Chapter 3 - Marketing challenges and strategies

Abstract

Marketing plays a very important role in the success of nutraceutical and functional foods for both current and future customers. Before marketing of final products, there are a few preconditions that need to be understood and analyzed before going full-blown into the process. Key factors for the success of functional products are securing intellectual property, availability of patents, and trademark. It’s important to understand that both downstream and upstream marketing are critical for the success of the products and budget plays an important factor in the marketing. It’s important to spend money for marketing at the right time. We start this chapter with an introduction followed by the earlier and current status of functional food in the market. The chapter then talks in detail about upstream and downstream marketing and risks associated with unplanned and inefficient marketing techniques. It then mentions brand value and types of branding and also how advertising can play a huge role in the success of functional products. Analyzing the minds of customers is very important and functional products must be able to cater at both physical and psychological levels of customers. The chapter also talks about different forms of marketing and the importance of staggering both marketing spend and effort during the life of functional products. The chapter also notes how marketing, product labeling, and regulation need to be in sync with each other to avoid any problem from the regulatory bodies. The cycle of product marketing is important. Before a product is launched in the market and also at the time during which the product is just getting launched in the market, the marketing team needs to be at their best. During the peak time of product sales, marketing and spend for different activities related to marketing should continue but toward the final phase of the product, marketing spend should be reduced and diverted to the next product which is in line for release. It’s important to keep the cycle going and we will talk in detail about the various factors that will determine this cycle.