innocent's veg pots: pots of money, or not?

Back in April I posted on the innocent smoothies AGM, and their vision to become "The Earth's favourite little FOOD company". This suggested brand stretching beyond drinks was on the way.

Well, here we are in September and the first extension is on the shelves: innocent veg pots. (Rumours of a breakfast pot turned out to be, well, rumours.)

So, will these pots make pots of money for innocent? I'm sorry to say that I think the answer to this is "no". I hope I'm wrong, as I'm an innocent fan.

Issue 1 (a non-issue): breaking brand associations
In their own words, innocent is famous for "tasty little drinks". The brand equities could be summarised simply as:
- sausage/product: healthy, tasty, fresh, fruit (100%), drinks

- sizzle/personality: funky, fun, friendly personality.

The veg pots break one of these equities, by going from drinks into food. They bend another by going from fruit to veg. The packaging is full of innocent-style copy from Dan and the team (e.g. "No vegetables were harmed in the making of this product, apart from a bit of light chopping")

But you know what? Brand equity is not what will make or break the veg pots. There are millions of innocent fans who would love to try new products from the brand.

The real challenge: breaking the business model
The bigger challenge with innocent veg pots, as with most brand extensions, is not brand equity, its the business model.

On the up-side, these pots have a juicy 3 portions of veg, tapping into a real need to help us get our recommended 5 portions of fruit & veg a day. But, there are several barriers to success:

1. Creating a new category and usage occasion: Veg pots are a new type of product altogether. Now, get this right and you can win big of course as you can have 100% of the new market. But its quite hard to explain what they are. "Like a soup, but thicker and with bits". innocent call them "veg with edge".  I think it may be a challenge to get people to try once.

2. Getting into the repertoire: innocent not only have got to persuade people to try the product once. They have to re-wire peoples' brains so a veg pot becomes a habitual lunch option. And there are two more things that will make this very hard...

3. Price-point: This is a killer. These pots cost a pot of money at £3.50 (4.5 Euros/$6). That's a super-expensive at-home lunch option, for what is a 1 to 1.5 portion serving. For example, a 2-person carton of chilled soup is about half the price. So that's a 400% price per serving premium. Ow.

4. Product quality: unfortunately the product I tried (Tuscan Bean Stew) was very average. Bland, and not that tasty at all :-(

5. Taking on the retailers: check out the chilled food section in your supermarket. Which brands do you see? Very, very few. Retail brands in the UK have 90%+ of this fast growing market sown up. And they innovate like crazy, using a host of 3rd party suppliers. One of the only brands to have succeeded is Covent Garden chilled soups, but they've been at it for 20 years. So far, veg pots are in the upmarket Waitrose store only. The other retail chains may watch and see what happens, but they may not be that keen on giving chilled shelf-space to innocent.

The risk: "new toy sydrome"
The risk with the veg pot is that this "new toy" distracts management time and resources away from the core smoothies business. A shame, as there is still plenty of opportunity to grow the core (e.g. in the UK prompted awareness is c.85%, but trial is only 10%). Also, this is a time when the brand is under attack from Pepsicos' Tropicana. 

So, I'm sorry to put this in the "miss" column of predicted Hits n' Misses for 2009.

STOP PRESS: Seems that my concerns on the core smoothie business were, I'm sorry to say, spot on. Latest Nielsen data for 24 weeks to Sep shows a, gulp, 21% drop in value sales. This is attributed to the credit crunch, which is part of it. However, I suggest this is also due to : i) increased competition, including lower priced offer from Tropicana, ii) attention spent on extensions like veg pots, not on growing the core, iii) failure to drive price down on innocent smoothies over time, to make them more accessible

Comments

[food stylist toronto]

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food stylist toronto

[Josh]

, if you actually take a look at the link for pizza LOUNGE, you'll notcie that they are one of the best vegan pizza shops in town - meaning, they have a *ton* of vegan options available on their pizza - including vegan cheese. So, if you're that married to it and don't know what to do, it's still an option, even at Vegan Drinks.We hope you come out and give it a try some time!

[Pal]

Ha ha, that was great. Nice trip down memory lane cathcy tune too, I'll probably have it going round my head for the next hour now! I'm sure it rings a bell though from when I was a youngster. Maybe he's been on a health trip for longer than we realised? ~ James

[Kayi]

DavId VenusGreat post Laura! Nice to see some ‘Tough Love’ handed out. I wish I was there to sign up! I just hope nodboy confuses simple' with easy' on this one you need to have all your ducks in a row right from the get-go! I suggest you use Sunday to PLAN YOUR ASSAULT!!!

