Nestlé enriches its choc value
Tampering with a famous chocolate brand is a sticky business in the world of confectionery, where products can acquire iconic status and customer loyalties are as firm as they come.
Call yourself Nestlé, and the dangers are multiplied. The world's biggest foods group may sell everything from pet food to popcorn in 144 countries, but chocolate lies close to its heart.
Few of its thousands of product lines carry the same associations of Swiss quality - a valued competitive advantage over moreanonymous rivals such as Unilever - as its rich brown confectionery.
So more than a few eyebrows were raised last month when Nestlé relaunched Cailler, its core chocolate brand and Switzerland's oldest chocolate label. The scale of its rebranding is a sign of the new impetus among consumer goods companies to create innovative, higher margin products - and highlights the risks involved if they fail.
Although Nestlé also sells chocolate bars and boxes under its own name in Spain and France, these are positioned below prestige Cailler products. Likewise, the group's galaxy of broader confectionery brands, including Kit Kat, Smarties and Perugina, have come through foreign acquisitions and do not carry quite the same emotional connotations as Swiss chocolate.
Changing Cailler was less a relaunch than a revolution. Jean Nouvel, a prizewinning French architect, was commissioned to create an entirely new brand identity, encompassing marketing, packaging and the shape of the chocolate, rather than just a tinker with the logo. Similarly, Ferran Adria, the Catalan celebrity chef, is advising on new recipes and products.
The labours of Mr Adria, whose triple Michelin-starred El Bulli restaurant north of Barcelona is booked up months in advance, will not be fully revealed until September, when Cailler takes the lid off new products reflecting his talent with taste and texture.
Mr Nouvel's creativity has already been evident. The traditional paper wrappings of Cailler's chocolate bars and boxes have been replaced by clear plastic to create what the architect describes as a closerlink between consumer and product.
Traditional pictures of happy cows have given way to bold colours and clever textural effects, often involving sparkling paper, to hint at the richness of what lies inside. "The overall intention has been to create optical effects to encourage consumers to pick up and sample the goods," says Nelly Wenger, head of Nestlé Switzerland.
The transformation has caused a stir in Switzerland. But what gives it special resonance is its implications for Nestlé as a whole.
Under Peter Brabeck, chief executive and, since last year, chairman, Nestlé has undergone a profound ???-product overhaul.
Lower margin items, such as tomato paste, where a distinct Nestlé added value could not be made evident, have been eliminated in favour of higher margin goods where the group's contribution can be made more apparent. Among his innovations have been yoghurts with extra nutritional ingredients to ease digestion and healthier beverages.
Such moves have conveniently helped to improve Nestlé's image in a world of increasingly health???--conscious consumers. But its prime motive has been to create more differentiated products to boost sales and earnings at a time of often stagnant food and beverage markets, at least in developed countries.
"Only by making products more distinctive and innovative can a large foods group such as Nestlé boost revenues in established markets, where demand is stable," says Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Equities.
"Such strategies are also an essential response to changes in retailing, with the rise of hard discounters and retailers' own-label products, which are squeezing some existing brands off the shelves," he adds.
Luis Cantarell, head of Nestlé Europe, admits as much. "More than ever, our ability to innovate is one of the key factors to success. With some European markets sated, to gain market share the capacity for innovation is increasingly important," he says.
Cailler's reinvention represents one of Nestlé's boldest steps. For the time being, the experiment is being limited to Switzerland, a market that accounts for only 1.5 to 2 per cent of group sales.
But Ms Wenger, a 50-year-old French-Swiss better known in her home country for organising its 2002 national exposition, acknowledges Cailler's progress is being watched attentively by Mr Brabeck and Mr Cantarell at group headquarters, on the other side of Vevey, the small Swiss town in which Nestlé Switzerland is based.
The Cailler upheaval follows an initial stab last year at reviving one of the famous, if sometimes tired, brands in her portfolio with the more modest relaunch of the prestige M?venpick ice-cream marque.
Cailler is altogether more important. Chocolate is one of the biggest products in Nestlé Switzerland's portfolio, accounting for 12 per cent of sales, and a key element in the group's identity.
