FMI SHOW ROUND-UP: Now Being Served

Can’t keep up with the avalanche of soy, Internet integration, and sampling SUVs? Try the caffeine candy.

If you walked the floor of this year’s Food Marketing Institute trade show, you either sampled soy or turned it down dozens of times in drinks, burgers, and spreads (think peanut butter, then think again).

Soy was the It food at the May FMI Supermarket Industry Convention, where manufacturers showcase new products and marketing plans for grocers. There were a fair share of convenience foods – witness Sara Lee’s frozen calzones, Dean Foods’ Dips for One, and Kraft Foods’ slate of new breakfast Lunchables and an adult extension, and Athenos Travelers hummus and pita snacks (which launched in February).

If you didn’t get to the show, here are some promotion-related highlights, along with a few oddball items we couldn’t resist mentioning.

SOY IT GOES

Kellogg and Kraft were the biggest marketers hawking soy at the May show, but they weren’t alone. Dozens of smaller vendors such as Soyfoods, SoyNut Butter Co., Tofutti, and Instant Burger pitched grocers on the growing consumer demand for soy.

Kraft underscored its commitment to newly acquired Boca Foods by naming Kevin Scott president of the $40-million unit (March promo). Scott had been in charge of Kraft’s $700-million pizza business. That kind of muscle makes a difference against mainstream competitors, but likely won’t squash niche players.

“Smaller companies can capture a strong little piece of the market because they got in first, and a lot of soy products are sold through health food stores, where you’ll never see Kraft,” says Lynn Dornblaser, editorial director of GNPD/New Product News. She likens soy’s popularity to the mid-`80s oat bran craze, but says soy is more likely a trend than a fad. “Once something shows up in ridiculous ways – oat bran in licorice and beer, for example – you know it’s a fad,” she says. Soy hasn’t spread beyond beverages, meat substitutes, energy bars, and dietary supplements, at least not yet. The key to soy marketing: Sampling, sampling, sampling.

Dornblaser predicts a few marketing trends, too: Brands will emphasize consumer interaction; major companies will use guerilla marketing in niche segments; online shopping will rise, then fall; package designers will embrace space-age shapes; and campaigns targeting Gen Y will rule.

BOX-TO-BOX THINKING

Kellogg’s piggybank-and-pony show brings loyalty marketing to the cereal box and the cereal box to the Internet. In April, the company launched Eet and Ern, a points program that lets kids earn toys, sporting goods, and school supplies (for buying product, and obviously not for spelling). Shoppers find codes inside 300 million boxes of 18 Kellogg brands. Kids enter the codes at eetandern.com to rack up points redeemable for items at schoolpop.com and fogdog.com (See story, pg 43).

In supporting TV spots, costumed characters Eet the donkey and Ern the sunglasses-wearing piggybank harangue supermarket shoppers to explain the deal. Ern to old woman: “So, you got the last box of Kellogg cereal. Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back!” Capps Digital, Chicago, executes the program and manages the Web site, while parent ad agency Leo Burnett USA, Chicago, handles ads.

MID-TECH, TAKE TWO

Coca-Cola is faking winners out with its Discover cans – pop the false top to reveal prizes (May promo). The “Discover” design is an improvement over Coke’s ill-fated Magic Can, which the company used in the early `90s to put instant-win prizes inside actual cans. Trouble popped when some consumers drank the harmless liquid used to give prize cans the same weight as cans filled with soda. Coke is touting the new can as “brand new packaging technology that’s revolutionary, but looks normal.”

Separately, Coke is planning a merchandising tie-in with Nabisco for October. Last fall, the two tested joint “Making Memories Together” efforts to target shoppers who buy both brands (and spend 178 percent more per trip than average shoppers, says Coke).

Meanwhile, Nestle USA showed off Wonder Ball, a chocolate/SweeTart combo that launched in April. The hollow chocolate ball has candies shaped like Disney characters inside, stickers and tattoos outside. The candy and toys change every two months; for summer, there’s Spree candies printed with edible ink and glow-in-the-dark tattoos.

Wonder Ball takes off where Magic Ball left off in 1997. Nestle recalled that effort after the Food & Drug Administration complained about the plastic ball and toy encased in chocolate, because FDA rules prohibit toys embedded in food. “There were two ways to interpret `embedded,'” a Nestle rep says. “The FDA saw it differently than we did.”

That hasn’t stopped Nestle from putting winners in its Wonka Bars. A year-long Golden Ticket campaign prints instant-win game tickets inside Wonka’s gold foil wrappers. Prizes are $55,000 for college, $5,000 stored-value reward cards, and $50 in gold dollars along with a year’s supply of Wonka Bars.

GRINCH ME, I’M DREAMING

Kellogg and In Zone Brands are tie-in partners for the live-action holiday film Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Kellogg is guarding its plans like, well, you-know-who, but grocers are expecting an in-pack and self-liquidating offer of high-quality toys akin to the cereal maker’s Pokemon lineup for summer (May promo).

