THREE STAR
walkers’ great british takeaways
Launched: July 2003
Sales: £12.5m (w/e 8/5/04)
This was another fine effort by the king of snacking to grow its market share, although not quite as successful as last year’s Great British Flavours launch, which featured tie-ups with stalwart British brands including Branston and Marmite.
Nevertheless, this three-strong range based on the nation’s favourite takeaway dishes seems to have done the job in growing Walkers’ bottom line.
Three flavours have been available - Chinese Spare Rib, Sweet & Sour and Chicken Tikka. The first of these has scored the greatest success in single bags with sales of around £2.2m in single packs, according to ACNielsen, although multipacks have been the runaway success (£7.2m).
Confectionery (sugar)
Extra Thin Ice
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £16m (end of 2003)
There’s little doubt that Wrigley’s fresh breath strips were one of the UK market’s best pieces of new product development in 2003.
Already a sales success in the US, Wrigley brought this offering to market ahead of rival brand Listerine Actives and backed its newcomer with a big-budget TV campaign which neatly showed consumers how they should use the product.
However, the latest figures from ACNielsen would appear to bring a cautionary warning with the moving annual total figure to the week ending May 8 showing that sales of the offering, which comes in peppermint and spearmint flavours, have slipped back to just above the £9m mark.
dairy (drinks)
Benecol yogurt drink
Launched: October 2003
Sales: £2.5m (w/e 17/4/04)
An impressive first six months has set McNeil Consumer Nutritionals’ new offering in a good position for a long-term assault on a market dominated by Danone Actimel, Yakult and Müller Vitality. Most encouraging is that fact that, according to ACNielsen, sales are steady at about the £15,000-£20,000-a-week mark, meaning that the cholesterol-lowering product is on course to become a £5m brand within its first year. That would almost certainly pitch it into contention for a top five finish in the Dairy (Drinks) section of The Grocer’s next Top Products Survey.
alcoholic drinks
baileys Glide
Launched: August 2003
Sales: £9.8m (w/e 17/4/04)
To say that the Baileys brand has been performing well for Diageo would be an understatement. The Grocer’s last Top Products Survey showed that the parent liqueur offering grew by 31% last year to record sales of £85.9m (Information Resources) in the off-trade.
And this RTD addition, a mix of the liqueur and vanilla, looks certain to help the cause further.
The newcomer has received backing of about £6m but is well on the way to returning that investment with more than 6% of households having tried the product, according to ACNielsen’s Homescan data. biscuits
Bisc&
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £30m (w/e 15/5/04)
Masterfoods vowed to make its first foray into the biscuit market the company’s “biggest priority” of 2003.
And, according to figures from ACNielsen, Masterfoods is already well on the way to delivering the £30m-a-year brand it promised by next year. The researcher’s figures show that the range - biscuit versions of the popular countlines Bounty, M&Ms, Mars and Twix - scored a first year sales success of more than £25m as they were supported by a £15m advertising blitz.
The result looks certain to make Bisc& a top 10 player in The Grocer’s next end-of-year Top Products Survey.
dairy (yogurts and desserts)
Gü Chocolate puds
Launched: May 2003
Sales: £3.5m (company figures)
Not even self-styled ‘Gü-meister’ James Averdieck managed to predict just how successful his range of luxury chocolate desserts would become. As well as being one of The Grocer’s Star Products in our last Top Products Survey, the brand has also taken part in our ‘A Year in the Life’ of series charting the progress of five new brands.
Last July, Averdieck claimed Gü, which is made by Rensow Patisserie, would become a £1m brand in its first year. With claimed sales running at just under £100,000 a week, and a much-coveted listing with Tesco lined up for next month, Averdieck is radically recrunching those numbers.
Confectionery (chocolate)
swiss delice
Launched: June 2003
Sales: £1.2m (company figures,
to June 2004)
Swiss retail and manufacturing giant Migros launched this premium range of flat and filled block chocolate, as well as biscuits, under the same banner, almost exactly one year ago. Initially finding a home in Waitrose, Somerfield, Makro and Selfridges, wider rollout has led to sales which the company says are 21% above its initial first year target. It also has listings in Tesco, Sainsbury and Woolworth.
Household
bloo acticlean
Launched: October 2003
Sales: £1m (company figures,
to end of May 2004)
Jeyes’ attempt to launch what it says is the market’s first liquid in-cistern product, which automatically dispenses a measured amount of cleaning liquid every time the toilet is flushed, has been a slow burner.
However, sales have already passed the £1m mark and the company insists these have been incremental to the category.
