Bold Moves: How to Gain Confidence in New Categories
Part of our job at Mission Field is to give CPG companies the confidence to leap into new categories. Blind spots are inevitable when innovating outside of established categories. To avoid those (and the costly pitfalls that can result) and innovate with confidence, I have the remarkable job of helping facilitate a process to explore, test, and reflect on insights that will result in successes at shelf.
For example, I was recently working with a client that was venturing into a new category and targeting a different audience from their norm. Established in the premium juice category, catering to adults, they wanted to innovate a product that would transition them into dairy and appeal to children. Despite the business growth the new product promised, several challenges emerged.
First, traditional tools, such as concept testing using BASES, had initially indicated a positive consumer response to the product, with early strategy decks even suggesting readiness for launch without additional testing. However, these tests, which were designed for products closer to existing benchmarks, were inadequate for the client’s new, more disruptive, concept.
Fortunately, our small market test revealed important issues. At shelf, the product performed poorly due to a lack of differentiation within the new category. The packaging had some issues, too. Responses to packaging in stores can be vastly different from responses to static concepts presented on a page. Although the company was targeting kids with the new product, the packaging failed to convey this. It attracted adult consumers instead.
Ultimately, the client shifted from their national launch plans based on flawed concept tests, saving them millions of dollars on a national launch. They have plans to take their learnings and leverage them. They're not abandoning their intentions of going after that new category and new target, but they're a lot smarter now. The likelihood of success for their future innovation is a lot higher now.
Are you considering a move into a new category? We can help. Get in touch at hello@mission-field.com