Supply6 invests 35-38% of revenue in marketing for a single-product nutritional solution

New Delhi: Supply6, a nutraceutical startup based out of Bengaluru, has positioned itself as a one-product fit, fulfilling the nutritional needs of the consumer. Owing to the early stage of the startup, the company has been spending approximately 35–38% of its revenue on marketing and creating awareness over the last three to four quarters. 

The marketing spend is comparatively high, owing to tough competition within the space from companies including Oziva, Plix, Fast and Up and Kapiva, among others, increasing consumer awareness of the product.  

The company’s advertising budget is split into two categories: conversion marketing and brand activations. Vaibhav Bhandari, co-founder and CEO, Supply6, mentioned that the target audience is the modern consumer. 

“The target audience spends a significant time on social media and OTT channels. Hence, it is natural for us to get to them on digital platforms and try to create awareness and get to the consumers. We also engage in a few activations offline due to consumers wanting to try out the products before they commit to them long-term,” Bhandari said in a conversation with BestMediaInfo.

Founded in 2019, the company entered the nutraceutical space, popularly known as the supplement market. The Bangalore-based startup’s idea to start the company was to make nutrition accessible and simple. According to the founders, they intended to create a product that is easy to consume while providing consumers with all nutrients. 

“Our perspective of nutrition is to make products seamless while making it easier for the consumers to consume. Our thesis is to make the product as comprehensive as possible, while others have a lot of products that cater to specific needs,” Bhandari stated.

Bhandari highlighted that earlier the focus was on conversion marketing, which has now changed. The marketing budget is set up in a way that supports 60% conversion marketing while 40% is spent on brand activations.

Additionally, the company does brand activations in places including gym centres, yoga centres and office spaces, among others, to get prospective customers to try the product, eventually sending them to the website and attaining long-term conversions.

The company has focused on foundational nutrition, which means consuming macronutrients and micronutrients for holistic well-being. It recently roped in AB de Villiers as the brand ambassador as well as an investor. When asked about the collaboration, Bhandari stated that the collaboration has been fruitful. 

Bhandari stated that customer acquisition comes on the back of performance marketing. The company has been developing a lifestyle brand featuring AB de Villiers and partnering with other influencers to demonstrate how effective it is to maintain good health through a daily routine. 

“AB is known as a 360-figure, while our flagship product is also called 360. AB is an all-rounder and he was known for his all-round performances on the field as well as off of it and we wanted to propagate a holistic, all-round lifestyle,” Bhandari said.

Trust and credibility are factors that weigh in the space. AB tried the products for three to four months before collaborating with the company, according to Bhandari. Additionally, he mentioned that brand activations would be centred around AB de Villiers in an attempt to educate and create awareness about the category and the importance of micronutrients which are often neglected by consumers.

As for brand awareness, Bhandari added that building a lifestyle brand with AB de Villiers and collaborating with other influencers highlights how maintaining good health can be simple and effective through an easy daily routine.

While the company focused on providing the consumer with all the nutrients, it also focused on cracking a formula that does not make the product taste bad. The company started conducting clinical trials and has been clinically proven for the claims the company has been making. Bhandari also claimed that there is a constant focus on improving the product. 

Furthermore, the company intends to create a new category for foundational nutrition. Bhandari opined that the journey can be long, requiring patience as they continue to look for partners who would understand the ambitions of the company.

“We have to invest in different pilot experiments to understand how to get to our consumers better. I believe the most critical part is to find partners who are trying to understand what we are trying to build,” Bhandari concluded.