Yet despite its status, Cailler had been losing ground. From uncontested second place in Switzerland - after the own-label products of the dominant Migros food-retailing co-operative - it now vies for the number two position with Lindt, the upmarket chocolate maker whose sales and earnings have soared on the back of clever marketing and a high-quality image.
To make matters worse, chocolate consumption in Switzerland has fallen. While the Swiss are still the world's leading chocolate eaters, with annual consumption of 11.6kg a head, demand has been softening gradually from its peak of 12.3kg in 2001.
"The wish to reinforce Cailler had been around long before I joined last year," says Ms Wenger. "There was the sense it was a brand punching below its weight. But, for whatever reasons, no one had done anything about it.
"If you make such a radical change, it's an obvious risk. The market research may be reassuring, but there's always a danger."
Retailers, under constant pressure from food companies to release extra shelf space or make room for special displays, have been encouraging, she claims.
"I was sure it would be difficult. In fact, the trade gave us an outstanding response. Perhaps we touched on some latent sense that things had to change after a century of staying the same."
Such responses bode well for the next step. Although still unofficial, it is widely expected that Cailler will follow M?venpick ice-cream - redubbed M?venpick of Switzerland - in being rolled out internationally.
"Nestlé's philosophy has always been to anchor a brand in its heartland first. But if a product works well in one country, it's always tempting to extend it elsewhere," admits Ms Wenger.
Mr Cantarell is moreforthcoming. "Even ifCailler starts in Switzerland, the brand has otheraspirations. We're already thinking about its internationalisation."
谁动了雀巢的巧克力?
大胆一着在甜食制造业，要轻易变动一个著名巧克力品牌可是件棘手的事情。因为在这个领域，产品可能拥有标志性的地位，而顾客忠诚度一经确立也非常牢固。
如果该品牌是“雀巢”(Nestlé)，上述风险会倍增。这家全球最大的食品集团在全球144个国家销售从宠物食品到爆米花等各种产品，但巧克力却是其核心业务。
在雀巢集团数千条产品线中，几乎没有什么产品能像这种浓郁的棕色甜食那样，让人联想到 “瑞士品质”――相对于联合利华(Unilever) 等特点不那么明显的竞争对手而言，这是一种弥足珍贵的竞争优势。
因此，当上月雀巢集团重新推出“甘椰”(Cailler)时，很多人感到吃惊。“甘椰”是其核心巧克力品牌，也是瑞士最古老的巧克力商标。该品牌重新包装的力度，反映出消费产品企业的一种新动力：打造具有创意、利润率更高的产品，但同时也凸显出万一遭遇失败时可能面临的风险。