Beverage marketer In Zone, Atlanta, extends its new Belly Washers drink line – pitched by president Jim Scott as “liquid Pez,” thanks to its novelty bottles – with Grinch sipper bottles, bottle caddies, and dishes. Belly Washers sells nationally in Target stores. New novelty bottles appear every 60 to 90 days, and will include Scooby Doo (September), Powerpuff Girls (October), and Spiderman (January 2001). A refill pack is in the works for 2001.

BRAND AS LETTER SWEATER

Nothing comes between Barbie and her Campbell’s. Mattel is selling Campbell’s Alphabet Soup Barbie in supermarkets and drug stores via a licensing deal with Campbell Soup Co. Barbie is dressed in a red sweater emblazoned with “Campbell’s” in script; her accessories are a soup cup, bag of Goldfish crackers, logoed school-supplies box, and Coke sports bottle (a nod to Coca-Cola Splash Barbie, who made her supermarket debut in April). Soup Barbie comes with a coupon for 25 cents off two cans of soup. Coke Barbie carries no coupons. (Must be an image thing.)

TRAFFIC JAM

Vehicular marketing is going beyond souped-up Humvees with customized rides for many a brand. Tabasco rides with Nissan for its X Marks the Hot sweepstakes, which gives away 11 juiced-up Xterras as sweeps prizes.

Jeremy’s Micro Batch Ice Cream goes guerilla in “MBVs” (Micro Batch Vehicles), whose “secret service” teams will dish out samples initially in 15 East Coast markets, then more as the Philadelphia-based brand slowly rolls West (as fast as micro-batch production will allow).

Barq’s Root Beer buddies up with Fox’s Bart Simpson for a back-to-school promo, themed Bart’s First Class Ride. The sweeps will give away a chauffeured bus with leather couch, big-screen TV, videogame system, and supply of Barq’s – for one week. (That should make the rest of the school year pretty dull.) The promo is the first tie-in between the Coca-Cola Co. brand and the Fox TV show.

For Humvee lovers, there’s always Unilever’s Love2K Tour of male models for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (June promo).

JAVA JIVE

Like caffeine, but hate coffee? Try Java Joint Candies from Lisa’s Incredible Edibles, Fort Lee, NJ. The caffeine-enhanced treats sell in 7-Eleven stores nationally with no marketing support. There’s Java Yums (think Gummy Bears), Java Bits (M&Ms), Java Rocks (like Jolly Ranchers), and Java Rolls (e la Tootsie Rolls). A sales rep joked that Sony Theatres wanted to carry the line so men could nosh on Java instead of popcorn and not fall asleep during chick flicks.

Gatorade’s Hat Trick

Bars, beverages score with fitness buffs and hardcore athletes.

The Gatorade Co. runs three new-product introductions this summer, one targeting exercise enthusiasts and two aimed at Gatorade’s core audience of competitive athletes. The aim is different, but the strategy is the same: sample, sample, sample.

Propel Fitness Water launched in April in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Southern California, and Las Vegas. The low-cal drink targets male and female exercise buffs generally older than Gatorade’s young-male imbibers. Sampling at “hot and sweaty sites” such as health clubs and active events pits Propel against bottled water, a $1.7 billion segment in supermarket, drug, and mass-merch, per Information Resources Inc., Chicago. Gatorade is testing different coupon tactics in c-stores and supermarkets, where Propel is shelved with bottled water. It also sells in health clubs and warehouse clubs. The three flavors are lemon, orange, berry. A rollout schedule has not been set.

Torq Energy Juice Drink launched in April in 11 states in the West and Northwest. It’s pitched as a quick before- or after-workout boost to the Gatorade faithful. Sponsorship and sampling at endurance events, especially in San Francisco, Denver, and Seattle, support. Torq sells in supermarkets, c-stores, drug stores, warehouse clubs, and sports shops. Gatorade will set rollout plans after gauging performance this season, although it’s unlikely Torq will go national within the year.

“The energy drink category is just starting. It depends how quickly people catch on to Torq’s functionality and how comfortable they are using it,” says a spokesperson for Chicago-based Gatorade. Isotonic drinks are a $12 million segment, up four percent in the 52 weeks ended April 23, per IRI.

The third intro, Gatorade Energy Bar, plays to the strengths of both the Gatorade brand and parent Quaker Oats’ expertise in grains. The bars bowed in March in 12 Western states and sell online at gatorade.com. Retail distribution is c-stores and sports shops, with some testing in supermarkets. Sampling overlaps with Torq in some markets. Gatorade’s agency of record, The Promotions Network, Dallas, handles all launches; Marketing Mix, St. Louis, assists with sampling on Torq and the bar. Snack bars are a $1.3 billion business, up 13 percent, IRI reports.

