Home baking has been a stellar performer over the last two years, as consumers have embraced home baking during the recession.
“The recession has prompted a return to ‘scratch cooking’, and Betty Crocker provides a convenient and simple way to engage with home baking,” says Andy Foweather, Sales Director at General Mills UK. “In addition more people are spending more time at home entertaining and having more quality time with their family. This is where brands like Betty Crocker, which offer a convenient and tasty solution to home baking for time-strapped consumers, really come into their own.”
With growth of 35.5%, Betty Crocker accounts for 24% of the baking mixes category and is now worth nearly £15 million*. The brand is also No.1 in brand penetration within the category at 12.6%*, recruiting more than 600,000k households into the brand over the last year**.
Foweather explains Betty Crocker’s place in the market: “Baking mixes is worth over £62 million, with 55% of UK households buying into the category*, showing that time-poor UK consumers are looking for ways to make home baking more convenient. In terms of recent consumer trends, cupcakes are currently very popular and, as a product offering, last year they experienced exceptional growth of 47%***.”
Cupcakes on trend
Betty Crocker has listened to the market, as Foweather states: “Our consumer research echoes this growth, showing the increased popularity of cupcakes. We’ve found that there is a definite role in the category for a quality product that is both appealing to adults and easy enough for the whole family to get involved with the preparation.
“In January, we launched Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cupcake Mix, which includes the elements consumers need to make delicious cup cakes, including cake mix, chocolate icing, white chocolate sprinkles and cupcake cases. The advantage to combining all the ‘extras’ in one place is that consumers are more likely to make the product.”
As well as a new product, Betty Crocker has relaunched the brand’s packaging, giving it more visual shelf appeal and making products in the range easier for retailers to merchandise.
Foweather says: “The new packs have been designed to stand out on the shelf. The new product imagery adds warmth and depth to the packaging, and the use of colour coding and more prominent GDA information make it easier for consumers to shop the fixture.”
Marketing in the mix
The total Betty Crocker brand will also benefit from over a £1 million marketing investment to attract new consumers to the category, including a national TV campaign featuring its best-selling product, Devil’s Food Cake.
“The current TV advert has had a notable effect on sales,” says Foweather. “We saw 101% uplift in sales on Devil’s Food Cake alone, with a 90% uplift in sales across both featured products (Devil’s Food Cake and Chocolate Fudge Icing) and a halo effect of +66% across the total Betty Crocker range.
“With these results from the current marketing campaign, the investment in the total brand, the NPD in cupcakes, and consumers continuing to look for products that help them create quick and easy treats at home, you can’t afford not to have Betty Crocker on your home baking fixture.“
*Source: IRI Total Grocery Outlets, 52 w/e 12 June 2010
**Source: Kantar/Worldpanel, 52w/e 16 May 2010
*** Source: IRI Total Grocery Outlets, Value Sales, 52 w/e 5 Sep 2009
****Source: IRI Total Grocery Outlets, 5 w/e 27 Feb 2010
*****Source: IRI Major Mults 5 w/e to 27 Feb 2010
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