Rising health concerns, the dread of cancelling popular pregnancy milestones celebrations like baby showers and the limitation on the number of visitors in maternity rooms have many pregnant women wanting more care from the brands they support. Overwhelming feelings of uncertainty are driving expecting moms to search for ways to get exercise, stay active and de-stress with comfort and self-care. 

From apparel to beauty, major consumer brands, including Every Mother, FitTrack, Nike and The Honest Company, have recently launched new products and campaigns aimed at connecting with the evolving needs and values of expecting moms during COVID-19. 

FitTrack Debuts New Intelligent Maternity Scale For Expecting Mothers

In August, health and fitness technology brand FitTrack launched a new product specifically geared toward moms-to-be. Marketing to the needs of pregnant women, FitTrack Beebo is an accurate smart scale designed for expecting mothers to easily track details about their health and bodies during pregnancy. The intelligent FitTrack maternity scale can help women assess aspects of their health journeys from pregnancy to postpartum. 

In a press release, FitTrack founder and CEO Jeffery Lee Sawyer, said, “We are thrilled to offer a unique, accurate and truly reliable smart scale that’s tailored to pregnant women at a time when their health — and that of their baby — is more important than ever. Beebo is made for moms, by moms, because we want to make sure we’re bringing them smart technology they can rely on, through every step of their pregnancy journey and beyond.” To promote the new fitness scale designed for pregnant women, FitTrack added more content aimed at expecting moms on its Facebook and Instagram pages. 

Nike Markets To Expecting Moms & Furthers Inclusivity Initiative With The Launch Of ‘Nike M’

Nike has been diligently working to address the needs of female athletes. Earlier this month, in an effort to expand its inclusivity initiative, Nike announced the launch of its latest product line, Nike M, a collection of products designed for expecting mothers. In a press release, Nike said, “Motherhood should be the start of a new stage — not a stop — in a woman’s sport journey.” Nike has been working on the Nike M line for three years, during which the footwear juggernaut examined data from more than 150,000 body scans of pregnant women and conducted interviews with 30 pregnant athletes and mothers on their apparel needs pre- and post-partum. 

From pregnancy to motherhood, Nike wants to establish lasting relationships with female consumers and maintain brand loyalty through all of their audiences’ life stages. Carmen Zolman, Nike Senior Design Director, told ELLE magazine, “We noticed many women hacking their Nike apparel to make it work for them longer throughout their pregnancy. We wanted to bring the full power of Nike sport science to maternity and truly listen, learn and innovate for her at this stage of motherhood.”

Beauty & Self Care Brands Target Expecting Moms With New Product Launches

While the beauty industry often promotes the ideas of perfection and presentation, the beauty industry does not always align with the needs of diverse audiences, including pregnant consumers. The Honest Company and Clarins launched products in 2020 designed specifically to address the needs of expecting moms. In January, Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company announced its new collection for pregnant consumers, Honest Mama. Marketing its product line as offering “self care for the bump and beyond,” the new Honest Mama collection includes items like bump care kits, body butter, body oil and soaking salts. As with all Honest products, items in the Honest Mama collection are marketed as safe wellness products that provide expecting moms with clear information.

Beauty powerhouse Clarins launched its newest stretch mark cream, Body Parter, in March, highlighting the product’s “mom-friendly formula.” The Clarins brand site offers a dedicated maternity page focusing on “beauty through every stage of motherhood.” From essential pregnancy products to beauty tips for expecting moms, Clarins offers content on topics ranging from stretch marks and unexpected body changes to exhaustion and postpartum skin care. 

Every Mother Expands Its App Platform For A Growing Audience

While many gyms and fitness centers were shut down for months in 2020, pregnant consumers sought alternatives, often from fitness apps, to address their workout needs. Founded by personal trainer Leah Keller, Every Mother announced it would be using $1.5 million to expand its fitness streaming platform designed for pre- and post-natal care and wellness. The expansion is expected to help Every Mother keep up with app user demand. While the Every Mother fitness app was already profitable in early 2020, COVID-19 further accelerated its growth. Every Mother saw new registrations to their platform grow by 50% in April. With 37,000 instagram followers, Every Mother consistently connects with its audiences, sharing testimonials, workout tips and premium content, such as live Q&A sessions with fitness experts. 

Brands Must Address Evolving Consumer Needs To Retain Expecting Moms Past Pregnancy 

The battle for customer loyalty is fierce. As more consumers head online for their shopping needs, it has become even easier to quickly compare product availability, delivery expectations and price from brand to brand and product to product. To maintain customer loyalty, brands need to differentiate themselves and authentically connect with their audiences, even while the behaviors of their audiences may be evolving.

While there are some products that women will only use during pregnancy, marketers have an opportunity to connect with expecting mothers and establish lasting relationships that extend beyond the day the baby is born. Understanding the changing needs of female consumers as they transition into pregnancy and motherhood is essential for brands looking to sustain meaningful connections with key audiences.

COVID-19 has illuminated new concerns which caused many consumers to shift their priorities to reflect a new emphasis on health, wellness and fitness. By addressing the needs of expecting mothers, brands like Nike, FitTrack, Clarins and The Honest Company are positioning themselves for long-term relationships with a larger segment of female consumers. 

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