The marketing campaign that brought Australia's most trusted probiotic brand back to its number one position is CMA's 2021 Marketing award winner.

The campaign supported Inner Health's evolution with the launch of 11 new shelf-stable, live, full-strength probiotics.

Paula and the team accept the 2021 award for the best marketing campaign for the evolution of Inner Health

Introducing probiotics to Australia 

Paula Hann, Managing Director or Metagenics ANZ, says: "Inner Health introduced probiotics to Australia 30 years ago. Probiotics were refrigerated to protect the beneficial bacteria since they are sensitive to and destroyed by moisture and heat.

As the market leader and pioneer of probiotics in Australia, Inner Health was proud to innovate and conduct in-depth education for consumers and health professionals, supporting the understanding of probiotics' many health benefits and the importance of gut health. Inner Health also pioneered the innovation of strain-specific probiotics to alleviate symptoms of certain health conditions.

A few years ago, competitors began to enter the market with shelf-stable probiotics. Of course, convenience is important, and fridge-stored probiotics' sales began to decline in 2016-19, resulting in the brand losing its leadership position. Research showed, though, that brand recognition remained incredibly high at 84 per cent signally both public recognition and trust.

From fridge to shelf

"We were already considering whether the products could be moved from the fridge to the shelf," says Paula, "We were not happy with the results of our shelf stability trials for many of our strains. We launched a small range of shelf-stable probiotics that we had completed real-time stability on, and we're confident in the product integrity, but that was still a small part of our portfolio," Paula says.

The catalyst to the now hugely successful product range was finding a suitable packaging solution. Harnessing Activ-Vial technology was the answer; the whole bottle acts as a desiccant, actively removing moisture from the inside of the bottle until the expiry of the product.

Rigorous testing 

Inner Health probiotics are blended and packaged in a temperature and humidity controlled environment at Metagenics' purpose-built manufacturing facility in Northgate, Brisbane; raw materials and finished products undergo rigorous testing by the Metagenics team of highly qualified microbiologist who tests, validate and enumerate Inner Health probiotics to ensure an efficacious live probiotic product.

A business-wide approach

"The whole business got behind this project. The range was launched in September 2019; the market was very receptive," says Paula. "People were welcoming as they trust and know the brand so well. The campaign was so well received that Inner Health has now regained the number one position in Australian pharmacies. It is really wonderful to see how our pharmacy partners and consumers have welcomed this transformed new range, and we will continue to innovate with our aim to help people live healthier, happier lives," Paula says.

Paula and the Metagenics team know that the category will continue to grow as the science behind probiotics and the microbiome explodes. "The importance of gut health and the microbiome is still not broadly understood. In the not-too-distant future, the impact of the microbiome on whole-body health will become a critical factor in overall healthcare," Paula says.

Efficacious and convenient

The whole team is really humbled to win the award for the best marketing campaign and very proud. "This award will encourage us to continue providing the most efficacious products to our consumers in convenient forms and dosages. As always, the team is working very hard to continue to produce evidence-based products for the Australian market," ends Paula.