Fulfillment of Nutrition and Wellness Products: Trends, Challenges and Tips to Ace Nutrition and Wellness Category Supply Chain Operations in 2022

Along with the growing awareness and utilization of the internet and eCommerce by customers to get access to the products and services they need in a speedy and hassle-free way, the demand for nutrition and wellness products to help people live healthier lifestyles is simultaneously increasing. This is coupled with the trend of more people gaining access to lifestyle amenities due to India becoming a more prosperous and wealthy country on a daily basis. As a result of this, customers have become less worried about scraping by and putting food on the table and are able to focus on more granular aspects of their lives, such as the well-being of themselves and their families.

The expanding availability of nutrition and wellness products, especially through eCommerce, has made many consumers enthusiastic about purchasing them, as they do not need to visit a dedicated store. They can simply browse through all the available products and get all the information they need at their fingertips. In this blog, we take a deeper look into the fulfillment of nutrition and wellness products, trends in the industry, challenges faced by retailers, and 5 tips to improve fulfillment processes.

What Constitutes the Fulfillment of Nutrition and Wellness Products?

The conventional eCommerce processes that go into delivering nutrition and wellness products to the locations of relevant customers, such as picking, packing, shipping, and last-mile delivery, constitute the fulfillment of nutrition and wellness products. These products can be anything health or fitness-related such as herbal teas, protein shakes, diet supplements, grains, pulses, ayurvedic medicines and much more. They generally add value to a person’s daily routine by providing solutions to problems such as obesity, stress, weight gain, and high cholesterol, among others.

Significant Trends in the eCommerce Growth of Nutrition and Wellness Products 

• In a Mckinsey survey of 7,500 people across 7 countries, 79% of them agreed that wellness is important, while 49% indicated that it was a top priority for them.
• The global nutrition and wellness product market are currently valued at $1.5 trillion, with a growth rate between 5 to 10%, annually.
• The industry experienced an overall decline during the pandemic, with more people being inactive but demand has started experiencing a significant uptick since then.
• In a recent study, participants spent the majority of their income on healthcare and wellness products.
• Services, as opposed to products, account for 30% of nutrition and wellness-related purchases.

3 Unique Challenges That Sellers Face in the Fulfillment of Nutrition and Wellness Products

Need for Specific Warehouse Facilities

Nutrition and wellness products often have very specific storage requirements such as being stored at a certain temperature, being stored away from direct sunlight, being stored away from other grocery products due to risks of cross-contamination, and much more. This necessitates that fulfillment warehouses be equipped with specific features to safely and efficiently store so that they can successfully be shipped to customers without getting visually damaged or deformed.

Greater Risk of Expiry and Damage

On the same note as the first point, because wellness and nutrition products need specific facilities to prevent them from getting spoiled or damaged, their chances of premature expiry are generally higher compared to conventional eCommerce products. Moreover, since they are tailored toward improving the health and well-being of customers, there is a lower threshold for any deformities to occur as the product will not be salvageable and will have to be written off.

In the event of an RTO, the package could risk getting damaged in transit due to the fact that it hasn’t been stored in the required conditions for a long period of time, which could not only increase the logistics costs but also result in the product cost being borne by the seller. 

Suggested Article: How to Handle RTO?

Requirement for Specialised Packing

In continuing with the theme of wellness and nutrition products being a lot more fragile than other categories, they require specialised packaging. This helps increase their lifecycle and prolong their shelf life and ultimately, their expiry. However, if you are a retailer that is aspiring to deal in these products, it is important to note that these packaging facilities, like the dedicated storage facilities, don’t come cheap. It is simply an additional step and cost to think about, that is unique to nutritional and wellness products.

5 Tips to Enhance the Fulfillment of Nutrition and Wellness Products Through a 3PL in 2022

Have Enhanced Inventory Management and Quality Control

Wellness and nutrition products are subject to some of the most strict guidelines of any product category in relation to storage, shipping and delivery since the entire aim of them is to improve health and wellness among the people that buy them. Therefore, you need to implement enhanced quality-checking procedures and invest in an inventory management system to oversee your inventory compliance and identify when products are close to expiry or need to be replenished with fresh stocks. This will help you stay on top of the game and help customers view your brand as a legitimate option for the fulfillment centre of nutrition and wellness products.

