Jimmy Joy launched back in 2014, when artist and entrepreneur Joey van Koningsbruggen sought to fix his own dietary dilemma. He wanted nutritionally complete meal options to fit in with his busy lifestyle, and what exists as a result is the scientifically developed Plenny range of meal pots, shakes, drinks and bars - all plant based, and all containing your daily dose of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
As a concept, it’s still fairly new. Sure, meal replacement shakes have been around for decades, but Jimmy Joy products aren’t meal replacements. They are a meal, each bringing 172 health benefits based on the latest understanding from nutritional research.
Given that the concept is relatively new to market, storytelling is a big part of the brand’s strategy. Primarily a DTC business, it’s able to educate and engage with consumers far more through its online presence than it could as a product line on a crowded shelf. And reviews are one of Jimmy Joy’s key communication tools.
Along with the universal benefits of review collection (we’re talking brand reputation, SEO, conversion rates etc.) there’s a couple of key areas where customer feedback really comes into its own for Jimmy Joy.
The first is product development. Whilst its base formula is informed by nutritional guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Food and Safety Authority, flavour development is very much informed by consumer opinion:
Taste is very subjective and everybody has their own opinion on it, but that’s definitely where reviews play a big role when launching new flavours - to see if people actually like it. It’s why the DTC model works so greatly for us, because you’re always having these conversations with customers, and reviews definitely help with that.
Jimmy Joy also engages with its brand community around new scientific research. For example, it's been widely discussed that there’s a big vitamin D deficiency in the West, and whilst it might take the WHO years to incorporate this into nutritional guidelines, Jimmy Joy is already one step ahead because it’s actively listened to the voice of the consumer - be it through post-purchase surveys, forums, or review content.
The second critical role reviews play for Jimmy Joy is actually convincing people to try its products in the first place. From extensive research on its website, the brand knows that taste is the biggest concern for new customers. It also knows that the best way to alleviate that concern is by sharing the experience of others.
To collect quality review content that makes specific reference to taste, the brand is about to launch a new invitation series using review attributes. With these, they can ask each and every customer to specifically rate the taste of a product, as well as asking attribute questions like how it satisfied their hunger. It’s all about collecting and displaying that deeper insight that helps the consumer make a well informed purchase decision.
For us the main objection for customers to not buy our product is the taste. Basically the consumer is asking themselves will I like it, will it taste good? And by leveraging reviews around that subject, especially taste, we can of course create more social proof and take away that concern for the consumer.
So what happens when a review comes in that’s less than complimentary? It’s bound to happen to every brand at some point, but rather than shy away from the fact Otto believes (and we agree) that as long as reviews are properly moderated, even the negative ones can result in a positive outcome:
A lot of the time there’s a logical explanation - or it’s an isolated issue where something went wrong for example with delivery - and if we can show that we tried our best to make it right, and publicly share that information, that will also take away some of the concerns that people might have initially when looking at the bad reviews.
We know from our own data that customer are 5x more likely to filter 1* reviews than 5*, and it makes perfect sense. Reading negative feedback helps them determine if the issue is of any concern to them personally, or if it was in fact a one off event. It also gives them a glimpse at customer service standards, and Jimmy Joy has got it spot on by responding to 100% of 1*, 2* and 3* reviews.
Having been around since 2014, Jimmy Joy has first hand experience of more than one review solution. The team had previously used Yotpo, but in exploring other options found REVIEWS.io to be the best choice over any of the major service providers in the review space:
Of course there were some concerns when switching over - mostly around cross domain syndication, as Jimmy Joy operates multiple sites for its global customer base - but the team enjoyed a seamless transition without issue.
It’s not just value for money they appreciate either. Otto explained how the level of service offered by REVIEWS.io far exceeds what they’ve experienced in the past. Getting a response or resolution from Yotpo would often take days, even weeks, but with our live chat feature the team can access support within minutes right from their dashboard. And given that we pride ourselves on being a supporting partner, that’s great feedback to get.
I think you guys are absolutely killing it, just judging by value for money on every front. And so far, we’re really happy that we made the switch from Yotpo to REVIEWS.io.
Over the coming months we’ll be supporting Jimmy Joy in the use of review attributes, as well as walking them through other innovative tools like our recently launched Video First feature. It’s rewarding for us to watch the brand go from strength to strength, and we’re thrilled to be able to share its story as such a brilliant use case of our solution
