BIOGEN: ‘Be Your Best’ Ethos Fuels Booming Biogen

Being healthy is in. Health and wellness is one of the most significant trends on social media right now. According to Healthline, there are now more opportunities to view healthy lifestyle eating plans and workout routines online than ever before. Businesses in the industry are making use of the go to providers including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube to drive sales. And it is working. Following a dip caused by the pandemic’s lockdowns, South Africa’s gyms are once again buoyant with members returning to work out. And the market for supplements and health products is booming as buyers consider their need to boost immunity and maintain fitness.

But, there remains a problem for the sector. Several factors – including a lack of participation in sport at school level, growing sedentary working conditions, and a mental health crisis around unachievable fitness targets – are combining with devastating results. Rising levels of obesity and diabetes, poor diet, and a focus on quick fixes are counterbalancing the hard work being done to achieve positive results.

Knowledge that regular exercise coupled with a healthy diet can fend off negativity is not newfound. But clarity that health is not just about airbrushed abs and biceps is something which needs to be promoted.

At Biogen, one of South Africa’s leading sports and wellness brands, the message is crystal clear – Be Your Best; and health should be first and foremost on everyone’s list of priorities.

“We believe that whatever we put to the market must be something that genuinely benefits consumers either in their health or performance, preferably both. Our whole mantra is around being the best version of yourself. You don’t have to be an Olympic sprinter, and we’re not saying that if you use our product you will become that – it’s more about credibility, authenticity and the creation of products that are good for you,” explains General Manager, Brandon Fairweather.

“For many people, a fast time around a track or a six pack is not at the top of their priorities. Whilst we do have products that support those goals, most want to be healthy and work well so they can provide for their families – these real issues in the world are what is important to us.”

Currently, Biogen offers a range of products from vitamins, minerals and herbals through to protein powders, endurance and performance ranges, weight management solutions and much more. Its range is scientifically produced in South Africa and marketed mainly through Dis-Chem at the chain’s more than 200 stores.

STRONG HISTORY

Established as a house-brand for Dis-Chem in 2004, Biogen’s growth has been impressive. As fitness, wellness and the healthy lifestyle have become fashionable, Biogen products have flown off the shelves.

“No one involved ever anticipated it ever getting so big,” smiles Fairweather, who has been with the brand for 13 years. “Over time, we’ve always tried to navigate being an exclusive brand but also building the appeal and reputation of being a big national brand. We have grown immensely and exclusively with Dis-Chem and much is owed to the work they have done, and the powerful foundation they have set A lot of people don’t see this purely as a Dis-Chem house brand – they see it as a premium sports and wellness brand that happens to be exclusively available at Dis-Chem, and we strategically look to drive feet back into their retail space as well.

“It’s interesting to see that something which was designed to put another option on the shelf with decent margins has become so popular and sought after by a lot of consumers. It’s now one of the bigger, if not the biggest, vitamin brands in Dis-Chem.”

Today, 80% of the business is health products (vitamins and nutraceuticals) with the balance made up of sports and nutrition supplements. This is where Biogen plans to call on its strong history to drive future growth. By investing in new products for the health market, while all the time searching for new ways to connect with consumers, this is a business with long-term sustainability in mind.

“We are seeing a lot of growth and development across our range and there are subsets in food with healthier items and alternatives emerging, even in the supplement category. We are very proud to focus on products that support your health and performance – at times albeit a slightly softer message – and not just the ‘get as big and fast as you can’ approach; it’s just about being healthy. We believe that message will be even more prevalent going forward,” explains Fairweather.

ROUTE TO MARKET

As an exclusive Dis-Chem brand, the opportunity for growth of Biogen may have appeared limited, yet this is and was one of its key recipes for success, particularly in more recent years. Dis-Chem itself has been realising fantastic growth since listing on the JSE in 2016. Biogen has grown alongside the powerhouse pharmacy which is assisting with the roll out of Covid-19 vaccines around the country. Now, Fairweather is looking to capitalize on even more new opportunities to reach the health-conscious consumer through some of the company’s latest and ongoing partnerships.

