Business

The Nue Co: Aesop, Byredo – and Flintstone chewables – thrown in a blender.

The wellness category, as well-meaning and earnest as it may be, is plagued by a two, big negative connotations on opposite ends of the spectrum: the granola factor on one end; the jock factor on the other. Mention “healthfood” or “supplements”, and people find it hard to think of anything other than veganism, Birkenstocks, patchouli, or loud gym grunts.

To usher a heathfood product to market, there’s a well-worn formula to follow, at least in the US. Simplified, it typically looks something like this:

  1. Branding and packaging: Lots of green. Maybe a plant picture of sort. Heavy (over)emphasis on organic.
  2. Launch strategy: Debut at a local farmers market, and/or attend multiple health food trade shows.
  3. End-goal: Getting picked up by Whole foods.

(Continued below…)

The Nue Co. has considered this route and decided, that no, it’s not for them. Refreshingly, it deviates completely from these conventions. The company, a new powdered supplements upstart founded by Jules Miller, just launched on Tuesday (Jan 31). It’s caught our eye for one very simple reason: From the branding, to the ingredients inside, to the launch strategy — more on that below — The Nue Co. is a deliberate modern luxury take on wellness.

Consider:

  • It launched on Net-a-Porter. Not a health foods store. This demonstrates a clean break from the norm from Miller, who clearly is unafraid to rethink wellness positioning. The fact that Net-a-Porter took the brand on also makes sense — with so much attention paid to the activewear and clothing aspect of health and fitness, a supplement line in that same vein is simply a natural progression.
  • Packaging and branding screams premium. You’d be forgiven for mistaking this as a new offering from, say, Byredo, Perfumer H, or Aesop. And that’s likely intentional. Clear modern luxury influences here from that standpoint.
  • An improved product to match the handsome presentation. As with any proper MLC (modern luxury company), there are true guts to this brand. The Nue Co. is more than just a pretty face. Miller has worked hard to bring forth an organic product using real ingredients that together help with energy, skin, and bloating.

Why we’re excited: We’ve waited for a long time to see a health food brand dispense with the common health food tropes en route to creating something more refreshing. From the looks of it Jules Miller felt the same way. In today’s fitness and health obsessed world, she’s figured out a way to turn supplements into an upmarket, premium product.

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