{"id":3387,"date":"2021-04-20T07:41:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T11:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/creativethirst.com\/blog\/?p=3387"},"modified":"2024-03-18T08:57:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T12:57:03","slug":"niching-a-dietary-supplement-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativethirst.com\/blog\/niching-a-dietary-supplement-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Niching a Dietary Supplement Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Niching a dietary supplement brand may sound crazy to some people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initial response we hear often is why should I niche down when my supplement can be taken, and should be taken by everyone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, everyone needs Vitamin C and D, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, from a health perspective, we should all take a good immunity supplement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But from a marketing perspective niching a dietary supplement brand is key to success in today’s overcrowded marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What many health supplement entrepreneurs don’t realize is that niching down actually opens up the market because they are no longer competing against everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many times niching down means you have no competition at all if you get the niche right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best niches are at the intersection of both a horizontal and a vertical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The horizontal is the WHAT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you sell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vertical is the WHO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is it for? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where most start-up supplement brands get tripped up. They want to sell to everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the dietary supplement industry is so crowded that picking a who is challenging unless you get creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter The Ghost Lifestyle Brand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The supplement company Ghost is fairly new to the market. They’ve only been around since 2016, only about 4 years at the time of this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The founders are Ryan Hughes, a former IFBB Pro turned CMO along with Dan Lourenco, the mastermind behind Ghost’s brand licensing product innovation and a fan of the Saturday morning cartoons and sugar-loaded cereals we all grew up with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they first launched they focused on just 2 products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Pre-Workout Mix, called Legend, and an Amino Acid Mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, however, they have several product lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Including a brain-boosting nootropic and natural energy line and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, they have a very clear niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the intersection of the horizontal and vertical niche framework, it looks like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they sell is workout supplements. (That’s the horizontal. It’s very broad.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who they sell it to are gamers and skateboarders. (That’s the vertical. A very narrow and under-served market.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s look at one specific product to see how it amplified the crosshairs of their niche even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of their products is Whey protein powder. Again, this is the “what” part of the niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The who, that Ghost has chosen to niche down and sell to, is what sets them apart from other supplement brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most supplement brands selling protein focus on the benefits of the type of protein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Whey protein, Pea protein, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Ghost takes a lifestyle approach to selling protein. Which ties directly into their target customer avatar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their avatar isn’t everyone who goes to a gym. It’s for a specific select subgroup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skateboarders and gamers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s a unique avatar that is largely under-served in the fitness marketplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Avatar Choice Sets The Strategy For Niching a Dietary Supplement Brand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decision to build a supplement brand for skaters and gamers makes it infinitely easier to compete in such a crowded marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because your supplement brand can then craft everything around serving that market segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A market segment that’s underserved like this is a blue ocean of opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way Ghost does that is through offering unique flavors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flavors that are part of the skater and gaming culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With licensed flavors like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n