Magento eCommerce Case Study: How To Differentiate And Win In The Food Market

The Growth of the Food Market

The United States CPG or consumer packaged goods industry showed more growth in 2015 than in the previous four years and reached $670 billion. The most interesting aspect according to a 2016 report by The Boston Consulting Group, is the small to midsize producers of healthy foods high in protein played a large part in this growth. The research revealed the growth of the producers is being achieved by widening their product distribution. This is due to better retail placement or distribution by the larger CPG companies. The small businesses are increasing their sales using social media promotions and online retailers.

The trends in the United Kingdom are similar. In 2015, the organic food market increased five percent. The online trends are influencing consumers regarding wellness and health. According to a 2016 report from Euromonitor, social media campaigns and celebrity food bloggers have influenced the market. Sales in numerous niches throughout the food and beverage industry are increasing such as coconut water and almond milk as opposed to dairy drinks. People are now willing to eliminate certain foods from their diet for healthier alternatives. Gluten-free food sales have soared and the benefits are being seen by individuals with food intolerance.

The Pulsin’ Story

A case study was conducted by Magento regarding these trends for a company in the United Kingdom called Pulsin'. The company has gained an edge in the growing market for healthy foods. Three friends began this business after they met while attending the University of Bristol. They wanted to open a fast food restaurant in 2005. The location would be London and they intended to sell healthy foods. When they realized the idea was not financially viable, they began selling snacks instead. They approached retailers in London in 2007. In 2008, they signed with a London wholesaler. Their first website was launched during 2010. By 2012, they had produced one million bars and five million by 2015.

The Positioning in the Healthy Foods Market

Pulsin' took months to refine their recipes and experiment with new ingredients. They took the lead by reducing or eliminating sugar. They used natural sweeteners such as xylitol, agave nectar, brown rice malt and dates. They used the best natural ingredients possible and eliminated any coloring, preservatives and artificial sweeteners. All their products were pesticide and GM free, ethical and sustainable. They believed their growth could be sustainable and not harm the planet, plants or people. They sourced all possible ingredients locally from sustainable sources. Their packaging was minimal and earth friendly. The only thing they outsourced was their postage and they powered their business with 100 percent renewable energy.

The Branding and Advertising

The Magento study delved into the lengths this business went to for the environment and the people. The business did not use their website for bragging rights, but won both natural and organic awards in 2015. Pulsin' built an eCommerce website using the Magento platform. They established a successful presence all over the world both on and offline. This included Amazon and the leading retailer of herbal supplements, minerals and vitamins in Europe, Holland and Barrett. This company has in excess of 620 physical locations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Their online store was beautifully launched with the assistance of Media Lounge. This is a digital agency in the United Kingdom specializing in Magento. For Additional information please visit Mageworx.

Increasing the Addressable Market

Pulsin' expanded their main target audience from health conscious urban females age eighteen to 45 to include children and men. This increased the growth of the brand in the market. Pulsin' devised a strategy to add to their original customer base and started catering to entire families. This led to the development and commercialization of new products such as snacks designed specifically for children and protein powders created for healthy fathers and boyfriends.

Catering to the Different Ways Consumers Shop

Magento enabled Pulsin' to break down the top navigation bar on their website. Instead of breaking it down according to product category, Pulsin' realized new visitors would not know which products to choose. They created a new category according to what heath benefits the consumer wanted to achieve. This enabled consumers to shop for numerous searches including strength, weight loss, lactose intolerance, paleo and vegan. This made the brand relevant to the visitors while providing a sense of understanding. This led to the creation of landing pages covering keywords and the hottest topics in the fitness, nutrition and health industries. The result was the SEO of the website was boosted brilliantly.

Increasing the Lifetime Value and Loyalty

One of the growing trends to increase the frequency of transactions and drive the repeat buyers is called automatic replenishment. Pulsin' used this trend to provide a monthly subscription to benefit both the business and the customers. The consumers save money, time and receive ten percent off without the need to manually add bars and snacks to their weekly groceries. This ensures customer loyalty because the automatic replenishment eliminates the need to try a different brand. The business increases their lifetime value and receives recurring revenue for every customer receiving automatic replenishment.

Maximizing the Average Order Value

Pulsin' included upsells on their product page such buy three and save directly beneath the unit price. They offer coupons before the visitor reaches checkout to prevent them from having to search, to help eliminate customer loss and to optimize their checkout flow conversion. The customer is simply required to participate in social sharing in exchange for the coupon. All of this happens right in the cart before the consumer checks out. The Magneto checkout process is friendly and simple.

Once the cart is full, before proceeding to checkout and after the upsell activity, the site decreases any friction to help ensure the checkout process is as seamless and fast as possible. The OneStepCheckout is the best practice because the checkout page is easy and fast to fill out. There are no distractions, just the bold total price in green and an obvious place order button.