Taking a brand from zero market shares to brand leader
The Market
Our client, a large European company, had been in the UK for a few years but were finding it difficult to increase their sales. By contrast, another competitor from the same country that had only 5% share its own domestic market, had established itself as the primary Private Label producer in the UK through an importer.
Our Client’s Objectives
For a company that had dominated not only its domestic market, but all the other key markets in Continental Europe, the UK was the next logical step for expansion. They recognised that to accomplish this they needed specialist help to gain a foothold and increase their market share.
What We Did
Having met with our clients’ Board to outline our initial strategy, we began a thorough investigation into the market, looked at the competitors and evaluated the current method of operation. Whist the company was committed to the UK and would support our activities, it was made clear that there would be no large-scale marketing support available to launch the brand.
As befits a company that intended to be market leader, we undertook the first comprehensive research into the market through Kantar. This showed not only the opportunity for market growth, but also opportunities for our clients other product ranges.
The key objective was to convince the UK retailers that there was a gap in their range that could be met by our client’s products. By demonstrating the client’s ability to deliver both sales and growth in conjunction with diligent account management, attention to detail and strong promotional activity, the retailers were willing to increase the number of the clients products they stocked.
The Results
We started by introducing an innovative product that was targeted at the lunchbox market. Tesco launched first, placing it in 80 stores. Strong promotional activity, plus large levels of repeat purchases led to listings in Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Co-op. It is now the No.1 brand in the UK in its category and we then began to roll out other brands in our client’s portfolio. Tesco were the first to be persuaded that there was a significant opportunity and this was followed by Sainsbury, Co-op and Waitrose. In 2011 our client, according to Neilsen data, accounted for 60% of the UK market including Private Label manufacturing, whilst the client’s brand represented almost 30% of the market.