A lot of businesses deliver a product to the market which is going to generate profits, not positively impact health. For us, we were all about impacting health, delivering a high quality product to as many people as possible and making it convenient for them to access. Because we made that purpose our North Star, people noticed the difference. – Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, CEO at The Turmeric Co.
For this episode of the Lightning 50: E-Commerce Growth Hacking podcast, we interviewed Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, professional English soccer player turned CEO for natural health brand The Turmeric Co.
The brand started as a personal mission between Thomas and his father to find an effective, natural remedy for Thomas’s pain and inflammation post-training, and became a hugely successful health start up focused on turmeric and its benefits.
Thomas shared some fascinating insight into how the brand partners with nutritionists and top athletes to champion its evidence-based marketing messages, and how the quality of the product itself, as well as using a strong tech setup, is key to its growth strategy.
Here are some of the highlights from the transcript…
- “I couldn’t shift this pain or inflammation because nothing was dealing with the root cause, but at the same time, I couldn’t consume anything prescribed to me by healthcare professionals. So my father and I went on a research binge to look at natural ingredients from various cultures and practises around the world to find a solution…”
- “A lot of businesses deliver a product to the market which is going to generate profits, not positively impact health. For us, we were all about impacting health, delivering a high quality product to as many people as possible and making it convenient for them to access. Because we made that purpose our North Star, people noticed the difference.”
- “There’s a new pandemic out there when it comes to caring about health; society is looking for nutritional products and brands which are here to support them and enhance their lives […] In this category, what consumers are looking for is functional benefit. And when 99% of the products on the market actually offer zero positive impact, what we want is to redefine the category and actually raise the bar of what is classed as truly beneficial.”
- “We leveraged one of our sports partnerships with over 100 different nutritionists to create education around the product and its benefits. Basically we ran a clinical trial on an elite group of athletes, and the results all supported the fact that there is up to a 75% reduction in inflammation post activity and over a 50% reduction in pain and muscle soreness when using our products. It’s ground-breaking stuff.”
- “Having a really robust system in place which interacts and interconnects with your other platforms is so important – your order management software, fulfilment etc – then tying it all up with customer service platforms like Zendesk or Gorgias.”
The Turmeric Co’s Top Growth Hacks
- “Be data obsessed. It all comes down to data – if you’re running a business and you’re not data obsessed, you’re going to hit roadblocks.”
- “Have real passion about what it is you’re doing. If you’re offering a service, if you’re offering a product – you have to have that passion, because you will face adversity and come up against challenges and that passion will allow you to overcome them.”
Key Stats
- The Turmeric Co. launched in 2018 as a mission to beat Thomas’s pain and inflammation after training as a professional soccer player.
- Since launch in 2018, The Turmeric Co. has seen a growth rate of 300%.
- Thomas named Shopify Plus, Klaviyo, Gorgias as the key tools and strategies that have fueled Turmeric’s growth.
- The Turmeric Co. uses the backing of nutritionists and top athletes to push their evidence-based brand messaging.
- Thomas believes selling a high-quality product that really works and is accessible to everyone allows them to stand out in a category that sees high competition (wellness).
Thomas’s Top Growth-Hacking tips:
- Be data obsessed.
- Have true passion for your product and service.
Want to hear more of what Thomas had to say? Catch up with the full episode here.