Holden Takes Kraft’s Helm

Rosenfeld tapped for top marketing post.

Kraft Foods finally has its core consumer in the corner office.

Betsy Holden became president and ceo of the $6 billion company on May 16, replacing Bob Eckert, who resigned to take the post of chairman-ceo at Mattel, Inc.

Holden has been executive vp since 1998, overseeing five divisions: Consumer Insights and Communications (formerly Marketing Services), Operations, R&D and Quality, Procurement, and E-Commerce. In her 18 years at Kraft, she has been exec vp and president of the cheese division, president of the Tombstone Pizza division, and vp-marketing for the dinners and enhancers unit.

Kraft tapped its president of Kraft Canada, Irene Rosenfeld, to replace Holden on the five divisions. Rosenfeld becomes group vp of Kraft and remains president of Kraft Canada, reporting to Holden.

Eckert’s resignation was a complete surprise to Kraft management. Choosing Holden – the first woman to run Kraft – was a swift decision that was well-received by Kraft staffers. Presiding over a banquet for Kraft’s Superior Achievement Awards (given annually to top performers within the company) in her second day as ceo, she received a standing ovation from employees in attendance.

Kraft has maintained its marketing momentum despite a revolving door in the executive office. A handful of past leaders have been recruited away to lead other food companies: Bob Morrison is now ceo of Quaker Oats Co., Jim Kilts is ceo of Nabisco, and Richard Bailey is president of Dean Foods. Even sister company Miller Brewing raided Kraft for John Bowlin, now the beer maker’s president. It may be a compliment, but it tests the depth of Kraft’s bench.

Now that two 40-something women are running the show, will campaigns start spotlighting working-moms-as-top-execs? Stay tuned.

Packaged goods manufacturers have a new point-of-purchase venue. And this one, they can control themselves.

OneClip.com, New York City, puts marketers’ offers on e-retailers’ sites such as Netgrocer, Egrocer, and DrugEmporium. Shoppers scroll through a “specials” page, or view offers when shopping by product category. Discounts are automatically applied on orders. Marketers pay per transaction, while grocers get the service free.

“This keeps the model of manufacturer-funded and controlled promotions, while helping e-retailers increase shopping baskets” an average of 19 percent, says OneClip vp-marketing Kyrie O’Connor.

Packaged goods companies can apply standard in-store tactics (coupons, temporary price reductions, multi-pack purchases) and tweak or stop offers anytime. Marketers track results in real time, with redemption updates as frequent as every five minutes.

OneClip launched in November after a beta test with Egrocer, America Online, Nabisco, and Goya Foods. In five test supermarkets affiliated with Egrocer, sales rose 25 percent, and the 50 percent of customers who used OneClip coupons spent 32 percent more than the half who didn’t.

OneClip began courting retailers (including drug and mass-merch stores) in March. Traditional chains building e-commerce sites are “prime real estate for us,” says co-ceo Henrik Bodenstab. Plus, “this is an efficient way for e-retailers to take advantage of coupons,” he says. Most online grocers collect coupons when vans deliver groceries; OneClip handles fulfillment, and bills manufacturers for retailers.

Separately, On Site Networks, New York City, expects to roll its in-store TV system, Women’s Supermarket Network, into 1,000 supermarkets by fall. On Site president and on-air host Joan Lunden presents health news, entertainment info, and tips for healthy eating.

The network expects to reach 20 million weekly viewers by the end of the year. A companion Web site, WSNclub.com, carries product promotions (including sample offers) and recipes presented on-air. E-mail promos will target club members.

Elsewhere, San Francisco-based Impli is putting video screens near checkout lanes, gas pumps, and ATMs to entertain waiting customers. Kiosks will carry ads via the Internet and promos that can be tailored by region and store.

Kraft Foods has slicked up its meal solutions program with new renditions of Meal Destination Centers and a CD-ROM tour for center-store merchandising.

The CD gives grocers a look at Kraft racks in different settings and a library of ads and recipes. Glenview, IL-based Kraft has demonstrated it to a handful of retailers, but brings it out nationally this month. Introduced in 1997, Meal Destination Centers shelve dry and refrigerated ingredients together, and let retailers choose from a slate of weekly configurations based on recipes and current promos.

The upgrades are part of Kraft Plus, a year-old retail management program. Kraft also added two Web sites for grocers: kraftplus.com, which has basic information on category management, co-marketing, and center-store merchandising; and kraftplusezserv.com, a secure site with marketing info tailored to each chain.

Separately, Kraft is partnering with Hasbro on a fall Game of Life consumer sweepstakes. Ninety million packages will carry gamepieces that consumers collect for a chance at a prize pool with more than one million items. The campaign breaks Aug. 10 via Kraft’s food & family magazine-style free-standing insert (April promo)