According to data from Wrigley, in its first months on the market Extra Thin Ice had become the number one mint and gum line with a 6.9% value share. Its cash rate of sale was 16% higher than Extra Peppermint single pack sales, and in the multiple grocers the new product was outselling Extra Peppermint by 29% [all data: ACNielsen]. This success has been achieved despite the premium price point commanded by the product, which carries a recommended retail price of 75p.
Detailed consumer work
These statistics caught the eye of the judges who were particularly impressed by the fact that the volume generated by Extra Thin Ice was incremental to the mother brand in other words the new product grows the category rather than stealing sales from existing products.
The launch was underpinned by detailed consumer work to gauge the level of interest for such a product with 92% of adults saying they were interested in the concept, and most unfazed by the price. There was also strong trade activity to support its roll-out including a direct mail campaign to 45,000 independent retailers and the siting of 250,000 items of point-of-purchase material (which played a key role in educating consumers about the product).
It all adds up to a successful launch of a really clever piece of new product development and one helping grow overall sales in a category. Despite feeling a bit gimmicky, the judges say that the experience from across the Atlantic suggests such technology goes down well with consumers.
This final choice was not without controversy. Listerine launched something similar in the US a couple of years back, and owner Pfizer has launched that product in the UK thanks to a tie-up with Cadbury Trebor Bassett. Our judges were aware of the competition indeed one was carrying a sample of the Listerine variant.
But they thought that as a number of companies around the world had worked on this kind of technology, Wrigley deserved its accolade for being the first to bring it to market in the UK.
There will be room for only one dissolvable mint strips product. And the judges are confident that, thanks in part to its strong mother brand, Extra Thin Ice will be the eventual winner.
But how did Wrigley Extra Thin Ice reach the shortlist? Well, over the past year, The Grocer tracked the progress of branded product launches in a number of core categories. Using benchmarking data, we identified the best-performing new launches. From this selection, our panel of retailers and marketers chose a shortlist comprising products they felt were truly innovative; the sort of new product development that had captured the imagination of consumers to make a real impact on the grocery market.
As the shortlist below shows, competition was stiff. But what swung our judges behind Extra Thin Ice was that it passed the key test, namely: does it have any wow factor? Our judges believe it represents the kind of product launch any brand manager would want under their belt so that in years to come they could look back and say: I did that.'
>>Next week: find out why Sainsbury scooped the Gold Award for best own label range development
{{ANALYSIS }}
Detailed consumer work
These statistics caught the eye of the judges who were particularly impressed by the fact that the volume generated by Extra Thin Ice was incremental to the mother brand in other words the new product grows the category rather than stealing sales from existing products.
The launch was underpinned by detailed consumer work to gauge the level of interest for such a product with 92% of adults saying they were interested in the concept, and most unfazed by the price. There was also strong trade activity to support its roll-out including a direct mail campaign to 45,000 independent retailers and the siting of 250,000 items of point-of-purchase material (which played a key role in educating consumers about the product).
It all adds up to a successful launch of a really clever piece of new product development and one helping grow overall sales in a category. Despite feeling a bit gimmicky, the judges say that the experience from across the Atlantic suggests such technology goes down well with consumers.
This final choice was not without controversy. Listerine launched something similar in the US a couple of years back, and owner Pfizer has launched that product in the UK thanks to a tie-up with Cadbury Trebor Bassett. Our judges were aware of the competition indeed one was carrying a sample of the Listerine variant.
But they thought that as a number of companies around the world had worked on this kind of technology, Wrigley deserved its accolade for being the first to bring it to market in the UK.
There will be room for only one dissolvable mint strips product. And the judges are confident that, thanks in part to its strong mother brand, Extra Thin Ice will be the eventual winner.
But how did Wrigley Extra Thin Ice reach the shortlist? Well, over the past year, The Grocer tracked the progress of branded product launches in a number of core categories. Using benchmarking data, we identified the best-performing new launches. From this selection, our panel of retailers and marketers chose a shortlist comprising products they felt were truly innovative; the sort of new product development that had captured the imagination of consumers to make a real impact on the grocery market.
As the shortlist below shows, competition was stiff. But what swung our judges behind Extra Thin Ice was that it passed the key test, namely: does it have any wow factor? Our judges believe it represents the kind of product launch any brand manager would want under their belt so that in years to come they could look back and say: I did that.'
>>Next week: find out why Sainsbury scooped the Gold Award for best own label range development
{{ANALYSIS }}
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