One year on from taking the top job at Müller, Andrew Harrison talks of the power of the holy trinity with Simon Mowbray
Andrew Harrison has had a good year. Sales are ticking along nicely, the company’s first masterbrand-style campaign, Lead a Müller Life, is a huge hit with consumers and he’s got the green light for an eight-and-a-half hectare factory development that will create some 300 jobs and significantly increase production capacity.
Harrison certainly seems relaxed as we meet in his plush office at Müller’s 12ha administrative and manufacturing base in the Shropshire countryside near Market Drayton. Shirt sleeves are the order of the day, and Harrison is in the mood to be very helpful. Helpful to point out the impact the latest £20m TV push has had and helpful enough to push his views on why dairy has a great story to tell in a modern, health-conscious world.
You can hardly blame him. After all, his previous working stint was in the lion’s den that is confectionery as head of marketing at Nestlé Rowntree.
However, Harrison is also quick to point out that it’s not just been a case of letting the company run itself. Acknowledging his predecessor Ken Wood’s excellent record in building up the business into what it is today, Harrison says taking over at Müller’s UK arm at the start of last year was like taking on the responsibility of guiding the company through its coming of age.
“Müller started in the UK in 1986,” Harrison explains, “so it was 18 years old when I came in. It was like taking on a child as it goes into the bigger world, I guess.”
Certainly, there were tough new measures to push through as Harrison implemented the no-nonsense 10% price rise Wood had envisaged for the brand in 2004, Muller’s first price rise for eight years. “We had not taken a price rise for a long, long time but we could at least emphasise (to retailers) that we were well overdue for one, particularly as were facing rising costs, for example, on plastic (for pots) and fruit. But the critical thing was that we were able to say to retailers ‘look, this is a great category but we do need to add value to it’.”
This is true. According to The Grocer’s last Top Products Survey (December 11, 2004), sales of Müller’s core yogurts business fell in value 3.5%, despite the company being the undisputed captain of its category. Complacency is also not an option with both Nestlé (primarily with its Ski brand) and Danone, which owns Shape, attempting to steal market share.
This has prompted a flurry of activity from Müller under Harrison with developments including the replacement of Kellogg’s cereals in favour of McVitie’s biscuits favourites on its Corners range, a new premium range called Amoré and Müllerlight’s entry into yogurt drinks. The company’s low-fat probiotic offering, Vitality, also continues to go from strength to strength to claim a respectable third place in dairy drinks behind Actimel and Yakult. Harrison also hopes to make a stir with the Cadbury brand after poaching it from Uniq last May.
The sole blip has been the doomed Fröot yogurt and drink sub-brand, which had caused a stir elsewhere in Europe but failed to impress British customers during a trial at Sainsbury last year. Nevertheless, making a success of his first crack as the head of an fmcg giant seems very important to Harrison.
Although Harrison’s pedigree in fmcg is impressive - 11 years at P&G working on the likes of Daz, Ariel and Pampers - his time at Nestlé Rowntree did not end on a sweet note. Having made little secret of his ambition for the top job at the confectionery giant, Harrison’s decision to leave the business was sealed a little over a year ago when retiring MD John Sunley was replaced with no-nonsense New Zealander Chris White. Insult was added to Harrison’s injury at not getting the top job when White did little to hide the fact he questioned the departing Harrison’s success as marketing director after claiming Nestlé Rowntree was a “business in crisis” as he breezed in through the corporate revolving door.
The episode clearly rankles. Harrison says: “I know my record at Rowntree stands scrutiny. I am more than happy to look at my results here over three years and Chris’s results over the same period and let people draw their own conclusions.” Then he adds, and it really does appear sincerely: “But I genuinely wish them well. I still have a great fondness for that business.”
Maybe so, but right now he is far fonder of the business he is now heading and is happy to give more than just a hint or two as to future strategies. “Our category is growing 9% a year, so it’s a fabulous place to be and we still see opportunities for further growth.
“There are three micro trends we are focusing on, which we call the ‘holy trinity’ - healthier eating, deliciousness and convenience. There is strong consumer demand for all three and yogurt and dairy are in a great position to capitalise. A lot of the conversations we are having with the retailers are about pushing growth even further at a time when other categories are really under pressure.”
Moving into “adjacent” categories is one option, adds Harrison. “The business looked at ice cream a few years ago, before my time here, and the conclusion was there was so much growth to go at in yogurt that the time was not right. But those are the sort of opportunities that are available. We know a lot about dairy production and chilled distribution and it is all about leveraging that.”
Watch this space.
A year into the job, what has pleased you most about the Müller brand?
It is your classic mass market leader. Our household penetration is around 80% over the course of a year. Consumers genuinely love the brand and we have been inundated with messages of support for our Lead a Müller Life advertising campaign.
What does the factory extension mean for the business?
It will double our production capacity in time and will give us a number of opportunities as the business grows to explore new avenues, either with the licences that we have, such as Cadbury, or in the growing sectors of the market with our own brand.
1987: Graduates from Durham University with a 2:1 honours degree in English. Joins P&G’s marketing department the same year, starting an 11-year association with the fmcg giant. Harrison works his way up from a brand assistant on Daz to become brand manager for Pampers then Fairy Liquid, before being made brand manager for Ireland
1994: Appointed marketing manager for Ariel. Spends two years as marketing director for health and beauty products in Portugal before returning to the UK as marketing director for hair care
1998: Joins Coca-Cola GB as marketing director working across a portfolio including Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite and Lilt. Also manages the Schweppes/Dr Pepper acquisition from Cadbury
2000: Director of marketing for UK confectionery at Nestlé Rowntree, leading a team of 70
2004: Appointed MD of Müller Dairy (UK)
Q&A
CV
Andrew Harrison has had a good year. Sales are ticking along nicely, the company’s first masterbrand-style campaign, Lead a Müller Life, is a huge hit with consumers and he’s got the green light for an eight-and-a-half hectare factory development that will create some 300 jobs and significantly increase production capacity.
