Each year, more and more direct-to-consumer health and wellness test products hit the market. Testing and devices are becoming commonplace in personalized nutrition programs, and consumer acceptance is high. In our survey of more than 3,000 U.S. consumers interested in personalized nutrition, two-thirds reported having some testing to create their plan. Further, 37% had some sort of at-home testing as part of their plan.
In a recent research study we conducted, sponsored by GOED, we found that across five countries (U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, and South Korea), two-thirds of those surveyed in each country were interested in testing to know their omega-3 levels. Interestingly, a finger-prick at home was the top test choice.
Consumers are interested in measuring markers to track their progress against their goals. At-home testing may include vitamin and mineral status, lipid profiles, gut microbiome, hormones, glucose, and other measures. One example is the sales of continuous glucose monitors to support benefits beyond diabetes management, such as diabetes prevention and metabolic health, weight loss, heart health, and sports performance. While the evidence to support these benefits is limited, this is a call to action for consumer education and further research to determine the strongest potential benefit links.
Are you considering including at-home testing as part of your personalized nutrition business? Be careful before you ask your consumers for blood, sweat, and tears. Sometimes, simple solutions can reduce costs and make your program more accessible and just as effective. Here are some key considerations before you add testing to your offering.
Make sure it is worth it.
Testing will increase your costs and the costs to your consumer – add carefully to maximize your market potential. Our research shows that cost is the leading barrier to consumers participating in and continuing with personalized nutrition programs. Adding testing should provide the user with unique information that they can’t get through less expensive or easier approaches and help them on their way to achieve a benefit meaning the measure should be a reliable marker for one or more desired outcomes.
Start with the most accessible measure.
It’s not much of a debate that a test like OmegaQuant will provide a better understanding of blood omega-3 status than a digital food diary. Individuals can differ in their uptake of omega-3 fatty acids due to a number of factors. However, a survey can be a fast, accessible and cost-effective way to indicate to the user that their intake is low and provide feedback to increase omega-3 intakes through diet or supplements. When it comes to omega-3, we found that across all 5 countries, it was the consumers who were most confident that they were getting enough omega-3 that were most interested in testing. Therefore, blood-based testing may be a logical up-sale for those that have begun supplementing or changing their diet after the digital survey.
Align the test to the desired benefit.
Testing should inform the desired consumer benefit or outcome. More extensive testing puts pressure on the company to deliver recommendations and results that match or exceed the users’ investment and time. We collaborated with a client interested in a personalized fat loss (vs. weight loss) program and talked about different measures and testing (e.g., CGM, hunger hormones, smart scales). In the end, we decided to start with asking people to track their weight and measure waist-to-hip ratio as a meaningful, easy-to-track measure. Simple measures that align to the end goal may be best.
The key takeaway should be to start with the simplest, evidence-based measure that predicts a desired consumer outcome and that is easy for users to track repeatedly and check progress. When using biomarker testing, make sure the incremental investment in time and money by your consumer is repaid in equal or greater information delivered to the user.