Background to the confectionery market
Per capita confectionery consumption in the UK is among the highest in the world,
exceeded only by Ireland and Denmark. Chocolate confectionery accounts for around
70% of sales value in the UK market, with sales of sweets (sugar confectionery) at
around 30%.
Historically, the chocolate confectionery market has been characterised by the
dominance of a number of well established brands, such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Mars
Bar and Kit Kat.
Although some brands enjoy a rich heritage, the key need in a busy and developed
market sector is innovation, not just of existing brands but also in the development of
completely new brands. Brand-led innovation is a vital component in the growth of this
market as it enables organisations to build competitive advantage. Over recent years,
competitors in the chocolate market have made significant investments in new product
development. Indeed, over 15% of volume sales in the last ten years have been generated
by new products. For Cadbury, this figure is even higher, at 20%, with new brand
launches such as Wispa Gold and TimeOut.
This case study focuses on the launch of Cadbury Fuse. In the face of strong
competition from well-known brands in an already busy market sector, the launch of Fuse
represented a significant investment in a new brand.
Market research is a process designed to link managers to consumers through
information. It is used to identify opportunities and make better informed decisions about
products which have future market potential.
Market research has revealed that snacks play more of a functional role than one of
pure indulgence. Research also shows that successful snack brands in the confectionery
category tend to have more 'foody' values and often contain ingredients such as cereal,
wafer, biscuits, peanuts and fruit to break up the chocolate delivery.
Cadbury's philosophy is to continue as a driving force in the confectionery market,
and thus constantly analyse its offerings for consumers. The core objective of Cadbury's
innovation programme is to generate incremental volume for the company and achieve
the vision of market leadership in every segment in which it operates. The role of
innovation is critical as it allows Cadbury to develop ahead of its competitors in those
areas of the market which are new or growing.
Product Development
Cadbury set out two objectives for the development of Fuse:
1. To grow the market for chocolate confectionery
2. To increase Cadbury's share of the snacking sector
The 'Fuse' concept was developed after market research identified the growth of
snacking and a definite gap in the market for a more chocolatey snack. A number of
ingredients were devised and tested following a survey which questioned consumers
about their snacking habits and preferences. A research and development team was then
asked to develop a number of product recipes which addressed the needs expressed by
consumers.
Not all products successfully emerge from the product development phase. Research
and development involves combining various ingredients to develop potential new
products. Considerable development time was spent on Fuse, carefully engineering the
ingredients in order to deliver the right balance of chocolate, food elements and texture.
More than 250 ingredients were tried and tested in various combinations before the recipe
was finalised.
Any new product in the snacking sector must establish points of difference from
existing products within the market - thus creating a unique selling proposition (USP) i.e.
a product with unique appeal which is not shared by any of its competitors. Whereas
other confectionery snacking products focus primarily upon ingredients, with chocolate
used only to coat the bar, the product developers decided to use Cadbury chocolate to
''fuse'' together a number of popular snacking ingredients such as raisins, peanuts, crisp
cereal and fudge pieces.
Early consumer testing
As products are developed, they must be tested to ensure that consumers would be
willing to buy them. As approximately 85% of all new products launched into the grocery
and allied trade sectors fail in their first year, extensive research helps to reduce the risk
of launching a new product into an already competitive market. Fuse went through two
extensive 'in home placement' tests. The results of these tests were multiplied into repeat
purchase and purchase frequency figures to allow Cadbury to anticipate the volume of
bars required for the launch of Fuse and post-launch.
Pack design
Packaging enables a manufacturer to convey both the tangible and intangible
attributes of a product. The packaging for Cadbury's new product sought to position it as
a unique, exciting and delicious chocolate snack which would stand out from its
competitors. It was important to emphasise the qualities and appeal of Fuse whilst at the
same time reinforcing that it was a Cadbury brand.
The packaging achieved impact by using bright, fiery colours for the product name
and contrasting them against the deep and instantly recognisable 'Cadbury purple', which
communicated the manufacturer's heritage. The colours were also used in a gun powder
style to suggest an explosive taste. The vibrancy of the design aimed to differentiate it
from other products in the sector so that it would have an immediate point-of-sale impact
both on-shelf and in store display units.
Three different packaging formats were developed in order to maximise the various
multi-purchase opportunities available. The key pack size was the single bar, designed to
entice trial and to encourage repeat purchase. The 'treat size' and the multi-packs were
aimed at families.
