Unilever Bestfoods has taken its year-old Knorr Recipe Kits range back to the drawing board, after sales failed to live up to expectations.
The alterations, which will hit shelves next month, include removing one ingredient from each kit and simplifying on-pack messages, as well as dropping the price point from £2.99 to
£2.49.
The six-strong range, which formed a substantial part of Unilever’s drive to build Knorr into a global brand, only achieved sales of £5m in its first year, despite a support campaign of nearly £10m.
However, a spokesman insisted the company was pleased with the Recipe Kits’ performance overall, particularly in terms of repeat purchase rates. “We were not expecting a direct return from the marketing investment in the initial 12 months,” he explained. “We are effectively creating a new category so we have a longer term three-year plan for establishing the products within the marketplace, with predictions of an exponential sales curve building throughout this period.”
A Fajitas kit replaces Shanghai Black Bean Chicken in the new look range. And the new packs, which are more regular in shape than their predecessors, now read ‘a meal kit for two’.
Alison Dunn, grocery category marketing manager at the Co-operative Group, said the slow sales had been “surprising”.
“The initial concept was fantastic and the packaging seemed spot-on,” she said.
“But the range has not done as well as expected. Simplifying the product is the right way to go as the recipes were probably too complicated, but I think the price point was the real barrier. Bringing it down is a sensible move.”
Mary Carmichael
The alterations, which will hit shelves next month, include removing one ingredient from each kit and simplifying on-pack messages, as well as dropping the price point from £2.99 to
£2.49.
The six-strong range, which formed a substantial part of Unilever’s drive to build Knorr into a global brand, only achieved sales of £5m in its first year, despite a support campaign of nearly £10m.
However, a spokesman insisted the company was pleased with the Recipe Kits’ performance overall, particularly in terms of repeat purchase rates. “We were not expecting a direct return from the marketing investment in the initial 12 months,” he explained. “We are effectively creating a new category so we have a longer term three-year plan for establishing the products within the marketplace, with predictions of an exponential sales curve building throughout this period.”
A Fajitas kit replaces Shanghai Black Bean Chicken in the new look range. And the new packs, which are more regular in shape than their predecessors, now read ‘a meal kit for two’.
Alison Dunn, grocery category marketing manager at the Co-operative Group, said the slow sales had been “surprising”.
“The initial concept was fantastic and the packaging seemed spot-on,” she said.
“But the range has not done as well as expected. Simplifying the product is the right way to go as the recipes were probably too complicated, but I think the price point was the real barrier. Bringing it down is a sensible move.”
Mary Carmichael
No comments yet