Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

Nibbling away at the competition
The last case study of this kind for a long time to come was won by a group that, in my opinion, cheated just a little bit by extending the confectionery or chocolate ideas we should have been working on, and moving into snacking. This of course allowed them to hijack [...]

Uplifting concept
The latest idea to beat off the other venture teams in the new product development case study went in the direction of functional food, just like many groups in the past, only this idea really hit home.
The concept worked for a number of reasons.
One: it wasn’t reinventing the wheel. UP is like a [...]

On everyone’s lips.
Well, as often happens with the MBAs, one of the confectionery ideas suggested in the latest round was based on energy, this time in combination with another big brand in what was clearly a co-branding strategy.
When I saw this concept, it felt very much like it was targeted at the MBAs themselves. [...]

Taste sensation
Well this latest round of venture team entrepreneurs won the final case study by targeting the more exclusive end of the confectionery market. The idea, sweet and simple: La Rose.
The product idea was what really sold it. Taking real petals from a rose, these would be coated - individually - with soft and [...]

One L of an idea
This cool idea is called Kuh-L. The name was so clever it went over most people’s heads at first. The -L suffix referring to its main benefit: chocolate for people with a lactose intolerance.
According to the study group, 15% of Germans suffer lactose intolerance. Which makes you wonder where there [...]

Revealing old potential.
Last week’s case study winner was a fine example of the MBA venture team NOT targetting the product at their own age group or lifestyle - but finding an otherwise marginalised customer group instead: older people.
Also interesting: they started by looking at the gap in the market: what do old people dislike about [...]

Two eating occasions
Weetachoc was the winner of the last case study. The concept won my vote for extending the morning snacking occasion later into the day and back-pedalling the chocolate snacking occasion into the morning. Add to this some co-branding and we have a choccy cereal that has the potential to appeal to two [...]

Handy pack
It’s interesting that the two last case study winners had concepts that hinged on the packaging and delivery of the product. The WO34 winning idea was Glowie. Targetted at “Children aged 4 - infinity” (er, so that’s everyone, right?), Glowies are 7mm sized pellets that glow and cool.

Available in 7 flavours, [...]

Spray, chill, swallow.
Well, it was a toss up again between some very good concepts during the final case study, but the eventual winner was Chocay (short for Chocolate-to-Spray) - a non-melting, chilled chocolate mousse targeted (for the initial launch) at the US.
As with the previous winners, it seems novel packaging was central to the [...]

Energising confectionary markets?
The latest case study winners came up with a concept I’ve seen many times before, and I mean MANY times before, only it went one better. The idea of pick-me-up energy is not new. You’ll find it in lots of foods and drinks these days. But the thing that made this venture team’s [...]