Listings were a little slow, but the product went into Tesco and Asda in February and is now feeling the benefits of the first stage of a £3m marketing allocation.
ice cream
magnum uncovered
Launched: September 2003
Sales: £2.6m (w/e 1/5/04)
A nine-month tally of £2.6m would appear reasonable, but not necessarily for a super-brand like Magnum, particularly when you consider that the core stick range raked in sales of almost £87m last year (Information Resources 52 w/e October 4 2003).
Data from ACNielsen’s consumer panel gives an insight: only 2% of shoppers have tried the tubbed version. However, 15% of those have gone back for more, suggesting the brand could be looking forward to a successful summer.
Laundry
comfort fast dry
Launched: August 2003
Sales: £7.78m (to May 2004)
Persuading consumers to fork out for something they did not know they needed is a skill, but one that laundry manufacturer Lever Fabergé has down to a fine art.
The premium fabric conditioner which is said to help clothes dry faster is supported by a first year multi-media ad spend of £7m.
Initial indications are reasonable. According to ACNielsen, the brand has achieved more than 60% distribution and claimed a 3% value share of the market.
soft drinks
Lakeland willow water
Launched: May 2003
Sales: £429,000 (w/e 15/5/04)
Few products have arrived in the market to such a blitz of positive press. Coverage in The Grocer of how the new H2O contained salicin, a ‘natural aspirin’, generated dozens of column inches in the consumer press and even won it a spot on ITV’s This Morning. At the end of last year, The Grocer also revealed how more and more consumers were testifying to the water’s healing qualities and it has even been credited with helping to save the life of a top racehorse.
Sourced from the Cartmel Valley, the brand has attracted a loyal band of followers. However, with sales yet to hit the £500,000 mark according to ACNielsen’s latest count, the brand has more potential.
soup
Loyd Grossman
Launched: October 2003
Sales: £1.8m (w/e 8/5/04)
The gastro guru, already a major player in cooking sauces, seems to have successfully made the transition into soup under his collaboration with Premier Foods. Four flavours - Tomato & Basil, Chicken & Vegetable, Carrot & Coriander and Four Mushroom - have been available in ambient pouches. The microwaveable offerings have benefited from a £600,000 press and poster campaign this year, with promising results.
Frozen
wall’s balls
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £7.1m (w/e 17/4/0)
There is often little warming about sales figures in the frozen arena with all five sub-sectors surveyed in last year’s Top Products Survey showing sales drops.
However, Wall’s Balls from Kerry Foods would appear to be flying the flag for the category. The bite-sized balls of sausage meat in crumb coating have made the most of a £2m, first-year marketing spend.
According to ACNielsen, latest available weekly sales were hovering around the £65,000 mark, although the brand reached a weekly high of more than £170,000 at the beginning of February, signalling that it appears to be a kids’ winter favourite.
åhot beverages
takeone
Launched: September 2003
Sales: £200,000
(company figures)
A slow start has conspired against this particular offering getting an extra star.
Teaming up with Allied Domecq to produce a range of liqueur-flavoured hot chocolates and coffees was a coup for own label specialist Fine Foods International.
And the six-strong sachet range - made up of Malibu- and Tia Maria-flavoured hot chocolates and cappuccinos, and two plain white coffees - is beginning to gain momentum with listings in Tesco, Asda, Safeway and Somerfield.
cereals
capespan muesli
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £748,000 (MAT to
w/e 17/4/04)
If this were a school report then the phrase “has potential, must try harder” might apply. Rolling out in three varieties under the Cape and Fyffes banner, weekly sales have consistently been at the £10,000-£15,000 mark, says ACNielsen. But as the products received encouraging remarks from the consumer and buyer surveyed in The Grocer’s Acid Test, the figure must disappoint.
cooking sauces
ken hom cooks...
Launched: June 2003
Sales: £371,000 (w/e 17/4/04)
Westmill Foods is still waiting for some magic from this range, produced in collaboration with wok wizard Ken Hom. According to ACNielsen the pan-Asian convenience range of nine sauces, together with microwaveable rices and the UK’s first microwaveable noodles, have only managed a 21% rate of distribution.
soft drinks
virgin sours
Launched: September 2003
Sales: £510,000 (company
figures to June 2004)
Shifting more than half a million bottles of this new three-strong kids range wouldn’t appear too bad in eight months on shelf, but it’s not big league. Manufacturer Princes Soft Drinks insists there is more to come from the carbonated offering. In addition, it claims that Sours was affected by the failure of rival Britvic’s Strange Soda earlier this year..