Related Article: Stock Replenishment

Have Exceptional Product and Operations Management 

Management of important departments is a crucial aspect of any company, especially one that sells nutrition and wellness products as there can be a vast number of challenges and unforeseen circumstances that could occur. Competent management can offset the negative effects of such circumstances by providing solutions to problems and leadership to various teams around them.

For instance, if there is a product recall of a major SKU that you sell due to manufacturing defects or safety hazards, you need proper management to take the appropriate steps in dealing with agitated customers that have already purchased it, ensure that all the defective stocks are rounded up and replenish the inventory with a close substitute and offer that to customers as a replacement.

Implement Batch Tracking at the Warehouse Level

Some important batch tracking methods are FEFO (First Expired, First Out), FIFO (First In, First Out) and LIFO (Last In, First Out), among others. In the case of wellness and nutrition products that have a greater risk of expiry and damage if they are not stored in the required conditions or are kept in storage for too long, it is best to use the FEFO method to mitigate any additional risks. This will ensure that the products with the closest expiry dates will be prioritized and fulfilled first.

Offer Ultra-Fast Delivery

A recent study concluded that 48% of eCommerce customers in India received their orders within 2 to 3 days of placing them, which is a major step up from just a few years ago. Fortunately for customers, this number is only slated to rise as ultra-fast 2-day, same-day and even 10-minute deliveries are taking precedence. eCommerce selling platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, along with 3PL fulfillment companies, are constantly seeking to out-pace each other in terms of order fulfillment and the parties that ultimately benefit our retailers and their customers. This is especially beneficial for the fulfillment of nutrition and wellness products as it is advisable not to keep them in transit for too long.

Provide a Unique Unboxing Experience

Wellness and nutrition products generally have great packaging that hits home the message of health and sustainability. Therefore, it is imperative that your brand also follows this trend in order to catch the eyes of customers, among a sea of other manufacturers that are also trying to jostle for their attention. You can use materials that maintain the lifecycle of your products while also promoting your brand and its message. This can easily be done through a 3PL company that has custom packaging facilities. You can also insert pamphlets, coupons and vouchers in your packaging to encourage customers to purchase from you again.

Conclusion: Why is WareIQ a Good Option for the Fulfillment of Nutrition and Wellness Products?

As the world becomes more health conscious, the demand for nutrition and wellness products will only keep increasing. People are seeking to live healthy, prosperous lives now, more than ever. As the global economy becomes wealthier as it recovers from the pandemic, the focus shifts from survival to personal well-being and that is exactly what is taking place.

This is even more pronounced in a country like India, where more and more people are getting the capability to pursue luxuries that enhance their lifestyles. However, it is important to be aware of the specific features and costs that are unique to this category of products and plan accordingly. If you need specialised facilities that are associated with the fulfillment of nutrition and wellness products, WareIQ might be the perfect fit for you.

WareIQ is one of India’s leading eCommerce fulfillment companies, trusted by a lot of brands in nutrition and wellness categories like Gynoveda, UTH Beverages, Lil’ Goodness, Wingreens etc. We provide a vast array of eCommerce services from inventory storage to order delivery. Some of our unique services that could benefit your company if you sell wellness and nutrition products are listed below:

Pan-India Network of Fulfillment Centers with Cold Storage & Temperature Controlled Warehouses

We have fulfillment centers scattered across the entire country and each one is equipped with specialized SKU-specific facilities such as cold storage, temperature-controlled warehouses, specialised storage materials for fragile goods and much more. Additionally, we also provide hyper-local fulfillment through dark stores where inventory that needs to be fulfilled quickly can be stored and delivered to surrounding areas.

Custom Packaging Facilities

We provide customized packaging facilities as per the requirements of your business. You can choose to highlight your brand with your logo and designs of your choice, while also choosing materials that will secure your products, especially fragile ones such as wellness and nutrition products.

Ultra-Fast Same-Day and Next-Day Delivery

We have partnered with more than 20 of the best shipping aggregators in the country to ensure that your orders are always on time. We also automatically assign the quickest and most cost-effective option for every order. 

Custom WMS With Multiple Integrations

Our custom WMS can integrate with multiple eCommerce selling platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, eBay and more and can monitor, store and update your inventory and order data across all of them, in real-time. You will also have access to all your important data in one central dashboard.

No Minimum Order Requirements

We do not have any minimum order restrictions. You only pay for the services and facilities that you use so you can pick and choose what is important to you.

Fulfillment of Nutrition and Wellness Products: FAQs

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