Protein continued its seemingly unstoppable rise, dairy regained breakfast, and men became the focus for many new brands.
The story started coming together in the first quarter with the launch of Powerful Yogurt, the first Greek yogurt in the US designed for men. Accompanied by a memorably amusing advertising campaign that quickly went viral, and included the phrases For men, by men and Find your inner abs, Powerful Yogurt featured 20-25g of protein in each ‘man-sized’ 8oz serving, from larger than usual pots, which themselves included sculpted ‘abs’.
Powerful wasn’t the first yogurt aimed squarely at men. That distinction goes to Fonterra’s Mammoth Supply Company brand in New Zealand, which launched in late 2010. With its heavy-looking tubs, it featured the on-pack slogan This is men’s yogurt and you’re a man … now find a spoon, fork or spade and dig in.
So when Arla launched Wing-Co, chocolate-flavoured milk drink ‘containing 40% more protein than most other chocolate milks’ a few weeks after the Powerful Yogurt launch, the slogan and stance rang bells. Aimed at the category identified as ‘Balanced Blokes’ (typically men aged 30-40), Wing-Co’s advertising slogan said Get some added man and The manly chocolate milk for men – with added man.
This focus on men and dairy seemed clear enough for us to single it out as a trend, but then as if to endorse this decision, Danone in Bulgaria went a step further and launched a brand actually called Danone for Men, and guess what? The visuals showed a fork next to the yogurt pot!
Leaving aside Greek yogurt, the other trend that began (or at least gained great attention) at the start of 2013 was what I dubbed ‘Breakfast in a bottle.’ Facing stalled cereal sales in the US and inspired by the success of Up & Go – Liquid Breakfast from the Australian health food company Sanitarium a couple of years ago, Kellogg and General Mills almost simultaneously announced the launch of ‘on the go’ liquid breakfast products. As consumers ditched the traditional stay-at-home breakfast in favour of a breakfast either on their way to, or at, work, resealable bottled and carton-packs proved the ideal packaging for this new category.
Kellogg’s Breakfast to go, featuring 10g of protein and 5g of fibre per bottle, came a little ahead of General Mills’ BFast featuring 8g of protein and 3g of fibre, while promising ‘the nutrition of a bowl of cereal and milk’.
Other liquid breakfast products soon followed, including Be fast – Breakfast on the go, from Lacka Foods and Fuel Breakfast Milk which features 20g of protein per 330ml pack. The launch was significant, because it was the first ever drink to be merchandised in the cereal aisle, sitting alongside other Fuel products, including granola and porridge pots.
And what was the strangest ‘breakfast’ drink of 2013? Well it wasn’t a fruit smoothie or a dairy-based drink. In fact it was a carbonated soft drink, when in February, PepsiCo suggested that its target audience of young men should ‘kickstart’ their day with Mountain Dew Kickstart!
And what will we see in 2014? I predict simply more of the same, and not just more, but better too! And what else? How important will Greek yogurt be next year? What flavour will knock salted caramel off its top spot, and who isn’t looking to stevia on the one hand or maple on the other, for a little added sweetness?
Share your thoughts with me.
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