Four Star
Two Star
One Star
All figures from ACNielson unless stated otherwise
walkers’ great british takeaways
Launched: July 2003
Sales: £12.5m (w/e 8/5/04)
This was another fine effort by the king of snacking to grow its market share, although not quite as successful as last year’s Great British Flavours launch, which featured tie-ups with stalwart British brands including Branston and Marmite.
Nevertheless, this three-strong range based on the nation’s favourite takeaway dishes seems to have done the job in growing Walkers’ bottom line.
Three flavours have been available - Chinese Spare Rib, Sweet & Sour and Chicken Tikka. The first of these has scored the greatest success in single bags with sales of around £2.2m in single packs, according to ACNielsen, although multipacks have been the runaway success (£7.2m).
Confectionery (sugar)
Extra Thin Ice
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £16m (end of 2003)
There’s little doubt that Wrigley’s fresh breath strips were one of the UK market’s best pieces of new product development in 2003.
Already a sales success in the US, Wrigley brought this offering to market ahead of rival brand Listerine Actives and backed its newcomer with a big-budget TV campaign which neatly showed consumers how they should use the product.
However, the latest figures from ACNielsen would appear to bring a cautionary warning with the moving annual total figure to the week ending May 8 showing that sales of the offering, which comes in peppermint and spearmint flavours, have slipped back to just above the £9m mark.
dairy (drinks)
Benecol yogurt drink
Launched: October 2003
Sales: £2.5m (w/e 17/4/04)
An impressive first six months has set McNeil Consumer Nutritionals’ new offering in a good position for a long-term assault on a market dominated by Danone Actimel, Yakult and Müller Vitality. Most encouraging is that fact that, according to ACNielsen, sales are steady at about the £15,000-£20,000-a-week mark, meaning that the cholesterol-lowering product is on course to become a £5m brand within its first year. That would almost certainly pitch it into contention for a top five finish in the Dairy (Drinks) section of The Grocer’s next Top Products Survey.
alcoholic drinks
baileys Glide
Launched: August 2003
Sales: £9.8m (w/e 17/4/04)
To say that the Baileys brand has been performing well for Diageo would be an understatement. The Grocer’s last Top Products Survey showed that the parent liqueur offering grew by 31% last year to record sales of £85.9m (Information Resources) in the off-trade.
And this RTD addition, a mix of the liqueur and vanilla, looks certain to help the cause further.
The newcomer has received backing of about £6m but is well on the way to returning that investment with more than 6% of households having tried the product, according to ACNielsen’s Homescan data. biscuits
Bisc&
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £30m (w/e 15/5/04)
Masterfoods vowed to make its first foray into the biscuit market the company’s “biggest priority” of 2003.
And, according to figures from ACNielsen, Masterfoods is already well on the way to delivering the £30m-a-year brand it promised by next year. The researcher’s figures show that the range - biscuit versions of the popular countlines Bounty, M&Ms, Mars and Twix - scored a first year sales success of more than £25m as they were supported by a £15m advertising blitz.
The result looks certain to make Bisc& a top 10 player in The Grocer’s next end-of-year Top Products Survey.
dairy (yogurts and desserts)
Gü Chocolate puds
Launched: May 2003
Sales: £3.5m (company figures)
Not even self-styled ‘Gü-meister’ James Averdieck managed to predict just how successful his range of luxury chocolate desserts would become. As well as being one of The Grocer’s Star Products in our last Top Products Survey, the brand has also taken part in our ‘A Year in the Life’ of series charting the progress of five new brands.
Last July, Averdieck claimed Gü, which is made by Rensow Patisserie, would become a £1m brand in its first year. With claimed sales running at just under £100,000 a week, and a much-coveted listing with Tesco lined up for next month, Averdieck is radically recrunching those numbers.
Confectionery (chocolate)
swiss delice
Launched: June 2003
Sales: £1.2m (company figures,
to June 2004)
Swiss retail and manufacturing giant Migros launched this premium range of flat and filled block chocolate, as well as biscuits, under the same banner, almost exactly one year ago. Initially finding a home in Waitrose, Somerfield, Makro and Selfridges, wider rollout has led to sales which the company says are 21% above its initial first year target. It also has listings in Tesco, Sainsbury and Woolworth.
Household
bloo acticlean
Launched: October 2003
Sales: £1m (company figures,
to end of May 2004)
Jeyes’ attempt to launch what it says is the market’s first liquid in-cistern product, which automatically dispenses a measured amount of cleaning liquid every time the toilet is flushed, has been a slow burner.
However, sales have already passed the £1m mark and the company insists these have been incremental to the category.
