Stage 2: Exploring
The Bord Bia Consumer Insights & Innovation
team partnered with Glanbia Ingredients to
develop a branding and innovation strategy for
Senegal’s leading brand of milk powder; Vitalait.
This case study details how the team used
ethnography to ensure consumer insight was at
the heart of that process.
INSIGHTS & INNOVATION WORKBOOK
Glanbia – Vitalait Senegal
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
Stage 3: Refining
Stage 6: Expression
INSIGHTS & INNOVATION WORKBOOK
Glanbia – Vitalait Senegal
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Glanbia Ingredients has a joint partnership
with Satrec Limited in Senegal, a processor
and distributor of fat-filled milk powder with a
significant turnover of over €80 million per year.
The business relationship is a simple one; Glanbia
develops and formulates fat filled milk powder at
its Virginia plant in County Cavan. From there,
Irish milk powder is exported in bulk to Dakar
where Satrec packs, distributes and markets that
powder under the brand name ‘Vitalait’ – the
number one brand of milk powder in Senegal.
BUSINESS ISSUE
CONSUMER ISSUE
In early 2013 Glanbia approached Bord
Bia for assistance in understanding
consumer attitudes to Vitalait. The
brand had been experiencing increased
competition and Satrec’s proposed
solution to that competition was ‘value
engineering the product’ via a reduction
in its protein content. Glanbia needed
to understand the likely impact of
value engineering the product on both
consumer attitudes and usage of Vitalait.
The consumer issue facing Glanbia was
a simple one, would a reduction in the
protein value of Vitalait damage attitudes to
the brand and, if so, what would the impact
on sales be. Glanbia needed to understand
the role of protein in the Vitalait product
at various levels and explore innovation
and NPD opportunities for the brand. By
addressing this core consumer issue, the
long term strategic direction of Vitalait
could be mapped out for Glanbia.
Stage 2:
Exploring
Stage 3:
Refining
Stage 6:
Expression
THE PROCESS
The Bord Bia consumer insight & innovation team’s role was to complete
consumer research amongst Senegalese users of milk powder using
Ethnography. The ethnographic discipline involves visiting consumers in
their home, observing their behaving and living with consumers for an
extended period of time to truly understand consumer behaviour. The team
assisted Glanbia with three stages in the insight and innovation process:
Stage 2 Exploring, Stage 3 Refining and Stage 6 Expression
HOW DID WE HELP?
Stage 2: Exploring
The main bulk of our insight generation
involved the ‘exploring’ stage of the
insight and innovation process. We
completed a week long ethnographic
study that involved visiting over 20
different households in Senegal. Each
household was given unbranded
samples of Vitalait original and new
formulation Vitalait to try at home.
During the ethnography we were able
to explore attitudes to the products, the
impact of the product reformulation
and consumer usage. This allowed us
to generate a number of key consumer
insights around the Vitalait brand which
we validated at the next stage of the
innovation process.
Stage 3: Refining
At the next stage of the innovation
process we completed ‘Brand Clinics’
with groups of Senegalese consumers
to explore the brand positioning and
refine messaging and new product
concepts. For example, we refined a
number product concepts including
‘flavoured Vitalait’.
Stage 6: Expression
The final role for the insights and
innovation team was to take the
consumer insights generated and
develop the core brand proposition.
We developed a revised brand core
for Vitalait and used our consumer
insights to help draft creative and
packaging briefs to ensure the
long term health of Vitalait.
WHAT WERE OUR
INSIGHTS?
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT
ON BUSINESS?
The big consumer insight generated
from this research centred around
attitudes to the Vitalait BRAND – as
opposed to the Vitalait product.
Glanbia had begun to engage with
consumers to understand what impact
a change in product formulation may
have. Our research revealed that there
would be very little discernible impact
on consumer attitudes. However, the
Vitalait brand had some fundamental
issues around perceived quality that
needed to be addressed to protect its
long term health. Glanbia’s strategy
has now shifted from innovating with
new products from Vitalait to both
innovating and renovating the brand.
The insights generated through
ethnographic research has meant
that Glanbia has protected its margin
on the Vitalait brand. Rather than
value engineering the product
(and reducing its price) Glanbia is
continuing to export its bulk ingredient
product for Vitalait at 24% protein
levels, as opposed to the 20% that
Satrec had been championing.
Since the research has been completed,
commodity prices have shifted upwards
quite significantly meaning that Glanbia
Ingredients is enjoying an even higher
gross margin than before. So creating
a compelling argument NOT to value
engineer the product was critical for
Glanbia. This argument was made
all the more compelling through
the consumer insights generated
through ethnographic research.
Bord Bia’s Insight & Innovation Workbook
These two exciting new products from Paddy were developed using best practice
techniques detailed in Bord Bia’s Insights & Innovation Workbook.
For more information contact:
E-mail: info@bordbia.ie
Telephone: (01) 6885155
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture