An eastern European food manufacturer increases brand relevance in the chocolate market

1. Consumer Goods | Market Opportunities and Innovation
IDENTIFYING INNOVATION OPPORTUNITIES
IN THE CHOCOLATE MARKET
The client
A major manufacturer of sweet and
savory treats in Eastern Europe.
Situation
Our client wanted to grow its market
share in the face of competition from
powerful brands that have a strong
emotional connection with consumers.
Despite good results on blind taste
tests, sales of its milk chocolate slabs in
particular were disappointing.
The client wanted to uncover new
ideas to grow sales and increase brand
relevance without competing solely on
price. It asked us to help develop new
product concepts that would help it
grow its share of the market.
Approach
First we applied core methodologies to
draw a future Market Map for the
client. We conducted focus groups, in-
depth interviews and one-on-one
sessions to get a view of the world
through shoppers' eyes.
The sessions yielded white-space
opportunities for innovation and an
understanding of the consumers’
evolving needs. We worked with the
client to brainstorm questions for the
next phase of the research and
segmented opportunities.
An Eastern European food manufacturer increases
brand relevance in the chocolate market.
We also held face-to-face interviews
with 800 regular chocolate buyers.
Their input helped us predict where
the market was heading and what
new benefits would resonate with
customers. After the presentation
of our results and recommendations,
we worked with the client to test new
concepts with shoppers.
Outcome
Our research uncovered deep insights
into consumer behavior and needs,
as well as novel spaces that our client
could occupy with new products.
This provided the food manufacturer
with a comprehensive view of the
emotional benefit territories it could
use as a basis for innovation. The
market analysis suggested that these
spaces for innovation could be found
in developing premium products for
discerning chocolate eaters.
Our clear recommendations and
actionable user segmentation
empowered the client to extend its
product line and rebrand its existing
products to meet the needs of a
changing market. Following the launch
of a new chocolate brand, the company
saw user penetration improve by
almost 30% in the first six months.
In addition to attracting new buyers,
the food manufacturer reversed an
ongoing decline in sales.
About Rekhaprocity Labs
RPL is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information that enables its clients to make smarter decisions.
It is rapidly building sales volumes
back to historical peaks, with the
benefit of harvesting higher profit
margins because of the positioning
of the revitalized brand as a superior
quality product.
The client is also enjoying more
customer loyalty, with an improvement
in the repurchase rate of its product
from 28% to almost 40%. The
packaging for the refreshed product
range has won a number of regional
awards.
Your contact partner is there for you:
Anup Deshmukh
M +91 9773 96 96 03
ad@rekhaprocitylabs.com