[minkcoat]

just tried the thai pot - can't believe there are 3 of my 5 a day in this small pot considering how much vegetables cook down - is there any proof of content? Also incredibly bland and the yellow peas almost raw. Never again!

[Gisele]

Emily Dickey - Holy Moly that is one ADORABLE kid. He has the sweetest lttlie face. Those are amazing pics! So sad to think he will look completely different in like a week:( He'll still be stunningly precious, but probably with a bigger belly and some chipmunk cheeks? Teehee

[Leila]

I think a trick is being missed here that the offer should not be 2 for £5 on the pots but should be combined with a bottle of smoothie so that you could get all 5 of your recommended 5 a day on an Innocent meal deal. They might get kicked out of the meal deal market on price but I am sure there is enough brand loyalty to make it worth carrying on a promotion like that. Just a thought...

[Suze]

I think these pots will win through with a little tweaking. I don't buy the smoothies very often but I do buy these pots every week. I agree I think the pricing policy is slightly on the high side. £3 would make me buy more of them. I would also agree that sometimes they seem to lack something in the flavour department and find myself adding salt...not so healthy. But to be able to bung them in the microwave at work and scrub 3 portions of veg off my list at the same time - brilliant.

[vanessa]

hey guys !!! Me too, I tried it !!! Much later than all of you, reason being that I don't really do take away food but I was on my way back from a nice w-e, quite late and couldn't be bothered by cooking isn' it.... I passed Sainsbury's and I bought two of them (marocco one and thaï), I don't remember the price of it but I didn't really check that, I wouldn't go for it if I would find it too expensive anyway, I think it was 2 for £5 ... well, result : fantastic !!!! I'm just a fan, it was really tasty and so original, I'm glad I finally find something with just veg' apart some boring soups .... I really recommend it ;) much better than having a sandwich for lunch (even homemade one). Cheers and thank you Innocent for your creativity ;)

[Aurelie]

I pay £2.99 at Tesco and everything that remain under £3.00 is good for me. I guess its more of a visual think, as if I see the number 3 even if its £3.01 I will not buy it.
Anyway I have been buying then every working day for my lunch for about 3 weeks and I lost 3KG. I just hope they are going to come out with some extra taste as I am quite bored of them now.

[Matt Hurst]

Hey David,

You ask whether people will be able to stomach the price - I think so!

Admittedly, I've avoided buying the Innocent veg pots up until now because I thought that the £3.50 price tag was a little too high.

However, when I went into Sainsbury this morning on the way to work, they were being promoted at 2 for £5. The Sweet Potato Chilli I had for lunch was very tasty - far from bland and very filling too.

I generally spend £4 - £5 a day on lunch, either from a local sandwich shop or salad bar. At £3.50, the price-point is fairly acceptable by comparison, and also a lot healthier. I'll certainly be buying them again.

I do agree that it will be a challenge to get people to try them for the first time - but this is where promotions need to be utilised.

[Delyse]

I love the idea of fresh veg pots, easy quick and nutritious....
BUT, I do find them lacking in flavor which is puzzling because this is easily fixed.
I don't mind the price. If they added more veg variety, the price would be perfect!.

[Cazzy]

I saw 'innocent' veg pots and immediately thought of it as a healthy option. I have one every day for lunch. Yes some are bland but the others are really tasty, and besides there is nothing stopping me from adding a little seasoning myself. Where I work I can't get anything for under £3.50 for lunch so innocent veg pots seem the sensible thing to eat. They are a nice size portion and fill me up and Tesco have them on offer at the moment

[Bill]

I have an Innocent Veg pot every day for lunch. I find having 3 of my 5 a day in one microwavable pot very convenient. Other supermarket veg options are full of iceberg lettuce (no nutrition), rice or other cheap items to fill up the bulk.

As for the expense, it's not really that much. One less coffee, one less vitamin-X tablet per day, etc. As long as the claims of the pots containing 3 of 5 are true, and they're quality vegetables - then its well worth it in my opinion. I'm sure there are other options for £1.50, but as with supermarket wine, you get what you pay for.

[Jack]

I'm an Innocent Pot fan, and have perhaps 2 per week. All I can say is that I would have them every day if they were £2.99.

They tick my boxes on account of being a) Healthy and generally guilt free b) Tasty (especially the spiced ones) and perhaps most importantly c) Filling. The 'health' aspect of them is multiplied by the fact that I don't find myself snacking in the afternoon.

Over the months I've noticed one other potential threat for this brand - I don't know if the shelf life is too short (or again, it may be the price being too high, causing slow sales) but they are regularly to be found discounted in Sainsbury's and Waitrose owing to short use-by date.

