PRODUCT POSITIONING

The Challenge

A global FMCG producer had developed a revolutionary new snack product. As well as identifying which snack categories and occasions would have the most profitable potential, they needed to decide which of several brands they should use to launch the product. How would consumers react to the snack? From which snack category would it source most sales? What can they do to optimise overall value perceptions?

Our Approach

As snacks are an extremely fragmented category, new products require crystal clear positioning. We created a tool to compare key branding and communication messages. Rather than just ask for purchase intent, we used our LURE test pattern (Liking, Uniqueness, Relevance, Effect) and asked for sales predictions at various price points. As trial can be a crucial part of the assessment process we also decided to send out samples to our participants to be consumed in the week before the prediction market went live.

The snack was found to be most appealing to adults, especially women. Nutritional value was discovered to be a key relevance driver, with high protein, low-carb ‘healthy’ snacks also being identified as a key growth category for these increasingly health-conscious consumers.

The Result

From a brand perspective the client was advised to go with their most premium offering, to ensure the product would appeal to ‘foodies’, and not just be seen as a gimmick. Using the data we built a simulator of consumer demand, with the premium brand and price point translating into a 22% higher sales prediction.

The product was found to be a convenient, novel and versatile snack, identified as most suited to entertaining others, with a drink. The client was advised to include both ‘entertaining’ and ‘healthy’’ messages in all communications, as well as including a larger resealable ‘Party Pack’ as part of their launch strategy.