Today on Chill, we talk to Victor Castro, soon to be Vice President of Growth & Digital Product at Bonafide Health, about the brand’s journey, the “big” conversation, and how they manage to maintain traction.
#006 : Bonafide Health LLC is a North American healthcare provider that aims to provide powerful natural remedies for the common symptoms that often impact women’s lives, “from PMS to Menopause and everything else along the way.” Bonafide’s vitamins and minerals, which are also available as supplements to the key products, are marketed as “all the essentials for feeling good without compromise.”
The Bonafide product range is advertised as “safe and hormone-free” and “is backed by experts with experience in medical drug discovery, clinical research, and patient advocacy.”
Essentially, the company’s unique selling point is that it has started a candid conversation globally about women’s health issues, which is long overdue.
Today on Chill, we talk to Victor Castro, soon to be Vice President of Growth & Digital Product at Bonafide Health, about the brand’s journey, the “big” conversation, and how they manage to maintain traction.
In a world where it feels like we are bombarded daily by information about everything, everyone, and every place, PMS, menopause, and their various symptoms are surprisingly still very much taboo subjects. Bonafide plans to expand the conversation with determination: it is determined not to sugar-coat the symptoms, products, or solutions; it is determined not to use euphemisms; and it is determined to challenge the fact that female sex organs are forbidden SEO keywords, filtered to block their use in marketing information not only on the internet but also on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook!
Bonafide isn’t the only company facing this barrier to marketing content. It could well be joined by brands that sell sex toys and feminine products in lobbying the digital platform providers to change their current processes and allow adults to have grown-up conversations, information, and choices, all while ensuring children are still protected from seeing age-inappropriate information.
Bonafide does not want to be pushed into a private group to continue this very important conversation. This brand has the courage of its convictions and wants to provide its growing audience with a safe space for communication, a trusted resource for education, and an environment where people can talk about their symptoms freely.
The Beginning
Bonafide’s parent company began as an organic food company, started by farm executives who were interested in improving the health of the population. It has since grown to include a range of women’s natural health products that have an emphasis on science, the quality of ingredients, and evidence of success.
The Present
Unlike many other natural health providers, Bonafide deliberately works with medical professionals to include them in the conversation and to educate them about hormone-free alternatives available to their female patients. Moreover, if potential consumers are unsure about using Bonafide products, they are recommended to refer to their medical advisor for reassurance.
The Future
With its focus fixed firmly on expanding its North American reach and further developing the women’s health conversation in general, it may be some time before the company considers global expansion.
Victor doesn’t think it likely that Bonafide will be taken over by a Big Pharma company, simply due to the fact that its volume of hormone-free products is too small to threaten all the existing hormone-based products currently used as successful medical treatments worldwide.
However, it is possible that some interest may be shown by multinationals who have already dabbled in natural skincare and cosmetics. While certainly introducing a risk of over-commercialization, this would have the benefit of providing more women across the globe with an opportunity to ditch hormone-based products and to benefit from the company’s pioneering work.
Unusually, Bonafide does not seek out modern-day influencers or celebrities to promote its products. The acquisition process is generated mainly via verbal marketing tools such as radio, podcasts, and real medical doctors discussing the benefits of the products on media such as “Doctor Radio.” While they do have an Affiliate Programme, membership is granted only to genuine users of their products.
Also unusually, most clients are retained from the very first transaction! The Bonafide consumer is well educated before putting any items in their digital basket; they know that each product may not work 100% successfully for everyone; they accept that these products need consistent use over a period of time in order to increase their chance of success, and, therefore, they don’t resist buying via the subscription service in place. Promotions are used to encourage longevity and to cement the company’s vested interest in improving the health of its customers.
While products are available via Amazon, which is now the first place that most people search for a myriad of products, the best deals and bespoke consumer service are available directly from the company’s website www.hellobonafide.com.