How we shaped positioning for lifestyle weight management at Numan

An eight-week research and strategy programme that gave Numan clear differentiation in a crowded market, and a continuing partnership on research-led growth.

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Numan is a digital health company offering anti-obesity medication, clinical care, and digital health coaching, operating in an increasingly crowded weight management market. Numan needed positioning rooted in genuine patient insight that would drive coherent direction across both product and marketing.

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The goal

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Understand how people experience weight loss beyond medication, and develop positioning that reflected the full scope of what Numan offers, creating meaningful differentiation in a market filling up fast.

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The challenge

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Medication-led messaging was becoming crucial as more competitors entered. Numan needed positioning that would hold up to scrutiny, resonate with people considering treatment, and drive direction across the business.

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Results

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Clear market differentiation achieved

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Numan established a distinct positioning with 'complete transformation requires complete support’, moving the brand from medication provider to ongoing transformation partner.

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Product and marketing aligned

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The positioning informed both product direction and marketing strategy, creating coherence across the business rather than a brand exercise that sat separately from what the company was building.

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Ongoing research partnership

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Scale Up Collective continues to partner with Numan on research-led product and marketing insights as the business scales.

The strategy

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Qualitative patient research

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Started with the people Numan was trying to serve, not with the product or the market:

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• Ran an eight-week research and strategy programme to understand how people actually experience weight loss
• Explored the emotional, behavioural, and social dimensions of the journey 
• Surfaced the core insight: patients wanted proactive, personalised support across lifestyle and behaviour change, not clinical intervention alone

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Positioning development

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Used the research to develop positioning that reflected genuine patient need:

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• Developed 'complete transformation requires complete support' as the strategic positioning platform
• Built a framework that reframed weight management as an ongoing transformation rather than a treatment episode
• Tested positioning against both patient insight and competitive landscape to validate differentiation

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Three-pillar patient-centred strategy

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Translated the positioning into a coherent strategic framework for the business:

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• Built the strategy around three pillars reflecting the full scope of Numan's offering
• Aligned the framework across product development and marketing to ensure consistent direction
• Gave the marketing team a clear, credible narrative to use across channels and at every stage of the buyer journey

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Ongoing strategic partnership

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Extended the engagement beyond the initial programme to provide continued input:

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• Continued to partner with Numan on research-led insights as new products and services were developed
• Provided strategic input on positioning and messaging as the market evolved and new competitors emerged
• Maintained involvement in key decisions to ensure long-term coherence between research findings and commercial activity

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