CATEGORY: VITAMINS & SUPPLEMENTS

Fungies uses insights and reviews to drive retail success

Fungies

COMPANY SIZE

High Growth

CATEGORY

Vitamins & Supplements

USE CASE

Support new retailer listing

RETAILERS

Walmart logo

IMPACT AT A GLANCE

4,495

community members engaged on offer

1,287

review collected for syndication with an average 4.5/5 star rating

83%

of shoppers intend to repurchase the product

85%

of shoppers would recommend the product to friends

Founded by the passionate father-and-son team of Stacy and Rob Kaufman, Fungies is on a mission to make functional mushrooms mainstream. With over 50 years of combined wellness expertise, they’ve transformed their love for mushrooms into a line of effective and delicious gummies that anyone in the family can enjoy.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Kaufman, one of the founders and the “fun guys” behind Fungies, to discuss their experience with Social Nature.

Fungies Lion's Mane mushroom gummies

What challenges was Fungies facing before Social Nature, and how did our platform help?

Rob: So we’re still a relatively new brand. This is only our 4th year, so we sort of got thrown into retail relatively quick. That’s not a bad thing, but it is definitely a learning curve and there are a lot of ups and downs and things that you learn. A lot of mistakes you make. So, besides brand awareness, which is obviously great for a new brand that’s on the shelves, we really still didn’t know who our customer was when we started with your team a couple of years ago. So by leveraging the platform with all the pre- and post-purchase surveys and questions, we’ve really got a good handle on our demographic. We thought we knew who it was, but without data behind it, it’s just a hypothesis, you know. The programs have helped us really dial in our marketing and our messaging and just confirmed who our customer was.

How did Social Nature help Fungies achieve positive retail results?

Rob: All the above. Definitely helped with some new product launches and velocity, and we were with Social Nature from day one when we launched at Walmart. Especially with these retailers now, they’re looking for more digital presence. They’re really pushing their online sales. The review syndication that we do through Bazaarvoice has really helped just build our presence online. I feel like a lot of customers look at reviews before they shop, especially when they’re in store, so that just adds another layer of trust to the equation.

What were some of the key insights you gained from working with the Social Nature community?

Rob: Just the reviews. It was like, alright, we’re actually making a product that not only I believe in and that my family and I enjoy, but that other people are getting benefits from. So I really enjoyed that. And it helps us, like I said, just know our customer, understand what their pain points are. Obviously, with every good review, there’s also some that are a little negative, whether it be something as simple as like sugar content or flavor profile or things along those lines, packaging. So every little detail we take from our customers and hopefully, make improvements off of it.

How does Social Nature stand out from other shopper marketing platforms you've used?

Rob: I like this because, you know, it’s sort of a guaranteed result. You’re getting these activations, you’re getting these customers that are already part of a community that are actually looking for brands like yours. When you go with other platforms, sometimes it’s just like a landing page or a link that you maybe just run a paid ad to and you don’t know really know who’s signing up for it or what their purchase intent is. So you could be wasting some money getting those people in your funnel, but they actually really don’t have any intent to purchase at all.

If you had to choose one thing, what would you say was the biggest impact of working with Social Nature?

Rob: The biggest impact, like I said, would be the customer insights that we’ve got along the way. The velocity obviously is great, helps get the product in people’s hands, tried, and hopefully there’s, you know, trickle down effect with them telling their friends and family and hopefully at least to just more than one of the sales through the platform. But it’s just all the insights that we’ve learned from them the best.

Fungies Cordyceps mushroom gummies

Would you recommend Social Nature to other brands, and if so, why?

Rob: I definitely would, especially in the health and wellness space. I don’t really know the dynamics of other clean product businesses, whether it’d be like clean supplies or things like that. But I think health and wellness are better-for-you products. It’s all about consumer trust. Nice to know you have a great brand, a great product, and obviously when it comes down to it, it comes down to taste and efficacy. So, like I said, the more products you get in people’s hands, the more brand ambassadors and advocates you have and hopefully repeat customers.

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