How To Find Your Niche in Your Nutrition Business
By the time you graduate from nutrition school, you’ve likely learned a little bit about everything.
You’ve learned about the body systems and how they all work together, about the different nutrients in food and their benefits, did a deep dive into digestion, blood sugar balancing, and hormones and how they all play a huge role in overall health, and the list goes on and on.
But then you graduate and quickly realize that you’re a small fish in an ocean of other health care practitioners that have the same knowledge as you.
How will you stand out from the crowd? How will you get that first client?
The reality is that nutrition school didn’t necessarily prepare us for the realities of being business owners.
We graduated full of passion and knowledge and we just wanted to share it with the world, but we didn’t really learn how to turn our passion for nutrition into a profitable business.
So how do you stand out from other nutritionists? By niching down!
What exactly does the word niche mean?
According to Oxford Languages, a niche is “a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service”.
In plain terms for how this relates to you, niche means choosing a specific focus for your nutrition business.
Your niche is about speaking directly to the people you want to serve about their problems and how you can help them solve those problems.
When you niche down, you can:
Become the go-to expert (more referrals!)
Create better programs for your clients (great testimonials!)
Learn how to market your services more effectively (better clients!)
Stay focused on what you love and do best (more motivation!)
Stand out from the crowd (easier marketing!)
Another reason to niche down is that when you are clear about who and how you help, you can create transformational nutrition programs for your clients and charge a more premium rate.
Wondering how much money Nutritionists can actually make? Read this blog post.
At first, it might feel scary to niche down.
Most people think niching will be limiting and only open them up to a small group of people to work with, but that’s okay!
That small group of leads is your connection to that booked-out client list you’ve been dreaming about. Those are the people you can help!
If you speak the language and truly understand the problems your ideal client is experiencing, you can help them in a way a generic nutritionist couldn’t. You will hear them in a way their doctor didn’t. You will heal them in a way another nutritionist wouldn’t.
Once you help that client get real, lasting results, you will also become a referral magnet.
For example, if your niche is helping clients balance their hormones and have happier periods, and you have someone come to you wanting to transition to a plant-based diet, you might be out of your depth.
Sure, you probably could help them, but you’d have to spend a few hours consulting the books you have from school and creating a protocol.
Instead, you would be better off referring out to someone who specializes in plant-based nutrition than trying to help that client yourself.
On the flip side, your plant-based nutrition colleague can refer to you when she has an inquiry for hormone or period support.
Niching is, above all, a marketing strategy.
When you know your nutrition niche and you have committed to learning everything you can learn about how to serve and help people within your niche, you can market yourself as the expert.
You can position yourself as the go-to nutritionist within your niche, and you will be celebrated for the incredible results you help your clients achieve.
Profitable Nutrition Niche Ideas in 2022
I’ve worked with hundreds of nutritionists who are getting started in their businesses, so I’ve had a front-row seat to see how a nutrition passion can be turned into a profitable niche.
Read on below to see a list of the niches that have been super successful for my own clients.
Remember: This is not an exhaustive list!
Your goal when choosing a nutrition niche isn’t to choose a trendy option, but to identify who you want to serve and what problem you can solve for them.
It’s important that your niche is reflective of the types of clients you want to work with, your interest in the topic, and your ability to support your clients with the information they need.
Here are some profitable niche ideas for your nutrition business:
Gut health and digestion for IBS sufferers
Hormonal health for endometriosis and menstrual issues
Hormonal health for post-birth control support
Intuitive eating and food freedom
Balanced weight
Plant-based and vegan nutrition
Blood sugar balance
Skin and acne support
Sports nutrition for athletes
Questions to Help You Find Your Nutrition Niche
Choosing a niche for your nutrition business is important because niches provide more clarity for your audience, identify who you help, and filter out those who you don’t help.
When you nail your niche, you give yourself permission to specialize and deeply understand your clients’ concerns.
When you understand, you can help. When you can help your clients achieve an incredible result, they will tell their friends. All of a sudden, you’ve got a business.
Here are some of the questions I ask all my clients and students when we’re working on defining their niche.
These questions will help you figure out your specialty and your ideal audience so you can lean into your niche.
What do you know best?
What nutrition topic could you talk about all day?
Who do you want to help?
What is the problem you want to solve?
Market Research
Now that you have some ideas about your potential niche, you need to find out what’s already out there in the market.
Market research can help you learn what is already being offered within your niche and give you some ideas.
You can use this research to discover how other practitioners within your niche are working with clients, and learn about what type of content other practitioners are sharing about your niche.
One way to get started with your market research is to find 3-5 health practitioners working within your niche to get a sense of what type of problem they are solving, what programs or offers they have created, and what makes them unique.
Use your market research as inspiration! Doing market research can help you determine how you will differentiate yourself from your colleagues and stand out from the crowd.
Need help nailing your nutrition niche? Grab the free workbook!
Get step-by-step support with starting your nutrition business inside my online course.