Harrison certainly seems relaxed as we meet in his plush office at Müller’s 12ha administrative and manufacturing base in the Shropshire countryside near Market Drayton. Shirt sleeves are the order of the day, and Harrison is in the mood to be very helpful. Helpful to point out the impact the latest £20m TV push has had and helpful enough to push his views on why dairy has a great story to tell in a modern, health-conscious world.
You can hardly blame him. After all, his previous working stint was in the lion’s den that is confectionery as head of marketing at Nestlé Rowntree.
However, Harrison is also quick to point out that it’s not just been a case of letting the company run itself. Acknowledging his predecessor Ken Wood’s excellent record in building up the business into what it is today, Harrison says taking over at Müller’s UK arm at the start of last year was like taking on the responsibility of guiding the company through its coming of age.
“Müller started in the UK in 1986,” Harrison explains, “so it was 18 years old when I came in. It was like taking on a child as it goes into the bigger world, I guess.”
Certainly, there were tough new measures to push through as Harrison implemented the no-nonsense 10% price rise Wood had envisaged for the brand in 2004, Muller’s first price rise for eight years. “We had not taken a price rise for a long, long time but we could at least emphasise (to retailers) that we were well overdue for one, particularly as were facing rising costs, for example, on plastic (for pots) and fruit. But the critical thing was that we were able to say to retailers ‘look, this is a great category but we do need to add value to it’.”
This is true. According to The Grocer’s last Top Products Survey (December 11, 2004), sales of Müller’s core yogurts business fell in value 3.5%, despite the company being the undisputed captain of its category. Complacency is also not an option with both Nestlé (primarily with its Ski brand) and Danone, which owns Shape, attempting to steal market share.
This has prompted a flurry of activity from Müller under Harrison with developments including the replacement of Kellogg’s cereals in favour of McVitie’s biscuits favourites on its Corners range, a new premium range called Amoré and Müllerlight’s entry into yogurt drinks. The company’s low-fat probiotic offering, Vitality, also continues to go from strength to strength to claim a respectable third place in dairy drinks behind Actimel and Yakult. Harrison also hopes to make a stir with the Cadbury brand after poaching it from Uniq last May.
The sole blip has been the doomed Fröot yogurt and drink sub-brand, which had caused a stir elsewhere in Europe but failed to impress British customers during a trial at Sainsbury last year. Nevertheless, making a success of his first crack as the head of an fmcg giant seems very important to Harrison.
Although Harrison’s pedigree in fmcg is impressive - 11 years at P&G working on the likes of Daz, Ariel and Pampers - his time at Nestlé Rowntree did not end on a sweet note. Having made little secret of his ambition for the top job at the confectionery giant, Harrison’s decision to leave the business was sealed a little over a year ago when retiring MD John Sunley was replaced with no-nonsense New Zealander Chris White. Insult was added to Harrison’s injury at not getting the top job when White did little to hide the fact he questioned the departing Harrison’s success as marketing director after claiming Nestlé Rowntree was a “business in crisis” as he breezed in through the corporate revolving door.
The episode clearly rankles. Harrison says: “I know my record at Rowntree stands scrutiny. I am more than happy to look at my results here over three years and Chris’s results over the same period and let people draw their own conclusions.” Then he adds, and it really does appear sincerely: “But I genuinely wish them well. I still have a great fondness for that business.”
Maybe so, but right now he is far fonder of the business he is now heading and is happy to give more than just a hint or two as to future strategies. “Our category is growing 9% a year, so it’s a fabulous place to be and we still see opportunities for further growth.
“There are three micro trends we are focusing on, which we call the ‘holy trinity’ - healthier eating, deliciousness and convenience. There is strong consumer demand for all three and yogurt and dairy are in a great position to capitalise. A lot of the conversations we are having with the retailers are about pushing growth even further at a time when other categories are really under pressure.”
Moving into “adjacent” categories is one option, adds Harrison. “The business looked at ice cream a few years ago, before my time here, and the conclusion was there was so much growth to go at in yogurt that the time was not right. But those are the sort of opportunities that are available. We know a lot about dairy production and chilled distribution and it is all about leveraging that.”
Watch this space.
A year into the job, what has pleased you most about the Müller brand?
It is your classic mass market leader. Our household penetration is around 80% over the course of a year. Consumers genuinely love the brand and we have been inundated with messages of support for our Lead a Müller Life advertising campaign.
What does the factory extension mean for the business?
It will double our production capacity in time and will give us a number of opportunities as the business grows to explore new avenues, either with the licences that we have, such as Cadbury, or in the growing sectors of the market with our own brand.
1987: Graduates from Durham University with a 2:1 honours degree in English. Joins P&G’s marketing department the same year, starting an 11-year association with the fmcg giant. Harrison works his way up from a brand assistant on Daz to become brand manager for Pampers then Fairy Liquid, before being made brand manager for Ireland
1994: Appointed marketing manager for Ariel. Spends two years as marketing director for health and beauty products in Portugal before returning to the UK as marketing director for hair care
1998: Joins Coca-Cola GB as marketing director working across a portfolio including Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite and Lilt. Also manages the Schweppes/Dr Pepper acquisition from Cadbury
2000: Director of marketing for UK confectionery at Nestlé Rowntree, leading a team of 70
2004: Appointed MD of Müller Dairy (UK)
Q&A
CV
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