Most of us watched England’s World Cup match against DR Congo with a mixture of anticipation, trepidation and hope. But VITAL Founder Al Duffield has another reason to feel nervous: Harry Kane's image featured across hundreds of VITAL shippers, due to go live in Sainsbury’s stores the next morning.
Thankfully, Kane produced two moments of match winning brilliant - and those shippers, combined with a 50% off promo, delivered an unbelievable 12x uplift.
It’s just one highlight in an impressive start for VITAL, which has secured the backing of Kane, landed Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Ocadom and built a powerful contract catering business.
We spoke to Al about Celebrity partnerships, transformative merchandising, the value of contract catering and why persistence with buyers can backfire.
Let’s get straight to it. You’re backed by Harry Kane. How on earth did that happen?
Functional is in this amazing hyper-growth, but with that comes this insane amount of competitiveness. What we were looking to do with Harry was create a real competitive advantage in such a crowded category.
It came about through an investor introduction. We knew we’d need to make a really strong case, but there was a genuine alignment around health, accessibility and strong ESG credentials.
We’re all about making health accessible, not just for the premium shopper and not too complicated to understand. We wanted mass-market health.
What makes Harry such a powerful partner for VITAL- and how does the partnership help with buyers?
I think what’s special about Harry is his credibility and reputation outside football as well. He has a wider pull.
At the same time, a sporting partnership is no longer a silver bullet. We’ve always had to be ready for the “so what?” What’s it actually bringing to the category? What’s in it for the buyer?
Working with an amazing profile like Harry drives trial into an ever-growing but ever-confusing category. But ultimately the product has to deliver the repeat and retention. It has to work in synergy: Harry helps drive initial trial, awareness and penetration, while VITAL has to deliver the repeat and retention.
You’ve seen performance change dramatically depending on how VITAL is merchandised. How dramatic are we talking?
When we were on feature (shipper space) and were also 50% off during the World Cup, we saw an uplift of 1,100% (12X!)
Merchandising is something we’ve gone really big on. Our investment in the Harry Kane partnership isn’t in flashy above-the-line or out-of-home campaigns. It’s going into the retailer’s P&L and the site’s P&L, bringing the Harry Kane partnership to life right at the point of purchase.
It’s about standing out, educating and bringing Harry’s profile into the shopper journey, whether that’s through shippers in Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, online features with Ocado or contract catering.
Which channel has surprised you most?
Contract catering has been epic for us.
You always get the question: “where do you want to build your brand outside retail?” and people instinctively go to QSR or health stores. You also see a lot of brands doubling down online, but we know it’s a really tough channel. It’s very easy to spend a lot of money and not see much back on ROAS.
For us, it was always going to be contract catering. We did hundreds of thousands of cans over the summer in catering groups that have been live for less than 6 months.
It’s reasonable margin and it’s easier to recruit. Contract catering is pretty key for us. I think making it work is just about getting the proposition right and finding a clear gap in the contract catering market.
Is there anything about building a brand that you wish you’d known two years ago?
Get the proposition right on entry rather than developing it as you go.
Our big regret is not rebranding earlier. We rebranded with B&B Studios - who are behind Pip & Nut, Fever-Tree and Pret a Manger, some amazing brands - and saw a major spike in sales, immediate uplift.
It was a chunky piece of work and cost a lot of money, but we wanted to do it with the best and not redo it every few years. It was the best decision we ever made.
You’ve done brilliantly to win so many listings early in VITAL’s journey. Any tips on getting (and keeping) a buyer’s attention?
Less is more. I’ve definitely been guilty of love-bombing. Sometimes that does get cut-through, but persistence is a double-edged sword. You can overdo it.
They’re already very aware of you. Another sample box or another batch of emails isn’t going to change anything. It could actually have the opposite effect.
Finally, who should we interview next?
The amazing ladies at Ooji are doing really cool things. They’re an overnight-oats brand rebranding with B&B. It’s really exciting. They’re awesome.