尽管雀巢也在西班牙和法国销售自己品牌的块状及盒装巧克力，但这些产品的定位不如大名鼎鼎的“甘椰”产品。同时，雀巢集团范围更广的甜食品牌系列，包括奇巧 (Kit Kat)、聪明豆(Smarties)和佩鲁吉娜 (Perugina)，都是收购来的外国品牌，并不具有瑞士巧克力的那种情感内涵。
改变 “甘椰”之举，与其说是重新推出，不如说是彻底改革。法国获奖建筑师让?努韦尔(Jean Nouvel)授命对品牌进行全新定位，包括营销、包装和巧克力形状等方面，而非仅仅修改标识。同样，西班牙名厨费兰?阿德里安 (Ferran Adria)负责就新的配方和产品提出建议。
阿德里安的工作成果要到9月份才能全面展示。届时，反映着阿德里安在口味和口感方面才华的“甘椰”新产品将揭开面纱。阿德里安的El Bulli餐厅是米其林三星级，位于巴塞罗纳北部，在那里就餐需要提前几个月预订。
努韦尔作为建筑师的创造力已是众所周知。“甘椰”块状及盒装巧克力的传统纸包装已被透明塑料包装所取代，为的是在消费者和产品之间建立起其所谓的“更为紧密的联系”。
“快乐母牛”这种传统画面已让位于大胆的色彩和灵巧的质地效果，通常使用的是闪闪发光的包装纸，以暗示产品的浓郁程度。瑞士雀巢公司(Nestlé Switzerland)负责人内莉?旺热(Nelly Wenger)解释说：“总体意图在于创造一种视觉效果，让消费者有拿起产品、进行尝试的欲望。”
创新求发展
这种转变在瑞士引起了轰动。但是，此举对于整个雀巢公司的影响，使其产生特别的反响。
在首席执行官彼得?包必达(Peter Brabeck)的领导下，雀巢对其产品进行了意义深远的全面调整。自去年起，包必达还兼任董事长一职。
由于番茄酱等利润率较低产品附加值不明显，因此他取消了这些产品，以支持利润率较高产品。这样一来，公司业绩更为明显。在包必达的创新举措中，还包括额外添加营养成分以帮助消化的酸奶，以及更为健康的饮料。
这些举措很合时宜，有助于在消费者健康意识日益增强的情况下，改善雀巢的形象。不过，雀巢的主要动机一直是创造出更为与众不同的产品，以便在往往陷于停滞的食品和饮料市场提高销售和利润――至少在发达国家做到这一点。
Kepler Equities分析师乔恩?考克斯(Jon Cox)表示：“对于雀巢这样的大型食品集团而言，只有生产更有特色、更富创新的产品，才能在需求稳定的成熟市场上增加收入。”
他补充称：“这样的战略也是对零售业变化的必要反应，随着折扣店和零售商自有品牌产品的兴起，一些现有品牌正在被挤下货架。”
欧洲雀巢公司 (Nestlé Europe)主管路易斯? 坎塔雷利(Luis Cantarell)同样承认这一点。他表示：“我们的创新能力是获得成功的关键因素之一，这一点比以往任何时候都更为明显。鉴于一些欧洲市场已经饱和，要赢得市场份额，创新能力变得越来越重要。”
重塑“甘椰”是雀巢最大胆的一步棋。目前，这个试验局限于瑞士市场，该市场仅占该集团销售额的1.5%至2%。
但是，现年50岁的法裔瑞士人旺热女士承认，在位于瑞士小镇沃韦(Vevey)另一头的瑞士雀巢集团总部，包必达和坎塔雷利正密切关注“甘椰”的进展。在其祖国法国，旺热女士因组织2002年国家博览会而更为人所知。
在“甘椰”轰动之前，该公司去年开始努力重振其产品组合中一个有时显露疲态的著名品牌，并且较为低调地重新推出名牌产品莫凡彼(M?venpick) 冰激淋。
总而言之，“甘椰”更为重要。巧克力是瑞士雀巢公司的重头产品之一，占总销售额的12%，也是集团身份的一个关键要素。
不过，尽管有着不凡的身份， “甘椰”在市场上却一直节节受挫。原来它是瑞士市场上毫无争议的亚军，仅次于主导市场的食品-零售合作店铺Migros的自有品牌产品，现在却要和瑞士莲(Lindt)争夺次席。后者是一家高端市场巧克力制造商，由于聪明的营销战略和高品质的形象，销量和收益均突飞猛进。
更糟的是，瑞士的巧克力消耗量有所下滑。尽管瑞士仍是全球领先的巧克力消费国，年消耗量达到人均11.6千克，但与 2001年12.3千克的峰值水平相比，需求一直在逐步滑坡。
坚持就是胜利
“早在我去年加入雀巢之前，公司里就一直弥漫着提升‘甘椰’品牌的愿望，”旺热表示，“人们感觉该品牌没有达到它应有的地位。但不管是出于什么原因，无人为此采取过任何行动。”
她称：“如果你作出如此巨大的改变，这显然充满风险。市场调研可能让人放心，但实际上总会有风险。”
旺热声称，零售商不断面临着来自食品企业的压力，要提供额外的货架空间或特别展示的空间。这一直令人鼓舞。
她表示：“我确信这将是困难的。实际上，销售方面的反应非常好。我们可能触及到一些潜意识，即在保持现状一个世纪之后，应该有所变化了。”
对于公司的下一步战略而言，这些反应是个好兆头。尽管还未公开，但人们普遍预期，“甘椰”将仿效“莫凡彼冰淇淋”（又称瑞士莫凡彼），在全球范围内推行。
旺热承认：“雀巢的经营哲学一直是，首先在其核心地区稳固品牌。不过，如果某种产品在一个国家销售良好的话，人们总会想将其拓展到其它国家。”
坎塔雷利则更为坦率。他表示：“即便‘甘椰’首先在瑞士销售，我们对该品牌仍寄有其它的期望。我们已在考虑其国际化的问题。”
