The Challenge:
With the rise in global temperatures, Germany experienced hotter summers than usual. This change led to an influx of new ice cream brands, boasting local and natural ingredients, into the market. Despite being a market leader, our client’s global brand was perceived as being behind in terms of innovation.
Brandscapes Brew Insights:
Our analysis showed that our pint format was losing market share to private label brands that were not only cheaper but also had better distribution. We identified tubs as a significant opportunity, being the largest selling format.
Our multipacks were caught in a pricing dilemma – consumers were looking for value-for-money while still willing to pay more for innovative products.
We also found that we were under-distributed in certain channels, leading to lower consumer pull despite promotions. Though our brand power remained strong, we lacked differentiation on attributes that drove ‘meaningfulness.’
While we relied heavily on promotions, our competitors evolved with new formats and gained market share.
Marketing Actions:
Based on our insights, we took the following actions:
- Launched tubs to tap into the high demand for this format.
- Implemented a focused innovation agenda which positioned the brand as an innovative leader, improving scores on ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘different’.
- Resolved product and packaging complaints to improve consumer pull.
- Enhanced in-store visibility to improve ROI from promotions in Supermarkets & Hypermarkets.
- Improved distribution across channels for pints, in Super/Hypermarkets for multipacks, and in Discounters for singles, resulting in a market share uplift.
Outcome:
The brand has started to regain its market share by leading the discourse in innovation, thereby commanding a price premium. This case study demonstrates how strategic changes based on data-driven insights can help a brand reclaim its position in a competitive market.
