovery supplement. Lastly, one thing I have come to appreciate over these past few weeks is how my knowledge from Honors Biology last school year has transferred over into my reading of scientific studies and meta-analyses of the ingredients I have chosen. Combining that knowledge with the intermittent research I have done on my own, I can understand the majority of what they say despite the advanced language and terminology used; and it has been really cool to see my knowledge be applicable in areas outside of the classroom. My sole goal now is too finish my formula and scientific explanations for each ingredient by August 31, and then I will be able to move on to my next steps in this project. During the last two weeks, I have begun researching preliminary ingredients for my supplement as well as refine a few more pillars of my brand. Using my competitive analysis and Google Survey results, I have made the conclusion that:
My research and formula will be completed and uploaded by August 18th as per my summer schedule. During this time, I will also calculate my target price/bottle of my supplement that attains 20%-40% product margins after expenses and shipping. In the last week, I met with Mr. Manickam on the 27th who gave me great advice on strategies to decide on the positioning of my brand––including creating a product positioning matrix of competing products to help find a hole in the overall market I can target. My full meeting notes are attached to this post. I also met with Dr. Martin on the 28th to discuss my progress that I have made thus far. In the near future, I will finish my initial formula and get quotes from 2-3 manufacturers in order to get an accurate number of what it would cost to create my supplement if the company were real. I will also follow Mr. Manickam's advice and create a product positioning matrix to get a clear understanding of who I would hypothetically target, as well as find objective indicators that point to the success of my product.
Beginning this month, I finished making a competitive analysis of competing recovery supplements. I also completed the customer interest Google Survey and received 51 responses, although it did not ultimately prove as helpful as I would have liked due to poor quality responses. My competitive analysis and Google Survey Results Summary can be found via the Project Assets page linked here. From these pieces of information, I have decided on creating an all-in-one athlete recovery formula that contains effective ingredients that promote joint recovery, reduce muscle soreness, support muscle building, and have a calming effect. I would like to note that these areas of focus will likely evolve over time as I delve deeper into the project. Traditionally, muscle recovery and joint repair supplements are made separately––however my goal with my supplement is to allow for advanced endurance and weightlifting athletes to have an all-in-one solution, eliminating the need for multiple supplements.
Based on the competitive analysis and Google Survey, my goal is to create a formula that can be profitably sold at the $44.99-$49.99 price range, including free shipping. My immediate next steps will be formulating the supplement and doing a cost analysis of the manufacturing process–the former of which is on track to be completed August 19. This process will involve hours of thorough research of scientifically-driven studies of various ingredients and their most efficacious dosages, as well as looking through government databases to ensure the safety of the ingredients. Later this month, I will be meeting with Dr. Martin to go over my progress and discuss my research, as well as be meeting with Mr. Manickam on July 28 to help fine-tune my brand positioning and overall identity. |