Seriously Nutty Maple, Pecan & Popcorn Muesli

waitrose seriously nutty popcorn muesli

Who: Waitrose

What: Seriously Nutty Maple, Pecan & Popcorn Muesli

Where: Muesli & granola

How much: Rsp: £4.10 for 550g

Why: Popcorn is booming in the UK. Sales rose 25.4% to £85.7m last year as consumers turned to healthier bagged alternatives to potato crisps [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 3 January 2016]. This Waitrose cereal hopes to tap shoppers’ taste for all things popcorn. Available under the Seriously Nutty range, it offers a mix of maple-flavoured barley and toasted wheat flakes, with dates, vine fruit, popcorn, almonds, pecans & hazelnuts.

Consumer verdict: More than 80% of consumer panellists thought this muesli offered something new to the category. However, the inclusion of popcorn was received with hesitancy. Some testers reported that the mix was “wrong”, while others said it was a “bad idea for breakfast”. The combination of the premium price and the failure to deliver on expectations led to 60% of panellists saying they would never buy the product, and a further 31% reporting they would only buy if it was on special offer.

Pre-trial purchase: 27%

Post-trial purchase: 12%

Better than what’s out there: 20%

New and different: 82%

Overall score: 26/50