The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry thrives on new brand introductions. That's what tends to drive consumer interest and boost a company's overall sales. Historically, that's been true year after year.

Well not last year – 2009, a year unique in so many ways, reversed the trend of new food brands outperforming brand extensions. Instead, brand extensions dominated "New Product Pacesetters," according to a report just released by research firm Information Resources Inc. (IRI).

Remarkably, each of the Top 10 food and beverage brands was a brand extension. The top three on the list were Campbell's Select Harvest, Bud Light Lime, and Arnold Select Sandwich Thins. The rankings are based on the total Year One dollar sales across food, drug, and mass channels, excluding Wal-Mart. "Very few new products really hit it big," says IRI. "Marketers that have established a strong brand equity are working to maintain relevance by 'tweaking' existing lines."Continue reading...

Fascinating, counterintuitive data coming out of a year-long consumer behavior study finds that Kraft, Coca-Cola and Tide are the three brands least likely to be traded for store brands. The study should worry name brand owners, since "only 37% of consumers say name brands are more reliable, and 39% believe name brands are better quality products."

The data are edifying. Age breakdowns show consumers growing less brand loyal (and more price-conscious) as they get older. The huge numbers who are turning to private labels find Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Target to be the stores with the best selections.

An executive for the Integer Group, the conductor of the study, summarized the dilemma for many nationally advertised brands: "With this many shoppers doing price-comparison, name brands need to act now in order to keep consumers - and beyond the recession, entice consumers to return."Continue reading...

Clorox wants to be loved by moms. The company's website promises tips on how “to create a clean and sanitary environment for their little new one,” keep those first-day-of-school clothes looking fresh, and help freshmen college students with laundry.

But according to a mystifying Clorox ad that seems to pop up every time I watch Mad Men, while mom's doing the laundry, her husband is off smooching his secretary.

The Clorox ad features a man’s white, lipstick-stained dress shirt, and reads: “Clorox. Getting ad guys out of hot water for generations.”Continue reading...

IRI Times and Trends reports an explosion of brand equity for private labels:

Private label unit share has grown 1.2 points to 22.8 percent and dollar share has grown 0.7 points to 17.6 percent across all outlets in the past 12 months.

Safeway’s O Organics and Supervalu’s Wild Harvest now approach established brand name packaged goods in value. Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009 report cites Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour and Target as private label brand leaders, but also notes a great deal of missed opportunity:

Many retailers are still following the tired and expected formula of emulating national brands, rather than learning from the successful European model of developing a new vernacular and creating destination brands in their own right.Continue reading...