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From CBD oils and superfood supplements to wellness beverages and personalized daily vitamins, the need for optimal health - physically, mentally and emotionally - has caused the health & wellness industry to flourish. But, as the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of...oversaturation in the market. The wellness industry is full of fancy terminology, trends, and, honestly, intimidating products (that you aren’t sure you need), making it quite overwhelming for the consumer and even more difficult to differentiate between brands. Out of both understanding the shift in consumer behavior and their current values, many wellness supplement brands raced to adapt to the online-sphere, turning to content creators, or influencers, as a way to promote their products in a more genuine, understandable, approachable manner.
YouTube is probably the best platform for promoting wellness supplements - not only is it the second-biggest search engine in the world but it's a great way to get a more ‘honest’ review by someone you trust. Brands have found ways to cater to a wide range of categories on YouTube, including fitness channels, travel vloggers, makeup moguls, and more. Here are 4 wellness supplement brands that successfully capitalized on the health & wellness trend on YouTube:
Shopping for vitamins required walking through an aisle of “ugly containers in ugly grocery stores, sold by people who didn’t know much about them”. Care/of CEO, Craig Elbert, also mentioned that “a lot of times when it comes to health and wellness, the products can be a bit boring or too medical”. That’s where the idea of Care/of stemmed from - creating vitamins that actually make you want to take them. I mean, who wouldn’t take vitamins from a packet with a smiley face and a sunny greeting, personalized with the customers name.
Care/of is a monthly subscription supplement brand that personalizes vitamins for the customer’s specific health needs. Customers fill out an in-depth, quite personal ‘quiz’ and are then offered a personalized recommendation of vitamins and supplements. The vitamin and supplement concoction is automatically delivered in one package to the customer’s house on a regular basis. The daily dosages are packaged together, in a small, very convenient packet - making it almost impossible to forget.
Since 2019, Care/of has been mentioned in over 868 pieces of content on YouTube and podcasts by 316 content creators. It’s interesting to see that this wellness supplement brand has focused most of its sponsorships on podcasts. Since 2020, out of the 316 creators, 229 of them are podcasters from a wide range of categories, including: entertainment, true crime, fitness, and even general knowledge.
Wellness supplements don’t only focus on vitamins or nutrients, they can also help consumers, in this case, men, overcome issues that are less ‘trendy’ than b-12 vitamins or fish oil. Hims is an ecommerce company that sells products dedicated to men, specifically more sensitive topics such as erectile dysfunction and hair loss treatments.
In the wise words of CEO Andrew Dudum, who founded the company back in 2017, Hims’ mindset is “making sure men realize that “having an issue isn’t weird. Not dealing with it is weird”. Instead of having to schedule an appointment, see a doctor and go to the pharmacy to pick up medicine (let’s be honest - most men would stop at ‘schedule an appointment’), consumers answer a few questions via a mobile app and are then connected with a medical provider who recommends a treatment plan. To make things even easier, the consumer receives their prescribed treatment straight to their door (no pharmacy necessary).
Since 2019, Hims has been mentioned in over 1,400 pieces of content by 125 thought leaders. However, it's surprising to see that since 2019, there is a major decrease in the number of creators mentioning Hims. In 2020, between January to August, the brand received 20.78M views. During the same period of time in 2021, Hims had only 14.27M views on YouTube. This is a great wakeup call for the wellness supplement brand - how do you make men’s wellness cool again?
Who runs the world? Women who create vitamins with women in mind. Ritual was founded in 2016 by Katerina Schneider who found that many multivitamins on the market included potentially harmful ingredients. After spending a year researching, she identified which vitamins women really need, no extra ingredients included. Through their site, women can easily pick what vitamins they would like included in their subscription package - everything from multivitamins for those 50+ to postnatal multivitamins.
Aside from understanding in-depth about essential vitamins, Ritual is also killing it with branding. From its aesthetics to the tonality, its branding makes it quite easy for its sponsored creators to promote their products. Over the years, Ritual has collaborated with over 600 creators, both on YouTube and podcasts, in a wide range of categories, including lifestyle, entertainment, food and general knowledge. Interestingly, although the wellness supplement brand has more thought leaders on YouTube, most of its mentions come from podcasts. However, Ritual reaches a much greater audience via YouTube mentions (223M audience reach) than via podcasts (47M audience reach). It’s also important to mention that Ritual maintains its growth within the competitive market by integrating with micro-influencers, for example Olivia Zapo, a lifestyle vlogger.
Seed Health is a microbial sciences company developing next-generation probiotic applications and live biotherapeutics. This wellness supplement brand currently offers one product - a daily probiotic that contains “24 clinically and scientifically studied, broad-spectrum strains to support systemic health”. Health-conscious customers can purchase this product through a subscription service, which ensures that each month, a refill will arrive at your door in a compostable biofilm.
It is clear that Seed Health stands out from its competitors by focusing on the science and impact on planet Earth. But, it has taken it one step further. One way this probiotic supplement brand spreads awareness about health and their powerful product is through integrations with relevant creators. However, before the brand partners with an ‘influencer’, they must complete Seed University - “an interactive online educational course that reviews information about bacteria, the microbiome, probiotics and the brand as a whole”. Keep in mind - potential ambassadors must complete the final ‘exam’ before Seed Health considers the integration. According to the brand, “The Internet means more connection, more content, and more cat memes. But it also means misinformation can spread faster and deeper than truth, especially when it comes to our health.Together, we can evolve this, power the movement to accountability, and set a new standard in the products and information we consume. It starts with a commitment to learn. Come with us.” This initiative has ensured that Seed Health partnered with creators that are extremely well-versed with the brand’s proposition.
Seed Health revealed that prior to launching Seed University, “hundreds of influencers expressed interest in partnering with it...and the pool of potential advocates has grown by the day since the educational platform was announced”.
From cool branding and trending tonation to strongly understanding consumer behavior (taking supplements on the go, forgetting to pop your daily dose, and, the most common - not going to a doctor/pharmacy), there are a wide range of wellness supplement brands shnazing up the health & wellness industry. Many are turning to content creators as a way to spread the word and are seeing great results.
If you are a brand looking to dip your toes into influencer marketing on YouTube and don't know where to start, check out our guide to YouTube sponsorship and don't hesitate to reach out.
