Case study: How Nature’s Fynd uses Tracksuit to grow brand awareness

Say hello to Nature's Fynd, a meat and dairy-alternative food company in the United States that creates tasty foods with Fy™, a nutritional fungi protein.  

Nature’s Fynd raised $158 million in 2021, attracting high-profile investors including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Al Gore. 

The brand sits at the distinct intersection of science, sustainability, and gastronomic creativity and is known for its exclusive use of Fy Protein — a complete protein with all 20 amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 

Fy is grown using Nature's Fynd proprietary process for growing and fermenting a specific fungi, creating an epic source of nutrition.

As Brian Frances, Senior Director of Innovation & Insights at Nature's Fynd puts it: "We're combining powers of nature and science, and we're creating an entirely new food. This is a food source that didn't exist before. And letting people taste it and hear about the magic behind Fy is exciting for us.”

According to Tracksuit’s data, this is an increasingly popular FMCG category for consumers. 63% of the US population has purchased meat or dairy alternatives in the past three months or is open to doing so in the future. 

How Nature’s Fynd is using Tracksuit to set benchmarks 📈

To grow their brand in the market, the Nature's Fynd team knows that they must first figure out where they're currently at when it comes to brand awareness and consideration. They need to establish a baseline to set goals and milestones. 

Brian says that Tracksuit has been helpful in this regard. 

"We've used Tracksuit to set our baseline awareness levels. Now we're setting KPIs, as well as looking at broader industry trends."

He continues, "We're able to set a KPI and track it over time while checking in on how the industry is doing. This gives us good insight into what's effective, what's not, and how we're building the brand over time."

Additionally, Tracksuit adds significant value by validating existing insights for the Nature's Fynd team while offering clear guidance on their next steps.

As Brian points out, Tracksuit "puts a number" on crucial metrics, giving Nature's Fynd clarity and visibility on what the company needs to do to improve their full marketing funnel.

The main goal of the team right now is to get their brand more visible, and Brian says Tracksuit surfaces the right data so they can hone in on brand awareness activities. 

"We start looking at this data and say, 'You know what, converting consumers is not an issue. We're doing an excellent job of converting consumers. However, we need a lot more consumers to be aware of us.' So now we're able to get a little more focused on the fact that we need to build awareness-driving campaigns."

Brian adds, "I think those are the things that tracking helps us do. Tracksuit provides a clear point of truth."

According to Tracksuit’s data, Nature’s Fynd is strongly aligned to its key value propositions in the eyes of consumers. By using the brand statements tool, the team can see that those surveyed about the brand strongly agree that Nature’s Fynd is a brand they love, a brand they’d recommend to their friends and family and a brand that makes a positive impact on the planet. 

Growing a young brand in a dynamic market 🚀

As a brand, Nature's Fynd is relatively young, having been launched just two years ago. Because of this, increasing brand awareness is a top priority for the company. The Nature's Fynd team is focused on gaining visibility among consumers and getting more people to taste the brand's products. 

"Taste is always going to be king in the food industry. So letting people know that we have something tasty, made with a protein that’s nutritious and sustainable is really what we're trying to do," Brian says. 

To that end, Nature's Fynd strives to be where its customers are. This means getting out on the ground IRL, going to events and conducting in-person brand activations. "We do a little bit of everything," Brian says.

"Whether it be a vegan food festival, climate change summit, future food tech conference, or farmer's market. We recently had a Chicago triathlon and were sampling our products there for fans and runners."

Beyond in-person interactions, Nature's Fynd covers key marketing channels — including social content, email, in-store signage, and more. 

The future of Nature's Fynd in the meat and dairy alternative market 🍄

Brian understands brand building is a marathon, not a quick sprint. That's why he and the team strive to be disciplined by using always-on brand tracking that accumulates valuable data over time

"We're not training people to look at this number every single day. We are training people to look at brand tracking as a long-term goal that we're trying to build."

When asked about Nature's Fynd's future and long-term marketing objectives, Brian says the company wants to amplify its messaging around creating amazing tasting foods - with Fy, a new to the world fungi protein - that nourish people and nurture the planet.  

He also recognizes some challenges in the meat and dairy alternatives industry. 

"I think one of the things we need to overcome is how to provide more accessibility to alternative foods; and to continue to improve the taste and texture of these products. These things are what Nature's Fynd is working on, and we want to help continue to grow the category."

Learn more about the brand's story and initiatives on their website or check out Nature's Fynd on Instagram and TikTok.