NatureBox Launches Partner Market as Part of Mission to “Take Stress Out Of Snacking”
After nearly a decade in business as a food manufacturer, direct-to-consumer snack brand NatureBox is taking on the role of retailer with the launch of Partner Market, an ecommerce store for wellness-focused food and beverage products. The move is designed to allow the company to offer more variety for both direct to consumer customers and for an expanding corporate business. It comes after the company received requests for more products beyond its current offerings.
NatureBox markets over 60 better-for-you snacks under its own brand, from cookies and bars to dried fruit, jerky and snack mixes. Launched in 2012, the company has had several strategy shifts over the years. It made its retail debut in Target in 2016 before pivoting to strictly direct-to-consumer in 2018 in an effort to drive profitability following its acquisition by private equity firm Wheelhouse Partners, CEO John Occhipinti said.
While the company has had a bifurcated sales strategy, selling directly to both consumers and to offices, it was, ironically, the Covid-19 pandemic that boosted its corporate business as companies started rewarding their employees with work-from-home boxes, Occhipinti said. With this increase in customers, came an increase in product requests, he added. Rather than try to develop items that “aren’t in the wheelhouse” for the company, like beverages and candy, NatureBox instead decided to bring new brands into the platform.
NatureBox has previously featured a small number of third party coffee brands like Counter Counter Coffee and Chameleon Cold Brew on its site, but the Partner Market is its first dedicated marketplace for third party partner brands. In addition to Chameleon, the Partner Market currently sells Stryve, Twrl milk tea, Mustache Munchies, Behave gummy bears and two-packs of lattes and cold brew from Rise Brewing Co. The company forms direct paid partnerships with Partner Market vendors, rather than charging brands for the sampling opportunity as many subscription box companies often do, Occhipinti noted.
Unlike some other retailers or brands’ own ecommerce stores, which might require shoppers to buy larger quantities in order to make up for shipping costs, NatureBox will allow consumers to add on single bags of products, or 2-packs of beverages. It’s a move that offers brands a way to drive trial and reach new shoppers, something many companies have struggled with as the Covid-19 pandemic shut down in-store shopping.
Rather than to create an “endless aisle,” NatureBox will instead offer a much smaller selection, Occhipinti said, focusing on new to market challenger brands offering on-trend products.
“There’s this concept of the paradox of choice with consumers: too many choices and too many things to pick from can actually create a stressful experience,” he said. “So we’re being really targeted and highly curated with partner brands that we really love. We want to take the whole stress out of the experience of snacking.”
That stress reduction comes not just from a limited number of products, but also from its strict vetting process that curbs the need for label scrutiny. For example, products with more than 10 grams of added sugar or products made with high fructose corn syrup or bromated flour are not allowed on the platform, Occhipinti said. Experience making its own food products has helped the company curate a detailed list of ingredients to avoid or include in its products that might often be overlooked by nutritionists, he said.
Beyond the Partner Market, the company will also continue to innovate within its own branded line as well, Occhipinti said, turning its product strategy in recent years from better-for-you snacks to premium functional wellness snacks, focused on “mindful snacking with purpose” with adaptogenic ingredients like turmeric and rishi. It eventually plans to re-enter retail with “proven premium highly differentiated winners from this line,” Occhipinti said, which he believes will be a “far more successful approach” than its previous retail outing. The launch of the Partner Market will benefit NatureBox’s wellness focus as well, he noted, allowing the company to offer consumers a wider assortment of wellness items without having to develop the products themselves.
While some snack box companies like SnackMagic have found success during the pandemic, benefiting from consumers shifting their food shopping online and looking to discover new products, NatureBox ultimately sees its highly curated marketplace and direct brand relationship as a differentiators among the competition. As offices reopen and NatureBox focuses its attention on its corporate business, Occhipinti believes these attributes will be crucial to its success.
“I think 2021 is really about the hybrid office and people getting back to the office and figuring out both their remote working strategy and in office strategy,” he said. “The corporate world and the consumer world are really blending together. The purpose of our businesses is not only just providing corporate snacks, but snacks that actually can make a difference in your wellbeing.”
