Getting premium products right
Premium brand extensions were set to fail, processors were warned at Product Premiumisation, an event organised by Food & Drink Innovation Network and held last last month in Daventry.
Speaking at the conference, which aimed to help manufacturers improve their offerings, TNS Worldpanel director Chris Longbottom said: “A premium product has to be new. Look at Weetabix Gold [a failed product launch] - it just didn’t have a reason to exist.”
Chris Grantham, director of Your Future consultancy, who also spoke at the event, explained that a premium product demanded complexity. “People want a layered product - something that isn’t noticeable immediately.” He predicted a trend towards ‘eco-chic’, where manufacturers encourage respect for the food by focusing on simple packaging, truth and indulgence. “Ultimately, it’s about the quality, passion and care that goes into a product,” he said.
However, Jane Curran, food editor of Woman & Home magazine, told processors not to be overly twee with their marketing. “We don’t want to hear about how, 50 years ago, Granny was in the kitchen, blah, blah, blah - but we do want to hear about who produces our food,” she said.
She added that buying premium products had similarities to clothes shopping: “We like the idea of finding something, the ‘where did you buy it from?’ factor.” She claimed that price was not a barrier for her readers, who often bought premium products: “Forty-plus women are not embarrassed to spend money on food.”
Longbottom agreed that price promotions, such as buy-one-get-one-free, were an ineffective tool. “It’s a consumer value proposition and it’s a slippery slope that dilutes the brand.”
Some companies thought promotional offers would introduce new customers to the brand, but it was more likely that people were only buying the product because it was on offer, he said.
