Brand Flavors - a recipe for success?

Posted on 24th Apr 2012 by Scott Goodson in Blog

So you already buy a particular brand. You like it…you trust it….you ‘auto-shop’. From the brand’s point of view – job done?

Actually no. It’s one thing to get you to buy a brand. It’s another to keep you interested in it. And some brands have taken a very tasty approach to get your attention this year.

How about a shot of Peanut Butter & Jelly Vodka? Or a bacon-flavored milkshake? No it’s not a late April Fool’s joke. Jack in the Box indeed created a milkshake with a rather porky flavor to promote its new BLT cheeseburger. Van Gogh Imports devised a PB&J vodka. There are even BLT potato chips and special ‘Birthday’ Oreo cookies complete with cake frosting and sprinkles.

Some brands are even joining forces. Taco Bell has teamed up with Doritos chips to create a taco with a unique tasting shell. So they capture not only existing fans of the Taco Bell brand, but also Doritos eaters as well.

It may be a gimmick, it may be a one-hit-wonder, but with the magic words ‘Limited Edition’ brands can create a quick and instant buzz around anything. And we love it.

Some of these brand flavors are a bit trial and error. Some sound a little crazy. Some just feel right. Some are wildly successful like Jim Beam’s Red Stag, one of the brands that we work with at StrawberryFrog.

In a world where brands fight for your attention every second and every hour, creating brand flavors work. It shows a brand’s willingness to experiment and be ‘fun’ without altering the crucial formula that got us buying in and engaging in the first place.

Just changing packaging doesn’t get us hugely interested, and it can be fraught with challenges like when Tropicana changed it box design last year. But giving us a new take on a favorite ensures they stay fresh and flavor of the month and crucially, grows sales. People don’t suddenly buy more Oreos just because the package changes, it usually takes something more and usually not unless there’s something new on the table.

Brand flavors bring new fans into the community.

And these days, brand flavors can be crowd sourced from your brand movement, like in the case of the Sabra Dipping Company, one of the most loved Hummus brands in the land, which crowd sourced one of their new brand flavors last year (another brand StrawberryFrog works with).

Brand flavors get people who wouldn’t otherwise buy the brand to try it – that vital first step for any brand in converting us to loyal customers, then to passionate fans and advocates who’ve joined the brand movement. And that sure gets us talking.