Expanding into adjacent categories with NPD
Gü…launch into frozen with confidence
In June 24 Gü Desserts unveiled their new “Frozen sundaes” – a new range bringing their trademark premium indulgence to the frozen desserts cabinet. Available in their familiar glass ramekins, these might seem like a “no brainer” NPD for the much-loved brand, but the reality is that the team worked hard to research and validate the opportunity before launch.
This included in-depth consumer work with TRKR, giving the Gü team the confidence that they were launching something that shoppers would actually buy.
Background
Gü are a nationally recognised brand, with turnover of £66m in 2022 and the 4th largest brand in the UK Chilled Sweet Treat category, after giants Muller, Yeo and Cadbury.
However, the Gü team recognised that to continue that growth, or even to stand still, companies need to continually generate new sales to replace lost shoppers - either through finding new shoppers (penetration) or increasing frequency of existing shoppers.
Adding Frozen Desserts to their existing Chilled range felt like a winner, but the team wanted to make sure they de-risked the chances of getting it wrong – for themselves and when pitching to retail buyers.
Through TRKR, Gü were able to:
Test a number of NPD concepts with a large scale sample of existing UK Frozen Dessert shoppers
Obtain valuable insight into this adjacent category, including:
How many Frozen Dessert shoppers also buy Chilled? Turns out 77% do
What were the different shopper segments within the category?
What product and brands did each segment buy?
What was their shopping behaviour, attitudes and motivation to buying the category?
Cross-reference the concept feedback with the category insight to create a profile of their likely target audience – who was most likely to buy the new product range, why, what was their current behaviour and what mattered most to them?
Equally important was to understand which shopper segments wouldn’t buy them, and what their barriers were
With this insight the team were able to fine-tune the development of the product right from the start, avoiding wasting time and money on wrong decisions and assumptions.
It was also used to plan their packaging and marketing – getting it right for their target audience.
The project
Outcomes
Time will tell in terms of sales, but the Gü team completed the NPD with confidence and were then able to approach Retailer Buyers with evidence and unique insight, rather just their own opinion and track record.