Superheroes Are Selling Protein Powders at Vitamin Shoppe

In the 2017 action film Wonder Woman, the leading lady of DC Comics' pantheon got quite a workout. For two-and-a-half hours, she jumped off cliffs, outran machine-gun bullets, threw a tank in the air and singlehandedly defeated a battalion of soldiers. Gee—wonder what she had for breakfast. Well, starting this week, ordinary mortals can at least get a taste of that kind of strength—even if it won’t be enough to defeat Ludendorff. In partnership with DC Comics, The Vitamin Shoppe is introducing a line of supplements branded with some of the more popular warrior-protectors in the DC universe. There is, for example, Superman Kryptonite Krusher BodyTech Elite Ultimate EAA. And Batman Gotham City Grape BodyTech Micronized Creatine Monohydrate. There’s even a spot on the shelf for the Dark Knight's foil: Joker Candy BodyTech Energized Critical Aminos. The heroes are introducing new flavors. Hero worship It all sounds like good fun. But what’s the reasoning behind pairing workout supplements with comic book characters? “Number one, we thought it would draw attention to the brand,” The Vitamin Shoppe chief merchandising and marketing officer Muriel Gonzalez told Adweek. “That alone is worth it.” Over the last five years, Gonzalez watched other nutrition and supplement brands extend their product lines by rolling out new flavors. But instead of just boosting BodyTech—one of the company’s in-house brands of supplements—with a bit of grape or lemon zest, it would be more interesting to do that along with some licensed characters. It was also an easy decision since the superheroes swooped in on their own. “Somebody from DC Comics—a Vitamin Shoppe customer—approached a licensing broker who actually used to work at The Vitamin Shoppe,” Gonzalez said, “so it was little serendipitous.” Will the jocks care? Yet it’s also a little counterintuitive, at first blush perhaps. After all, comic book characters are for kids, right? And why would a 30-something guy who’s serious about his upper-body routine at the gym care whether Batman is on the container of his micronized creatine monohydrate? “On the surface, it feels a little off,” observed veteran retail analyst Bruce Winder. “It feels more like a children’s campaign. I don’t know if this approach will resonate with adult users, as they appear to be a little more serious with their consumption in this category. [But] perhaps it will help differentiate them in a crowded market.” As anyone who’s been to Toy Fair will attest, superhero licensing does frequently find fertile ground with merchandise aimed at kids. At the same time, a perusal of fan demographics suggests that putting superheroes on supplements makes more sense now than it would have a generation ago. Back in 1984, for example, publisher First Comics surveyed its readers. The company found that close to a third of them (31.3%) were under 20 years old and overwhelmingly male—as in, more than 90%. What Brands Can Learn From the Power of Latinx Superheroes But when NPD Group decided to study the fan base of comics and graphic novels in 2017, it found that women now make up 37% of comic sales. The fan base has also gotten older: The largest age category (making up 72% of sales) is now the 30-50 age group. And, as it turns out, both women and older consumers account for much of The Vitamin Shoppe’s growth in recent years. “We do see that in sports nutrition, primarily it's a male customer 20 to 50, is active in the gym works out,” Gonzales said. She added that it’s not just gym rats who buy protein powders, but a varied customer base that uses the product as part of “a healthy, fit lifestyle”—weights or no weights. And while name-slapping with superheroes probably doesn’t add credibility to health supplements on its face, positive associations still have value. Gal Gadot’s acrobatics in the 2017 film notwithstanding, Wonder Woman is 81 years old. The Caped Crusader is grayer still—DC Comics debuted Batman in 1939, making him 83. This means that most everyone living today has been exposed to these characters at some point. The Vitamin Shoppe’s collaboration, Gonzales added, “has a nostalgia factor about it.” In addition, she said, “we find with any of the collaborations that our brands do, it always brings a new customer.” Come in with your cape Certainly, there's no bad time for brand to try to widen its appeal. The Vitamin Shoppe—which since 2019 has been a unit of Franchise Group—posted revenues of nearly $307 million in Q2 of this year. That’s a considerable improvement on the $3.9 million loss it posted for the second quarter of 2020, and even an improvement over its prepandemic Q2 2018 sales of $293 million. As it seeks to separate itself from online competitors in large part by emphasizing the in-store experience, The Vitamin Shoppe avoids stressing quick service, convenience and selection—attributes that are hard to beat ecommerce on. Instead, The Vitamin Shoppe's physical locations are centers where customers can get advice from a staff of “health enthusiasts.” Pepsi Gears Up for Another NFL Season—Just Without the Super Bowl Halftime Show So it’s essential for the brand to encourage shoppers to show up in person. The retailer will be showcasing the value of in-person purchases later this month by reprising its Snax for Vax program. The initiative is premised on putting a free protein bar into the hand of anyone who walks into a store with proof of a recent flu inoculation. This superhero promo seems to be less about pulling people into stores—at least not in their mundane forms. No, the timing appears particular. And you don't need super-speed to figure it out, as the aforementioned staff health enthusiasts will be dressing up as their favorite DC Comics superhero or villain during the week leading up to Halloween. So, in practice, The Vitamin Shoppe's consumers might pick up a canister of Wonder Woman Sherbet BodyTech Whey Protein Isolate—and run into another Wonder Woman (or someone else with a dual identity) behind the cash register.

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Pow! The Vitamin Shoppe Is Slapping Superheroes on Protein Powders

But will the Joker's maniacal smile convince serious health nuts to buy?

Robert Klara

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Robert Klara