There is no doubt that the health characteristics of a product play an important role in consumer shopping. From biological to functional requirements, there are endless possibilities and possibilities for "healthier" products.
In the April edition of Retail World, we met some of the speakers who were hired for Naturally Good 2020 (which has now been canceled due to COVID-19) to discuss the latest healthy developments.
Such a speaker was Lisa Crawford Jones. She is Consulting Content Manager at Naturally Good and publisher of What's New in Healthy Products.
Ms. Crawford Jones explains that Australians in the retail world are better educated and healthier than ever.
She describes her as a "nation of label readers" who are looking for products that solve health problems before buying or in-store using their own cell phones.
"However, one of the biggest changes in recent years is how the macro trend of personalization affects purchase decisions, which is triggered both by better education and the convergence of technologies through various apps for health tests," said Dr. Crawford Jones.
“Now we can understand our suffering, examine the ingredients in the products and combine them with personal health data to make informed purchasing decisions.
"We see a rejection of dogmatic or prescribed diets, with the most educated developing their own bespoke approaches, such as flexible diets and a focus on functional foods, beverages, beauty and personal care products.
“Training in retail, especially in pharmacies and health food stores, is becoming increasingly important with the increasing complexity of consumer issues.
“Another major development is that consumers are becoming more aware of their interconnected body systems, self-sufficient, and prioritizing healing and recovery practices as integral parts of a healthy lifestyle.
"They started to understand the complex relationship between physical, mental, environmental, emotional, and even spiritual wellbeing, and they saw that health brands focus on wellbeing to take an active role in addressing some of these broader problems."
