Brand extension…to extend or not to extend, to sub-brand or not to sub-brand? They’re questions we ask ourselves (and our clients) on a daily basis and ones whose answers rely on a careful analysis of a brand’s credibility, permission and associations.

Levi Roots’s Reggae Reggae sauce is perhaps the most well-known success story from Dragon’s Den.  Along with its founder, it’s a brand that is simply memorable, likeable and delicious with a real point of difference in both positioning and proposition.  But as we know, any great brand has its limits…Virgin jeans never took off and Harley Davidson’s long tail of branded goods in categories as random as t-shirts to toiletries diminished its exclusive, aspirational core.

So what do we think of Reggae Reggae stretching itself beyond its sauces alone? We were delighted to discuss this with The Grocer who were asking just this question in their article this week.  James Littlewood, Consultant at The Value Engineers, is quoted in reference to his belief that so far should be so good for this little brand with big ambition:

“There has been a logical progression from the sauce product…through to other products containing the sauce flavour…the slogan ‘put music in your food’ can be transplanted to a number of food categories.”

So, do you think that Reggae Reggae is extending for success?

We’re always interested to see new products which come on the market and discuss the thinking behind them.  Who is their target? What does their pack communicate which is different from the competition? Do we think this is an innovation destined for delightful sales or delisting gloom?

Asian food has for a long time been popular in the UK and we’ve seen various brands launch their own versions of at-home authenticity or on the go fusion flavour.  It’s a trend which we both watch with our consultant eyes and buy into as consumers, frequently buying Asian food for our lunches at work , sending photos of and bringing back examples of the strange and wonderful products we see on our travels overseas and of course enjoying a different restaurant experience with friends.

So to add public reference to our internal interest in Asian cuisine, Will Butterworth, Consultant at The Value Engineers, has been referenced discussing the potential health implications that the name of Symington’s latest new product, ‘Naked Noodles,’ implies. To read the full article click here: http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/articles.aspx?page=articles&ID=220148

For more information on our experience in Asian markets and with Asian brands both overseas and in the UK, please contact us directly.

Ever since we opened our New York office, both our UK and NY teams have been even more interested than usual in brands which exist and/or launch on both sides of the pond.

A recent example of this is Post cereal’s Honey Bunches of Oats launch into the UK, going up against existing giants such as Nestle and Kellogg’s.  In such a seemingly saturated market do we think this new sugary cereal has a hope of gaining any traction in the UK? And how will its different communications on ‘health’ fare against the UK’s health norms on pack?

In this article from The Grocer you can find Alex Waters, President of The Value Engineers North America, sharing his thoughts on the launch and the brand’s absolute need for differentiation to succeed in the UK.

So…how do you think Honey Bunches of Oats will do?

We are delighted to announce that Anna Eggleton, Director at The Value Engineers, has been quoted in The Grocer this week commenting on the Batchelors’ Soup revamp and her thoughts on the impact which adding a veg-pack sub-range will have on the business.

A snapshot of the article: “branding agency The Value Engineers questioned whether the new veg lines would be enough to alter the “tired old image”.”

“Batchelors missed a trick by sticking to its old format”, said director Anna Eggleton. “To consumers, it will look like just another marketing message. A change of format would have signalled that it’s genuinely different, and make the new real food value more believable”

“Heinz’s first foray into the sector shows that there’s still life in the category. The question is whether there is still life in Batchelors’ portfolio.”

To read the full article, click here

Paul Gaskell, senior consultant at The Value Engineers, comments in The Grocer online as well as WARC online on the news that for the first time supermarket retailers spent more on advertising space than FMCG brands last year. Retailers have increased spend on TV, press, cinema, radio and outdoor advertising by 17% to £1.73bn in 2010. Over the same period spend by fmcg brands rose by 7.9% to £1.69bn.

Paul said suppliers are increasingly concerned that promotions and the ads used to market them are damaging their brands. “Suppliers have a twofold challenge. Promotions can yield enormous spikes in volume. But they have to get a balance because they can’t be in a position where they run promotions all the time.”

Read the full articles on The Grocer and WARC.