“We continue to grow comfortably as Dis-Chem grows because as their footprint increases, our distribution increases. That has been a sound strategy, and we have certainly coat-tailed from that growth,” he says.

“We have always intended to create something that has national appeal, and that is exciting for consumers. Whilst we are exclusive to Dis-Chem Pharmacies, we do have some additional retail partnerships where an obvious brand synergy exists, such as our distribution within the MoreCorp Group (owners of sports retailers Cycle Lab and The Pro Shop, amongst others). More recently we also launched our first ever pop-up store in the Decathlon Sports Hub in Bryanston, and have since added over 80 independent forecourts as well, but any and all new distribution avenues are still driven via the Dis-Chem group.”

Opening a pop-up store in Johannesburg in 2016, Decathlon has long been keen on South Africa and today boasts five stores. Cycle Lab is recognised as the country’s leading specialist cycling retailer with five megastores and a thriving online presence.

“Over and above these sports retail connections, our own Biogen online store has also seen tremendous growth, some of which can obviously be attributed to the numerous lockdowns, but also the general increased number of online consumers.

“We are now in 200 Dis-Chem stores, in all Cycle Lab stores, and a few other independent stores apart from Decathlon, and have a passionate team who drive growth in the brand. More recently, we have built a new relationship with Decathlon, again due to brand fit as an independent sporting goods store,” details Fairweather. “We saw a nice fit because of their culture. Decathlon is all about bringing sport to the masses and getting people off the couch – there is brand value alignment. There are five Decathlon stores in South Africa and we are slowly looking to expand into more of them. They are all about ensuring people are healthier and that ties in with our ethos, and that is similar with how we tie in all of our relationships, be it Nedbank Running Club, Sharks Rugby, Knights Cricket, etc – when we talk about our ethos in sport and our transparency in branding, people resonate with it.”

Globally, Biogen is yet to crack new markets in a major way like sports nutrition giant and market leader USN. But Fairweather believes there is still major potential within a market set to reach US$34.5 billion by 2028.

“We spent some time exploring some opportunities in the UK but this is a very saturated and complex market. This being said, we have had orders go out across Africa, to Mauritius and Mozambique, as well as Namibia and Botswana (where Dis-Chem have stores). Our surrounding nations continue to ask for Biogen and we have regular requests from Kenya and Nigeria who ask how they can get the product, as well as other countries including: Dubai, India, Poland, France, New Zealand and Australia. That speaks volumes about what the team has created,” he says “But we would need to find the right partners and fit to ever pursue these more seriously, and for now the focus remains on the broader Dis-Chem group and our strategic alignment with their growth and future plans.”

The Biogen range is powerful and precise, developed by scientific and medical teams from within Dis-Chem and externally. Whether for gaining muscle, improving race times, shedding weight, or just maintaining a healthy diet, Biogen has a product that is well-designed and easily available.

“We genuinely drive a very authentic message about integrity and we have a team that is passionate about people being healthier. We have staff who are more into body building, we have others who are into cycling or running, but whichever ambassadors we attract and the people we work with, there is a contagious ethos that pushes the health concept, and shifting the traditional message of simply being bigger, faster, more shredded, or muscular. It doesn’t mean we don’t have products for that, but we try and communicate a longer-term message about looking after your health, exercising and eating a balanced diet – that is where the market is going and people don’t want to be sold to with short-term messages, excessive product claims and over promises,” says Fairweather.

A recent product development meeting saw management discuss the creation of a new range of food products that are not strictly heath products, but are healthier choices than what is currently available on the shelves. “For example, bars with half the amount of sugar, or bars with more protein or more electrolytes to give you a benefit. We are starting to think more about what products we can put out there to help people be healthier,” confirms Fairweather.

This mantra is well-received by consumers, who Biogen understand very well and who are quickly realising what is genuine and beneficial in a market full of promotion that can be misleading and create false ambition.

“Our day-to-day decisions about what ingredients we use, what is safe, what is healthy – those are the decisions that materialise. If they like it, if it tastes good, if it’s healthy they will come back. You don’t need a hectic marketing message to beg them to return to your product. It’s about authenticity and about pushing Biogen as a sports and wellness brand as opposed to a sport supplement brand. We are also focussing on plant-based products as there is a trend in the market around diet to opt for plant-based,” details Fairweather.

