Objective:
A leading health food brand wanted to reposition its flagship energy bar to capture share in a highly saturated market. Competing with established giants and niche challengers, the brand needed to identify which narratives, messages, and positioning territories would resonate most strongly with health-conscious consumers, athletes, and busy professionals.
 
Traditional testing methods—focus groups, surveys, and A/B copy testing—were too slow and risked introducing moderator bias or groupthink. Instead, the brand used Fresh.ai’s generative AI insights platform to simulate persona-driven reactions to different positioning strategies, uncovering which messages truly connected.
 
Methodology

• Persona Development: Fresh.ai built multiple personas using over 150 qualitative data points—including fitness-focused millennials, on-the-go professionals, eco-conscious parents, and competitive athletes.

• Narrative Testing: Each persona was exposed to several potential positioning territories, such as:

  1. “Fuel for Performance” (athletic/energy-driven)

  2. “Clean Ingredients, Pure Energy” (health-conscious/ingredient-driven)

  3. “Sustainable Snacking” (eco-friendly/ethical consumption)

• AI Conversations: Personas were asked to react, compare, and explain their emotional responses to each narrative.

 
Findings: Messaging Insights
1. Fuel for Performance

• Resonated with competitive athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

• Seen as “motivating” but risked blending in with existing sports bar messaging.

• Pain Point: Lacked distinctiveness in a crowded performance-energy segment.

2. Clean Ingredients, Pure Energy

• Strongest resonance with health-conscious millennials and professionals seeking a balance between nutrition and convenience.

• Feedback emphasized trust, transparency, and the avoidance of artificial additives.

• Opportunity: Clear differentiation against bars perceived as “processed” or “synthetic.”

3. Sustainable Snacking

• Appealed to eco-conscious parents and Gen Z consumers.

• Positive emotional connection, but sustainability was seen as a “bonus,” not the primary purchase driver.

• Pain Point: Risked being dismissed as niche if positioned as the lead narrative.

Impact
Fresh.ai revealed that the winning positioning territory was: “Clean Ingredients, Pure Energy” as the primary brand narrative, supported by sustainability as a secondary proof point and performance as a contextual benefit.
The brand repositioned its energy bar around ingredient purity, natural energy, and transparency, while weaving in eco-friendly practices as added credibility.
Results:

• The repositioning created clear differentiation from traditional sports bars.

• Messaging tested with Fresh.ai proved to be emotionally resonant, credible, and distinctive, enabling the brand to capture share among health-conscious consumers without alienating performance-driven buyers.

 
Why Fresh.ai?
 
With Fresh.ai, the brand was able to reposition confidently, knowing its narrative was not only distinctive but also aligned with the values and motivations of its target audience.
This case study shows how Fresh.ai empowers brands to test and refine positioning strategies with research-grade rigor—faster, cheaper, and at a scale traditional methods can’t match. Fresh.ai insights generation also created a comparison grid (showing the 3 narratives vs. persona reactions side-by-side) so stakeholders can see the positioning trade-offs visually in seconds.