Limited edition flavours are seen by some companies as a way of expanding their customer base, while also keeping existing customers interested. Traditionally implemented in the treats and snacks market, how successful is the limited editions concept? Hugh Westbrook finds out.
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While some companies trade on a tried and trusted product that never changes, others progress through innovation and changing flavours. So how do manufacturers seek to liven up their product base? One way is with the production of ‘Limited Edition’ flavours? But do such products have long-term appeal?
Limited edition flavours tend to be slightly more unusual combinations and are mostly used in the unhealthy snack market, with products such as chocolate, ice cream and crisps the predominant beneficiaries.
Companies who have gone down this road include Nestlé with Kit Kat Editions, Walkers crisps with an array of limited edition flavours, Unilever with Magnum and Cornetto ice creams, United Biscuits with McCoy’s Crisps and Mini Cheddars, and Hershey’s with a variety of chocolate variations in the United States.
Limited editions have been used in a number of countries and with great similarities in approach, though occasionally the flavours vary. While Kit Kat editions may be available in orange in the United Kingdom, in Japan a Green Tea variety is on the shelves. Limited edition recipes have to be culturally appropriate.
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By GlobalDataWinning new customers
Marketing experts see the strategy as a way of drawing new customers in to an existing product, as well as giving existing fans something new to try. Old customers may also return, as people can often be drawn back to a product by a limited edition and will then purchase the core line again on the back of having tried the new innovative version. The strategy also allows companies to try out flavour combinations which would otherwise never see the light of day.
A successful limited edition launch can have positive effects on the brand as a whole. United Biscuits’ Mini Cheddars Peperami produced total sales of £1.5m (US$2.8m) in two 12-week bursts, increasing the sale of other flavours by 25% in the process. Meanwhile, Kit Kat saw sales leap with its orange and mint editions.
There are diverse ways of carrying out the limited edition strategy. Unilever has been able to “create a buzz” around some of its ice cream products, produced under the Wall’s Brand, by its approach to limited editions. The company homes in on one particular product line and produces a range of limited flavours with a common thread specific to that product. In 2003 it was Magnum’s Seven Deadly Sins, in 2004 it was Cornetto’s Love Potions. The company seems certain to repeat the strategy in 2005, though it has not yet been revealed which product will be given such treatment.
The strategy revolves around creating linked products with an array of unusual flavours, and then releasing them every two months. This means that while the limited edition campaign lasts for a sustained period, each flavour is only available for a short time within that timeframe. This has the effect of drawing people in to a longer-term brand while having the benefit of a short-term push behind an individual flavour. The releases are coordinated across Europe, while the original Magnum concept was devised in Australia.
A spokesman told just-food.com that the strategy works well, “partly because there is a lot of advertising. It puts a buzz around ice cream. Everyone knows the existing products, plus limited edition makes people make up their mind quickly. Their convenience and the fact they are a treat makes them work really well.
“Europe as an entity works well for us, especially as there is a good supply chain. For example, our factory in Gloucester produces Cornetto and Magnum for the whole of Europe,” the spokesman said.
Seasonal products
He added that consumers can show some initial irritation when a flavour they have developed a liking for suddenly disappears off the shelf. He said that if a product was hugely successful, the company may consider bringing it out permanently, but conceded, “that hasn’t happened yet”.
While the Wall’s strategy is one of the most sophisticated, the core values behind it are similar to those behind most other limited editions – short-term impact on the market, convenience and indulgence.
Some companies have managed to carry these indulgent ideas into a savoury line. The New Covent Garden Food company has built a strategy around limited editions. Its ‘Soup of the month’ allows it to create more unusual flavours, drawing people in to try its other regular products.
The company’s marketing manager Helen Wilcock told just-food.com: “The idea behind them is that they are more creative and more seasonal, and they tie in with ingredients available at certain times of year.
“Soup of the month is always our number three soup, whatever it is. People home in on it as a sub-brand,” Wilcock said.
Short-term noise
The idea of the monthly soup itself is what is important to consumers, rather than what the specific soup is. Wilcock said consumers are not really unhappy when they are no longer available, “though some such as Thai chicken and butternut squash go on to the core range.”
“It is a way of constantly growing the brand and bringing in new consumers. As a platform it epitomises us, a mix between modern creativity and traditional values,” she said, adding that the fresh soups are part of the impulse sector.
Limited editions do not work for everybody. A spokesman for Cadbury told just-food.com: “We feel they create a little bit of noise in the short-term but we’re interested in building long-term brands and relationships with retailers.”
However, if devised sensibly, limited editions can give a healthy boost to a product range, though they cannot in themselves be enough to prop a product or company up indefinitely if that company’s core lines are not selling well. Their role is to bring attention to the basic products that a manufacturer produces and give a brief boost to sales, before disappearing again. In that sense, limited editions can only perform a limited function.