COVID MANAGEMENT

Being distributed through Dis-Chem gave Biogen an advantage during the pandemic. While others, sold through online stores and non-essential retailers, were struck down with lockdowns and forced closures, Biogen managed to sell throughout at affordable prices with spending under pressure both in the brick-and-mortar environment, as well as via Dis-Chem and Biogen’s online stores and distribution channels. With a focus on immunity boosting, the company’s vitamin range received a major boost, further demonstrating the effectiveness of the products on offer.

“If there was a silver lining to the difficult and horrible situation that we find ourselves in dealing with Covid, it was that people are more aware of their own health and never before have people been aware of their own mortality as it stares us in the face daily, and that is sad and devastating,” laments Fairweather.

“Commercially speaking, the sporting category in first few months of last year took a bit of a dip but within three to four months we were back up to where we needed to be as a category in Dis-Chem and as Biogen. There was phenomenal growth in vitamins and nutraceuticals with more information going out about ways to improve immunity. There was an overall general awareness from people who perhaps had not prioritised health at this level previously.

“It was a tough situation as multiple industries were really struggling but we were growing quite aggressively. We discussed as a team that the more businesses that could do well in South Africa, the better. As more people do better, we can support more businesses, as well as the families and networks those also affect,” he adds.

With exhibitions and fitness conferences halted, another avenue to market dried up for Biogen. But the team was quick to respond, throwing its muscle behind its online presence, updating its web shop capabilities to ensure an efficient transactional experience. “That has carried us and we have seen crazy growth just on the vitamins side where we have to work hard to ensure stock availability,” admits Fairweather.

A nice problem to have, the Biogen team had to adjust and manoeuvre to ensure the flow of product onto shelves and into the hands of consumers. It was an extraordinary period where competition across the supply chain increased dramatically.

“It’s a different type of fight, managing the cost and supply and demand of raw materials globally,” highlights Fairweather. “Even on the sports nutrition side, we are seeing very high cost increases on protein powders, creatine, glutamine, and various amino acids. That is industry-wide and will ultimately, unfortunately be passed on to the consumer. The challenges are different right now, but we can’t complain as the business has grown healthily in the past two years.”

FUTURE FLEX

There is incredible opportunity in the fitness, sports and wellness markets as more people look to mitigate against health issues before they arise. Biogen’s messaging supports a sustainable, long-term, wholesome approach to the achievement of goals, and this will help the brand grow in Dis-Chem and beyond.

“We are trying to be more appealing to a mass audience and not just the niche sporting disciplines and communities, which is still one part of the market even though it has grown,” says Fairweather.

“Dis-Chem is in a very good position and they are still run like a family business with very strong leadership. We want to walk with them and grow as they grow. They have an aggressive expansion plan and, even in the past five years, they are opening stores all over the country at an incredible rate. We will continue to ride that wave but will also continue to pursue our discussions with retailers in the UK, New Zealand.

“We are growing nicely, and that is also bolstered by Dis-Chem’s expansion and their success on the JSE. But we do see the brand as one which ultimately also has opportunities overseas. Our priority is to grow with Dis-Chem. But personally, I think it would say a lot about our brand and what South African companies are able to do if we could expand internationally and be sustainable in other markets.”

Biogen is a brand dedicated to encouraging people into sport, and promoting healthy living. It has survived and thrived through the pandemic. It has grown alongside Dis-Chem and is now exploring additional expansion strategies. Its messaging is honest and authentic. ‘Be Your Best’ is resonating with consumers. For Fairweather, this South African success story still has a long way to go, and he is ambitious about opportunities at its feet.  

“We are not just selling something to make money. Our products add value, support health, build the immune system, and we must continue to promote that. There is heightened demand in the category and we are very careful to not make ridiculous claims.

“We are expecting the brand to drive in excess of R450 million through the tills this fiscal year, and as a sizeable brand with decent market share across most categories in health, we are pleased what the brand and our teams have achieved,” he concludes.