Creating a market within a market

It’s one thing to create a new service or product, and another to create a market for what you’re offering. That has been Chris Buhmann’s entrepreneurial journey in creating and ultimately selling New Zealand’s only protein-enriched coffee.

Operating predominantly in the fitness sector and one in which Buhmann took much personal interest in and is still actively involved with, he knew there would be great challenges and rewards ahead.

He is the co-creator of Pec’s Coffee – New Zealand’s only protein enriched coffee, a premium instant coffee blend that delivers more than 35 percent protein per serve, without changing the way taste or texture of the coffee.
“This is a hugely saturated market with an endless supply of products and supplements, but one that is also dynamic and constantly evolving due to being science driven,” Buhmann says.

“The fitness consumer market is a highly active and well educated market. They actively hunt for the latest scientific or results-driven products and are not a passive audience segment. With this in mind, it is important that the next product, or the latest product is backed by science and results driven,” he adds.

The fitness sector is experiencing a boom and all you have to do to see it is log onto Instagram. The rise of fitness and nutrition influencers is nothing short of phenomenal. Everyday, there is a new health and fitness app and gadget. ‘Active wear’ is now part of our everyday lingo, says Buhmann.

In a recent Forbes article, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association says America’s $30 billion health and fitness industry has seen a 3-4 percent annual growth in the last decade – noting it shows no signs of slowing down.

In 2017, the New Zealand Herald reported on the country’s growing fitness industry, citing a 6.5 percent average annual increase since 2010 (ExerciseNZ). It reported New Zealand’s gym industry alone with a value of $494 million at the time, by the industry training organization Skills Active Aotearoa, with a global value of $120 billion.

A report by Zion Market Research in 2017 suggests the global sports nutrition market could exceed $45 billion in three years. It states, “emerging lifestyle and recreational users contribute to strong growth”.

“We have been following these trends for a while now, and from what we can see, it is only going to grow. Fitness has become more mainstream than any other time in history, and consumers want products that are going to assist with the hard work they put into working in the gym and overhauling their lifestyles,” says Buhmann.

“The concept of protein coffee was to help people incrementally increase their protein uptake, without changing anything in their daily routine, making it easier and more natural to them,” he adds.

The Zion report highlights the role of sports drinks, saying the segmented made up the largest market share of the overall market in 2016, and points to their growing popularity within the mainstream, such as lifestyle and recreational users.

Industry players say not only is this sector accelerating, it could easily double in the next 10 to 15 years. Nothing short of serious business.  More than ever, brands are turning to fitness ‘freaks’ who are creating their own empires.

These ‘influencers’ spend serious time and resources creating their own content and amassing cult-like followers who want to know their exact exercise regimes, what they’re eating, when they’re eating, what their supplementation routine is, how many hours of sleep they get and what they do for recovery, explains Buhmann.

“If there’s a new product, they’re the first to try it. If it works, you can be sure their 30,000 plus followers are likely to give it a go. Constantly on the hunt, they want to know what’s the latest product on the market that’s going to help them look, feel and perform at their best and it is up to players like us, Pecs Coffee, to innovate with new products that lead the way.”