This said, they freeze perfectly and I've been known to snap up 6 at £2.50-a-pop. At that price they are a total no-brainer.

[Morgan Woods]

Just had the Morrocan squash tagine bought from Sainsbury. As you hinted above it was a little bland and on the expensive side. I don't drink smoothies as i think they are full of sugar so they had found a new customer in me. I thought they were more for dinner rather than lunch but will give that a go when i'm next at work.

Love the analysis and will check out some of your other posts.

[Wendy]

I have just been introduced in Innocent Tasty Veg Pots through a freinds recommendation and I have to say I LOVE them! They taste great and are really filling. They provide 3 of my 5-a-day which I easily top up to 5 with some fruit, and so far the urge to snack seems to be kept at bay, which is not usually the case with a bog standard sandwich or salad lunch option. £3.50 or not these are going to be a regular lunchtime fix for me.

[Carrie Hayward]

Hi,

I'm a little late here as I only found these veg pots yesterday after moaning to a friend that I am not cooking five types of veg every night when I live on my own, but want to be healthy and not eat these full of rubbish microwave meals.

I have tried the butternut squash one, thai curry one and pea and mint one today - all delicious and healthy - only a couple of things to note: they are on special at the moment, two for five pounds - this is a reasonable price (same price as my sandwich)however, £3.50 is very pricey and if the price was brought down I would eat them everyday but I won't be able to afford to at £3.50.

Also I know we are being healthy but would a bit of ham or bacon be too wicked? I do feel they need just a ickle bit of fish or meat otherwise they will get too boring.

Oh and I did see them as a fruit based drink company but now see them as a healthy eating company! Pity I didn't know about the veg pots before - is there anyway I can find out about new products and when they are on the shelves?

[shaz jenkins]

shaz j
ive just ate one of the pots was very very nice but the price is very very pricey maybe if you lowered the price more people would buy them.i know i would i only lolgot it as it was reduced

[Donna]

I have long been a fan of innocent but almost always buy own brand versions that are a third of the price.

These veg pots look amazing and i'll buy them while they are on offer to get some veg into me, but there is no way i can aford to spend £3.50 on a meal with no meat in it.

I will be buying the own brand versions of veg pots when this craze catches on...sure they aren't made with as much love, quality or attention, but then i can't justify the extra cost for a product only marginally better.

[Nick]

Innocent veg pots have completely won me over for several reasons

1) Taste. Completely subjective obviously but for me they are all taste really good. It's more substantial with more varied ingredients than a soup.

2) Nutrition. No flavourings, no additives, 'no dodgy stuff' as the Innocent people say. Moreover, 'veg pots' contain starchy food like rice and couscous, which should make up the bulk of any meal but which soups lack.

3) Convenience. Reasonable-sized warm meal done in a few minutes in the microwave with no washing-up. I'm so sick of losing time making meals and washing up that this is very important to me.

The killer is the nutritious + convenience. There's plenty of nutritious food and plenty of convenient food but very very little that's both. For that combination I don't mind paying extra.

Obviously I can only speak for myself but I suspect there's a growing market for food that simultaneously nutritious, convenient and substantial.

[Sannse]

These just hit Tescos, and my first impression is: "Yummy!"

And from a consumer point of view (I've no business knowledge) the branding feels right... I think of the smoothies as "healthy/tasty/fresh/goodness", and feel I'll easily transfer that to veg.

Still, I'm not so sure I will buy once the introductory price is gone, and I can't even buy a pile now for freezing.

[David Taylor (brandgym)]

Chloe,

Thanks for joining in the conversation.

I can see where you come from regarding "meeting in the middle". But this focuses on brand equity, which is for me not the issue. The real challenge is the business model:
- Can innocent distribute and market this product at a reasonable price, given the need to give the retail trade a big margin, pay for the ingredients, invest to create a new category etc.

This is where many brand extensions fall down. We focus too much on brand equity, and not enough on business model profitability.

David

[Chloe]

And I agree with Amelia - the brand for me stands for a simple approach - fresh ingredients put together to make a quick, consumable, easy healthy meal (or drink).

When you think about it, a smoothie is a drink that's slightly more like a food. Veg pots are a food that's slightly more like a soup. It all meets in the middle.

[Mark Slaviero]

Hi I disagree with a few of you here. I don't buy Innocent Smoothies but stumbled across these at Sainsbury's and they are wonderful - low calories, fresh tasting and whips our small village sandwich options any day! I have to add that I bought 6 - the reason being the 2 for £5, which made it very reasonable. At the full price I think I will continue to purchase but in moderation!