Listings were a little slow, but the product went into Tesco and Asda in February and is now feeling the benefits of the first stage of a £3m marketing allocation.
ice cream
magnum uncovered
Launched: September 2003
Sales: £2.6m (w/e 1/5/04)
A nine-month tally of £2.6m would appear reasonable, but not necessarily for a super-brand like Magnum, particularly when you consider that the core stick range raked in sales of almost £87m last year (Information Resources 52 w/e October 4 2003).
Data from ACNielsen’s consumer panel gives an insight: only 2% of shoppers have tried the tubbed version. However, 15% of those have gone back for more, suggesting the brand could be looking forward to a successful summer.
Laundry
comfort fast dry
Launched: August 2003
Sales: £7.78m (to May 2004)
Persuading consumers to fork out for something they did not know they needed is a skill, but one that laundry manufacturer Lever Fabergé has down to a fine art.
The premium fabric conditioner which is said to help clothes dry faster is supported by a first year multi-media ad spend of £7m.
Initial indications are reasonable. According to ACNielsen, the brand has achieved more than 60% distribution and claimed a 3% value share of the market.
soft drinks
Lakeland willow water
Launched: May 2003
Sales: £429,000 (w/e 15/5/04)
Few products have arrived in the market to such a blitz of positive press. Coverage in The Grocer of how the new H2O contained salicin, a ‘natural aspirin’, generated dozens of column inches in the consumer press and even won it a spot on ITV’s This Morning. At the end of last year, The Grocer also revealed how more and more consumers were testifying to the water’s healing qualities and it has even been credited with helping to save the life of a top racehorse.
Sourced from the Cartmel Valley, the brand has attracted a loyal band of followers. However, with sales yet to hit the £500,000 mark according to ACNielsen’s latest count, the brand has more potential.
soup
Loyd Grossman
Launched: October 2003
Sales: £1.8m (w/e 8/5/04)
The gastro guru, already a major player in cooking sauces, seems to have successfully made the transition into soup under his collaboration with Premier Foods. Four flavours - Tomato & Basil, Chicken & Vegetable, Carrot & Coriander and Four Mushroom - have been available in ambient pouches. The microwaveable offerings have benefited from a £600,000 press and poster campaign this year, with promising results.
Frozen
wall’s balls
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £7.1m (w/e 17/4/0)
There is often little warming about sales figures in the frozen arena with all five sub-sectors surveyed in last year’s Top Products Survey showing sales drops.
However, Wall’s Balls from Kerry Foods would appear to be flying the flag for the category. The bite-sized balls of sausage meat in crumb coating have made the most of a £2m, first-year marketing spend.
According to ACNielsen, latest available weekly sales were hovering around the £65,000 mark, although the brand reached a weekly high of more than £170,000 at the beginning of February, signalling that it appears to be a kids’ winter favourite.
åhot beverages
takeone
Launched: September 2003
Sales: £200,000
(company figures)
A slow start has conspired against this particular offering getting an extra star.
Teaming up with Allied Domecq to produce a range of liqueur-flavoured hot chocolates and coffees was a coup for own label specialist Fine Foods International.
And the six-strong sachet range - made up of Malibu- and Tia Maria-flavoured hot chocolates and cappuccinos, and two plain white coffees - is beginning to gain momentum with listings in Tesco, Asda, Safeway and Somerfield.
cereals
capespan muesli
Launched: January 2003
Sales: £748,000 (MAT to
w/e 17/4/04)
If this were a school report then the phrase “has potential, must try harder” might apply. Rolling out in three varieties under the Cape and Fyffes banner, weekly sales have consistently been at the £10,000-£15,000 mark, says ACNielsen. But as the products received encouraging remarks from the consumer and buyer surveyed in The Grocer’s Acid Test, the figure must disappoint.
cooking sauces
ken hom cooks...
Launched: June 2003
Sales: £371,000 (w/e 17/4/04)
Westmill Foods is still waiting for some magic from this range, produced in collaboration with wok wizard Ken Hom. According to ACNielsen the pan-Asian convenience range of nine sauces, together with microwaveable rices and the UK’s first microwaveable noodles, have only managed a 21% rate of distribution.
soft drinks
virgin sours
Launched: September 2003
Sales: £510,000 (company
figures to June 2004)
Shifting more than half a million bottles of this new three-strong kids range wouldn’t appear too bad in eight months on shelf, but it’s not big league. Manufacturer Princes Soft Drinks insists there is more to come from the carbonated offering. In addition, it claims that Sours was affected by the failure of rival Britvic’s Strange Soda earlier this year..
Four Star
Two Star
One Star
All figures from ACNielson unless stated otherwise
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