Stage 3: Refining
The Bord Bia Consumer Insight & Innovation
team have partnered with Pernod Ricard IDL to
develop a range of flavoured whiskey products
under the Paddy brand targeting the US, French
and domestic markets. This case study details how
Bord Bia ensured consumer insight was at the
heart of the innovation process.
INSIGHTS & INNOVATION WORKBOOK
Paddy Whiskey
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
INSIGHTS & INNOVATION WORKBOOK
Paddy Whiskey
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Paddy Irish Whiskey is one of the leading brands of
whiskey on the Irish market. The brand is a mature
one in an Irish context and remains the 3rd largest
player in the Irish market. However, future growth
for the brand will rely upon exports. Pernod
Ricard IDL wished to develop consumer inspired
innovations around Paddy to deliver against their
ambitious export targets for the brand.
BUSINESS ISSUE
CONSUMER ISSUE
The Paddy brand forms part of Pernod
Ricard IDL’s portfolio of Irish Whiskey brands
including Jameson, Powers, Middleton and
Green & Yellow Spot. Pernod Ricard IDL had
identified the growth in flavoured whiskey
as an area of opportunity. In the US market,
Jack Daniels had enjoyed significant success
with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey.
The Paddy brand is relatively unknown in
the US market, but is well known in the
Breton region of France and Ireland where
it is consumed by older consumers. PR IDL
needed to understand if the brand could be
a credible option for consumers aged 25 to
35 targeting more ‘high energy’ drinking
occasions than is the norm for the brand.
Strategically, PR IDL did not want its
Jameson brand (the biggest Irish whiskey
brand in the US market) to compete in
the flavoured space, so a decision was
made to leverage the Paddy brand.
Stage 3:
Refining
THE PROCESS
The Bord Bia Consumer Insight & Innovation team’s role was
to assist PR IDL with ‘Stage 3’ of the consumer innovation
process; the Refining stage. We did this through a qualitative
consumer research process known as ‘Sequential Recycling’.
HOW DID WE HELP?
Qualitative consumer research in
the form of group discussions was
completed in three markets: the USA,
France & Ireland to test and refine a
series of new product concepts; Paddy
Apple and Paddy Honey.
The process of sequential recycling
involved an iterative research design
where the product concepts that were
tested at the beginning of the project
evolved and changed as we gained
deeper and richer consumer insights
WHAT WERE OUR
INSIGHTS?
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT
ON BUSINESS?
Consumers have an appetite for
‘playfulness’ from a brand like Paddy,
provided that the brand stays true to
its authentic Irish Whiskey roots. For
standout, Paddy Flavours as sub-brands
needed to reflect this playfulness.
Based on our insights the Paddy livery
was refined and two new Paddy
Flavoured Whiskey products were
launched based on the refined concepts
generated during Sequential Recycling:
Paddy Devil’s Apple & Paddy Beesting
(Honey). Sales of both new lines have
been positive with targets of over
100k cases in the US well on track.
Research began in the US (City A) and
findings were disseminated to produce
revised product concepts for France
where they were tested in two cities
(B & C). Subsequent learnings were
generated in that market and final
product concepts were refined in the
US (City D) and Ireland.
100k
Sales of both new lines have been
positive at target of over 100k
cases in the US well on track.
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