Are you a qualified nutritionist? Perhaps you’re considering studying to become one. In any case, you might wonder what career paths you can pursue with your qualifications. And the answer is simple: you have a host of options open to you.
You can not only collaborate with healthcare or educational organizations but also use your expertise to build a profitable business. And the great thing about pursuing an entrepreneurial path is that it allows you to be the maker of your destiny.
You could decide to help people in a specific field — like sports. You could make it your mission to educate a large audience about the impact of healthy eating. You could even create your own products to make it easier for people to find healthy food options in a market oversaturated with junk.
If you’re strapped for nutrition business ideas, don’t worry. Here are the most profitable businesses you can build with a nutrition qualification.
One of the easiest ways to put your nutrition diploma to work (and collect some much-needed industry experience) is to work directly with clients.
By pursuing a coaching career, you’ll use your expertise to make the greatest possible impact. And rest assured, your help, knowledge, and insights will be greatly appreciated.
According to statistical data from 2023, 50% of Americans are actively trying to eat healthily. Yet, if you look at the main obstacles to reaching their goals, you’ll find that:
What does this information show? It simply proves the fact that most people need a bit of help when attempting to change their eating habits for the better.
How you go about starting a coaching and consulting business is entirely up to you.
For instance, you could work with people one-on-one, helping them overcome their food challenges through face-to-face or online sessions.
Alternatively, you could choose a more global approach to running a nutrition business and become an influencer. For example, you could use popular social media platforms to serve a large base of followers, as done by Nutrition by Kylie on YouTube.
Of course, this will require a more dedicated approach to content creation. However, it can be a great way to reach more people and give them advice that’s actually good in a sea of false and dangerous dieting claims.
Quite unsurprisingly, most people struggle with meal planning. In fact, the main reason people choose convenience foods is that they’re too busy to cook.
So, if you’re evaluating nutrition business ideas, consider starting a meal planning or prep service. That way, you could make just as positive of an impact as one-on-one coaching but make it more approachable to a large target audience.
For example, by developing personalizable meal plans that help consumers reach a specific nutrition or fitness goal, you can easily empower a lot of people to take their diets into their own hands.
Or, if you prefer a more hands-on approach (and if you know what you’re doing in the kitchen), you could even start a meal prep business. Experts predict the global meal kit delivery revenue to grow by 34% over the next five years, making this type of nutrition business a lucrative opportunity.
Want to bring together your unique qualifications with the excitement and creativity of the hospitality industry? Why not start a local meal delivery service? Or, if you love working with people, you could even open a restaurant.
This business venture is not just a great way to make a living. It’s also an excellent method of helping the people in your community — especially if you know how to find your unique stamp.
For example, your qualifications allow you to develop nutritious, balanced foods that satisfy people’s hunger. So why not use that superpower to create healthy versions of people’s favourite comfort foods? Or, knowing how athletes struggle with protein intake, why not use your expertise to serve this audience with tasty meals that don’t come in powdered form?
As you explore businesses you can build with a nutrition qualification, consider this: most people take supplements in 2024.
Research shows that 59% of U.S. adults take supplements, along with 23.5% of children. Even more impressively, the number of people taking more than one pill reached 36%, with those over sixty going for four or more supplements per day.
This information alone demonstrates the tremendous potential of starting a business in the supplements industry. Especially considering that it’s predicted to grow in the coming years.
But, as always, there’s a ‘but.’ Most consumers (and healthcare professionals) mistrust the supplement industry. Research suggests that most supplement options don’t deliver the results they promise. So, if you’re exploring career options to pursue with your nutrition qualification, why not try to tip the scales in the other direction?
Conduct some consumer research. Identify a common pain point. And explore a unique way to solve it with your expertise. By following these steps, you could come up with a million-dollar idea. Think, for example, of a clean vegan based protein powder that doesn’t taste bad or cause bloating, an Omega-3 fish oil created specifically for pets, or a series of homeopathic solutions that combine the power of nutrition with new medicinal approaches.
If you go through with such an idea, focus on branding and marketing your solutions to prioritize trust and credibility. Remember, acquiring new customers is amazing.
However, to ensure the longevity of any business, you have to focus just as much on retaining clients by providing them with an exceptional customer experience. Otherwise, they’ll go to your competitors, and you’ll end up spending tons of money trying to attract new buyers who only purchase once.
If you’re skilled at sales, digital marketing, or web development, you could create an ecommerce business. And if you manage to find your unique angle, it could actually turn into a very successful opportunity.
You see, a huge number of people — 2.71 billion, to be precise — choose to shop online. And the majority of businesses are doing the same. So, to put your nutrition degree to good use, why not do it in a way that helps brands develop higher-quality solutions that benefit end users?
For example, sourcing organic ingredients is a common challenge in the food, beverage, supplement, and personal care industries. So why not implement your knowledge in a way that will allow businesses to improve their offer? Remember, most buyers require some guidance from time to time. And considering you are a qualified nutritionist, very few people are more competent to provide that guidance.
Do you enjoy empowering people? In that case, your ideal nutrition business idea could be to go into education.
By organizing wellness and nutrition-oriented workshops and seminars, you can present your community with valuable insights, knowledge, and tools. More importantly, such educational endeavours allow you to combine multiple fields of expertise on your mission to help people.
For example, if you already have a nutritionist degree, why not extend your qualifications? You could pursue further educational opportunities to learn how to help specific groups — like patients struggling with diabetes and obesity or people recovering from COVID-19. Or, you could collaborate with experts in your community to present your target audience with a more holistic approach to improving their overall well-being.
This type of work can be a profitable business endeavour, but that’s not the only great thing about it. Working directly with people from your industry represents a marvellous way to identify emerging trends, come up with new ideas, or network with potential partners for future business ventures.
Lastly, if you want to put your nutrition knowledge to use but can’t work full-time, creating online educational resources could be a marvellous way to make a passive income.
Thanks to a multitude of available platforms, you can use your unique skill set to teach an online audience. And, if you find your niche, you could do so quite successfully as well.
For example, many people struggle with cooking healthy foods. Knowing this, you could develop a course to teach healthy food preparation techniques. Or, maybe there’s some new ingredient that people need to learn about. So why not create a lesson plan showing them how to incorporate it into their everyday diets?
As you explore nutrition business ideas, permit yourself to think outside the box.
Yes, traditional career paths, like consulting and coaching, can be profitable and rewarding. But the truth is, the best way to build a successful business is to stray from the beaten path.
So, give yourself time to brainstorm. Do your best to develop a unique approach to using your skill set. And don’t forget to create a bulletproof business plan, invest in marketing and branding, and surround yourself with a qualified team.
Because, at the end of the day, the road to starting a long-lasting business isn’t just about landing on the right idea. Much more than that, it’s about creating a system that can penetrate a competitive market and remain relevant even in the face of unexpected hardships.