Excerpted from Reuters, “Foodmakers tout innovation to battle imitation” by Nicole Maestri, March 19, 2009
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If imitation is the best form of flattery, foodmakers are finding themselves dealing with an inordinate number of compliments these days.
As the recession crimps household budgets, retailers like Wal-Mart and Target are increasingly looking to woo shoppers with their own private label, or store brand, food items that often look very similar to name brand products but are sold at lower prices.
Foodmakers are defending their turf … they say that they are the ones who develop innovative new products and spend marketing dollars to draw shoppers into retailers’ stores.
They acknowledge that retailers are giving them a run for their money, introducing better products at a faster pace and squeezing out tertiary brands in the process… Seeking to woo frugal shoppers, retailers are giving more shelf space to their own brands and stepping up promotions… The question now looms as to whether retailers will make the leap from simply imitating name brand foods to innovating on their own.
“The entire retail trade has become energized very quickly to bring out products that compete with branded package food,”
Wal-Mart is relaunching its Great Value private brand, adding more than 80 new products, like double-stuffed sandwich cookies and organic cage-free eggs.
Consumers really take notice of private label products when the price gap between a name brand item and a store brand one reaches more than 30 percent.
Cexclusively on price is potentially a good short-term tactic, but long-term you really want to build your brand and what it stands for in consumers’ minds.”
“If you introduce a new product, no one really knows what the price of that product should be,” he said. That allows foodmakers to set an initial price and build in a hefty margin before imitators come into the space, he said. It can also help sell higher-priced items amid a recession.
Unilever’s Bertolli frozen dinners, which are marketed as “restaurant quality.” While they may be more expensive than other frozen dinners, they are priced “at about a 40 percent value to take-out food or restaurant food.”
Shoppers feel like they are getting a deal when they buy Bertolli because they spent less than they would have in a restaurant, even though the meals are more expensive than other items in the frozen food aisle.
With retailers increasingly eyeing private label, it has become crucial for foodmakers to make sure they have the No. 1 or No. 2 brand in their categories. Brands that cannot distinguish themselves face losing shelf space.
“I wouldn’t want to be a number three, four or five brand that wasn’t differentiated.”
While the recession may create chaos as retailers and foodmakers compete for thrifty shoppers, it remains to be seen if private label can keep its allure once the tough times recede.
“As we get out of this recession, will consumers then look back to their favorite brand or not?”
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Full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE52I5P420090319?sp=true
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