In 1974, Gerber, a baby food enterprise, tries to extend its brand to the adult food market. Willing not to spend too much money in new manufacturing tools or in brand re-positioning, Gerber decided that the niche market of the single living adults would suit its expertise. Single people don't need to buy a lot of food at the same time, they only need small portions. And this is how Gerber launched a baby-food-jar similar product range for adults. I have to admit that they thought about that very carefully, since nothing is omitted : vegetables, appetizers, mashed potatoes and meat, desserts... You could truly feed you with that single brand.
The for-adults-baby-jars
Thing is that the company didn't think about the consumer's motivation. Why would this single 35 years olds man buy this product ? So that he remembers that he is alone ? Or that, as he is single, he cannot be seen as an accomplished adult ? Or that not only he is single but he also doesn't have friends to go out and eat with ? The product range didn't work at all and has quickly been removed form the shelves. No need to ask if Gerber did a market research before its launch. If it had done that maybe it could have been one of today's leader in the single-portion food, in plastic or aluminium package, that are made for busy people...
Moral of the story : The end justifies the means... Or maybe not !
No comments:
Post a Comment