AstaPure®: From Commodity to Reclaiming Category Leadership

“We’ve had the pleasure of working with Marit and the HMT team several times, and each collaboration has been a truly positive experience. Their dedication and involvement in every task give us confidence that we have the right partners by our side to help us reach our goals. The workshop we held for AstaPure® was especially valuable. It encouraged us to ask new questions and explore perspectives we hadn’t considered before – even after more than 20 years of producing and marketing AstaPure®. Already, we’re beginning to see the positive impact of this work together.”

– Billie Icheva, Marketing & Communications Manager, Solabia Nutrition

Background: AstaPure® is a natural astaxanthin ingredient developed by Solabia Nutrition, positioned in a fast-growing but highly competitive market of antioxidant supplements. While astaxanthin is well-known in the scientific community for its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, it had become commoditized—making it difficult for brands to differentiate and capture long-term value. Solabia Nutrition approached HMT to help reclaim leadership by leveraging its heritage and unique strengths, and to transform AstaPure® from “just another astaxanthin” into a brand with a clear, ownable position in the category.

The Challenge

AstaPure® faced the classic B2B Ingredient trap of commodity positioning: competing mainly on price, struggling to stand out, and lacking a premium story to justify value. Despite being one of the pioneers of natural astaxanthin, the brand was lost in a crowded market with:

#Challenge 1:
Commodity positioning with price-driven competition

#Challenge 2:
Threat from low-cost and synthetic/low quality competitors

#Challenge 3:
Weak brand differentiation

#Challenge 4:
Limited marketing presence and no strong consumer-facing narrative

The Solution

The Original Natural Astaxanthin

Through HMT’s Strategic FourFactors® Health Check and co-creation workshop, we defined how AstaPure® could reclaim its pioneering role in the category – by identifying a clear category differentiator and motivating emotional brand essence. The breakthrough came from its unique heritage and cultivation story: the orginal astaxanthin grown with natural sunlight.

This became the anchor for a repositioning strategy that shifted focus from origin to purity — turning “commodity” into “category leadership.” By emphasizing The Original Natural Astaxanthin, AstaPure® can credibly lead the space and empower brand owners to tell a confident story of purity, transparency, and trust.

The Result

AstaPure® took ownership of being The Original Natural Astaxanthin.

Heritage: Pioneering outdoor cultivation with pure sunlight, delivering purity since the beginning.
Big Idea: “Pure Solar Vitality” — capturing the life force of the sun to nourish and protect cells.
Positioning: From one of many to the one and only — The Original Natural Astaxanthin.
Purpose: To deliver the purest, most natural source of astaxanthin, empowering health, longevity, and trust.
Brand Essence: Pure Solar Vitality – Grown with pure natural sunlight to nourish your cells the purest, most natural way

Our Methodology

FourFactors® Brand Acceleration System: Applied to diagnose current positioning, identify whitespace opportunities, and create a value proposition that shifts perception from commodity to premium, value-adding brand.

HMT Brand Torch: We defined AstaPure®’s stable foundation (its pioneering cultivation story) and inspiring flame (Pure Solar Vitality). This provided a clear positioning blueprint entrusted to leadership.

How can we help?

Are you a change-maker in your area with similar challenge? Contact us here and let’s create change together.