PACKAGING TEST

Will Flora’s new spread packaging boost sales in Finland?

Upfield was spun off from Unilever in 2018 and is the largest plant-based consumer products company in the world owning multiple brands of plant-based spreads, cheeses and cream including Flora, Violife, Rama, ProActiv, Becel and Blue Band. To take the next step in this plant-based revolution, Upfield intends to place a new packaging for the plant-based Flora spread on the Finnish market. However, to avoid this becoming a costly investment that does not lead to greater sales at the end of the day, Upfield contacted SPRINT.

Within 24 hours, SPRINT investigated whether both existing and new Flora consumers would be willing to purchase the new packaging. And if so, can Upfield merge two different looking Flora brands into one in Finland and Sweden or does Upfield need to create a new one for the Finnish market?

Flora believes that plant based (vegan) food is the key to the future. According to Flora, every small step taken by an individual towards achieving that revolution can make a major difference. The brand came up with a new packaging design for its spread in Finland, in the hope that existing consumers will use Flora spreads on their bread more often, and that new consumers will be convinced to opt for the new plant-based spread. However, once placed on supermarket shelves, if the new packaging does not sell better, then the investment would have been a costly one. Against that background SPRINT investigated whether both current and new consumers would be willing to purchase the product, as well as discovering their overall opinion of the packaging. Based on the outcome, Upfield would be able to make a well-considered choice of whether or not to continue with the new packaging.

Testing the new Flora packaging

SPRINT operates a standard questionnaire for all packaging surveys. The list of questions can be adapted where necessary, so that the answers all apply to a specific brand. The questionnaire for Flora was completed online by 400 respondents in Finland, including 200 existing Flora consumers and 200 new consumers.

On behalf of Upfield, SPRINT tested two different packaging design options: current in-market and the new packaging design. The purpose of the survey was to answer the following questions:

  • Does the new packaging design appeal to new buyers?
  • Does the packaging design still appeal to existing Flora buyers?
  • Or does it alienate them because they no longer recognise the product?
  • Or would they in fact still prefer to buy the spread in the current packaging design?

Results within 24 hours

Via the SPRINT platform, companies can simply request a test within 5 minutes. SPRINT then ensures that they have the results of the survey at their disposal within 24 hours.

What specific questions can you expect in the standard questionnaire presented by SPRINT to your target group for this rapid product test?

A number of example questions:

  • How attractive do you find the product?
  • What score would you give this product (scale of 1 to 10)?
  • Do you consider the description of the product credible?
  • Would you buy the product?
  • Why would you (not) buy the product?
  • Which elements of the product do you find attractive, and which are unattractive?

The outcome of the survey for Upfield

Within 24 hours, SPRINT gathered and analysed all the survey results for Upfield . The results offered them the certainty the company sought. In this way, Upfield was able to discover whether it was a good idea to launch a new packaging on the Finnish market, or whether the risks they were taking were too great. In other words, the result answered the questions whether the new packaging design for Flora would or would not boost sales in Finland, and whether it would attract new consumers, and would retain or lose existing consumers. At the same time, Upfield was given an insight into the overall feedback from consumers. This enabled Upfield to improve certain elements of the new packaging design before it ends up on the supermarket shelves.

All in all, the rapid packaging test helped Upfield make a smart and data driven choice in deciding whether to place the new packaging design on the Finnish market.

Are you curious as to what SPRINT could do for your packaging? Read more here

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