Supplement Branding Starts With Building a Movement

The average dietary supplement brand creates and sells products.

But great supplement brands, create movements in order to sell products.

Movements create loyal customers.

Loyal customers are what build brands, not companies.

Therefore, the key is to create a movement. It’s not easy, unless you have a step by step framework. That’s exactly what we’ll uncover here today…

How to Create a Movement for a Supplement Company in 4 Steps

Step 1 – Tap Into Existing Values

Step 2 – Align With Existing Beliefs

Step 3 – Create Rituals

Step 4 – Spread The Word

Step 1 – Tap Into Existing Values

Movements align with values. The reason why people seek out and join a movement is to reassure their existing values.

All successful movements align with the values of a cause.

The connection someone feels to a cause, are where loyalties lie. Not in the people within a movement.

They are loyal to a cause or ideal, that is larger than themselves.

It is the values around that cause that matter first, because that’s what people are buying into when becoming part of a movement.

It’s not about taking 2 capsules in the morning and 2 at night. That’s simply compliance.

In a movement, accountability is to the cause, rather than the regimen or the single individual that represents the brand. (Sorry influencers and CEOs, it’s about something much bigger than you.)

Becoming part of the movement means committing to take action on behalf of the values.

There is no mission to be accomplished.

No goal that when achieved marks the end of the movement. (There’s no finish line for Keto or Paleo.)

Let’s take a look at the supplement company Onnit as an example of tapping into existing values. I really like what they are doing in the dietary supplement space.

Their values are very clearly expressed.

Onnit’s movement can be summed up with the phrase: Total Human Optimization Which encapsulates the movement Onnit is creating.

Around the values of: Self improvement around your passion.

And… Peak performance.

Everything Onnit puts out, from books like “Own the Day, Own Your Life”, to the core principles of their certifications in fitness education, to their supplements like Alpha Brain, all support those values.

That’s what their movement is about. It’s not about their CEO Aubrey Marcus or their celebrity endorser Joe Rogan, who also has a stake in the company.

But what’s at the core of these values?

That brings us to our next step.

Step 2 – Align With Existing Beliefs

Our values come from our beliefs.

Beliefs come from our desires combined with our own story. Our story is what we tell ourselves.

Beliefs define the decisions we make that shape our lives. They determine how we feel and what we think.

Decisions are made according to the assumptions we believe and our beliefs shape our actions.

We choose what we choose because we believe it and our beliefs are driven by our desires.

Our desire for that healthy lifestyle is as much part of our individual personal narrative as our belief in the product itself.

If you believe in becoming a better person, you’ll act in accord with the inner belief.

Our inner desire needs to be consistent with our belief. That is if we believe something to be true about ourselves we need to also match our evolving story of who we believe we are and how we believe we should behave.

All movements tap into their customer’s specific human beliefs and turn them into the promise of the better tomorrow that they already believe in.

Step 3 – Create Rituals

Values and beliefs are held together with rituals.

Rituals and tradition give us direction in life.

They provide a sense of belonging. They allow us to be a part of the movement, even if we are distant from other people within it.

This is why you can be a part of the paleo movement without ever going to an event or even having all paleo friends.

The connection of belonging is within the rituals that connect you to the group.

More importantly, they provide a way for customers to come together to experience these ideals and values of the movement, every time they practice the rituals.

The best example of a ritual baked into a movement, can be found from the supplement company, Bulletproof.

Bulletproof creates a ritual of adding butter to coffee.

Most everyone drinks coffee, (They also have hot chocolate for those like me that don’t like coffee.) and there already is a ritual around making a cup of coffee.

The genius here is in tapping into the existing ritual of morning coffee. Bulletproof simply extended the morning coffee ritual by adding butter to it.

This simple, although strange act, is an outward sign to yourself and to others that you are a part of the Bulletproof tribe.

You have the same values and beliefs which are expressed by the rituals you practice.

What rituals can your brand create that tie into values and beliefs?

Step 4 – Spread The Word

Once you have steps one through three figured out for your brand, it’s time to spread the word of your movement to grow.

Without this step your movement will die on the vine.

The key to spreading the word is to find your connectors within your brands community of like minded people.

Connectors are what spread the movement. But don’t mistake the connectors or even you as being the leader.

Ultimately, the movement is the leader.

People working on behalf of a movement are loyal to a lifestyle larger than those individuals in the group.

Rather than focusing on views and likes, brands that create action focus on building movements that promise a better lifestyle or ideal.

Remember, movements are fundamentally about mobilizing people behind a shared belief. Sustaining a movement means sustaining action, by creating shared rituals.

Movement driven supplement brands have customers that stay longer, are happier and healthier.

And at the end of the day isn’t that the mission of every supplement brand?

To help more people become happier and healthier.