Brand name
Like packaging, brand names play a critical role in the success of a product, by
helping to create a product's 'personality'. The new product aimed to have broad appeal to
16-34 year olds, although it was primarily targeted at 16-24 year olds. The name Fuse
was chosen to communicate the fusion of snacking ingredients. The logo was bright and
fiery with a mock fuse - alight in several places - which aimed to give the new bar the
quirky and humorous style which Cadbury sought to appeal to this younger target market.
Further consumer testing
Testing is vital throughout the entire product development process. It helps to
provide valuable information that can be used to fine-tune the product and minimise
many of the launch risks.
In research, Fuse scored higher for texture, 'interesting eat' and combination of
ingredients, than its competitors and achieved the highest rating ever for a new Cadbury
product - 82% of consumers rated Fuse as excellent or very good and 83% said they
would buy it regularly.
The Launch
The launch strategy of any new product is critical. Cadbury has two targets for its
products - trade customers who stock the product and consumers who buy it. In recent
years, product launching has become an art which can make or break a product. A
successful launch makes potential customers aware of the new product and keen to try it.
Before consumers could try the product, however, it was important for Cadbury to
gain the support of its trade customers. Retailers had to view it as helpful in encouraging
customers to visit their shops. If the product had failed to interest retailers and
distributors, the costs of investment would not have been met and they would not have
stocked the product.
Cadbury conducted one-to-one briefings with over 70 key trade customers. This
helped Cadbury build awareness and commitment to the launch and obtain significant
orders for in-store displays and merchandising ahead of the launch date. The trade
commitment was reflected in high levels of display support in store during the launch.
Traditionally, new confectionery products are initially launched in one region of the
country, in order to gauge the product's success, before moving on to other regions over a
period of time. Time Out and Wispa Gold, for example, were launched in this way. The
commitment to the success of Fuse was so great, however, that it was Cadbury's first
completely national launch for 20 years.
There were certain key requirements to the co-ordination of the launch:
Secrecy had to be paramount!
Marketers who had identified the gap in the market had to work closely with
individuals from research and development as well as other external agencies.
Manufacturing operations, in conjunction with marketing and finance, had to evaluate a
new factory investment for Board approval.
Having a catchy 'hook' for a new launch helps to make consumers notice the product.
Cadbury and its trade customers managed the first availability of Fuse around one day,
Tuesday 24th September, aptly christened 'Fuseday'. This involved tight management of
stock distribution, with more than 40 million bars being moved from Cadbury depots into
the trade only a few days prior to the launch date.
Press releases were tailored to specific audiences. In each case, a strict embargo was
imposed to ensure that the impact of Fuseday was not diluted. The only exceptions were
briefings with The Grocer, and Marketing (trade publications) and The Daily Telegraph,
which reviewed the product in its business pages.
Public relations (PR) support was substantial. It told the story of Fuse, explained that
it had taken five years to develop, involved an investment of £10 million, the
development of a new plant at Somerdale near Bristol and £4 million in advertising costs.
The TV campaign and PR campaign were so successful that Cadbury was under pressure
to meet repeat orders post-launch!
Post-launch results
After a new product launch, it is important to analyse whether the product has managed
to meet its launch objectives. During 1996, the chocolate market grew by 9% with 19%
of this growth attributable to Fuse - a single brand which had only been available for a
quarter of the year.
One way of evaluating the effectiveness of advertising and promotional campaigns is
to ask market research volunteers to identify advertisements using prompts in a recall
test. The Fuse launch had created massive awareness of the new brand, achieving greater
prompted awareness than the celebrated Wispa launch. Within just one week of the
launch, a record 40 million Fuse bars were sold into the trade and within eight weeks of
sale, Cadbury Fuse was the UK's favourite confectionery line, outselling both Mars Bar
and Kit Kat by 20% and capturing an astonishing 6.5% of hand-held confectionery
product sales. It had also contributed significantly to Cadbury's growth in 1996. The
launch had exceeded expectations, with consumers buying 70 million Fuse bars within
the first three months of its launch.
Cadbury's competitors reacted to the success of Fuse by increasing their own new product
activity.
Conclusion
This case study has examined Cadbury's ability to use innovation in a developed and
crowded market-place. There were three clear elements in this process:
1. the use of consumer research to identify a significant market opportunity;
2. product research and development combined with extensive consumer testing;
3. massive trade and consumer hype generated by a national launch.
Snacking remains the big opportunity to expand the chocolate market even further. As
Fuse moves through the growth phases of its product life-cycle, the next stage is to move
it into the 'super brand' league. As it does so, the key requirement will be to maintain the
product's momentum by continuing to develop innovative approaches to marketing it to
consumers.
Our thanks to: The Times Newspaper Limited and (c)MBA Publishing Ltd 1997.