Dry soup producer Batchelors has found to its cost that multi-layered segmentation of its broad Cup a Soup brand, and the way this was reflected in the packaging, alienated rather than inspired consumers.
As manufacturers capitalise on successful brand names by multiplying variants, and differentiating more premium options from standard ones, even loyal consumers can be confused. Batchelors now has around 40 different Cup a Soup variants, says brand manager Paul Finch. "Consumers were spending longer than usual at the fixture looking for the flavour they wanted, and some would walk away without a purchase," says Finch. This realisation led to new research and the decision to overhaul segmentation within the brand. As part of this, on-pack graphics and colour coding have been made clearer.
Previously, standard tomato Cup a Soup, tomato with croutons and vegetables and more expensive tomato and basil soup were all positioned in different layers of the range. Now, colour coding differentiates all tomato variants from chicken and vegetable flavours, says Finch.
Batchelors explains that clearer segmentation is necessary as retail shelf-space is squeezed, especially as the smaller retail formats expand. Says Finch: "You don't have that many facings, so it's that much more important for each variant to shout about what it is."
The launch of a 12-serving polyethylene terephthalate (PET) jar of Cup a Soup is this month being supported by a £5m marketing campaign, including TV advertising. Finch admits: "It's strange that a jar hasn't appeared before." But he plays down any suggestion that the brand is taking on other beverages such as coffee.
Batchelors has a 69% share of the dry soup market, with own-label making up a further 20% or so of the market.