PART 6 | BRAND POSITIONING
6.3 BRAND IDENTITY
Same production process as sugar. But other health concerns are spoken of, such as stevia’s effect on women’s reproduction abilities.
Brewed like tea Limited product portfolio range equals less visibility. Also the sweetener is highly dependent on the supermarkets actually taking it in.
Is from the Sunflower Family There are restrictions to how much stevia you can use per product and also per person. Sometimes the result will be a not fully sugar free product.
Stevia has a similar taste structure as the one of sugar The fact that it has taken such a long time to be approved in various regions such as the US and EU might raise skepticism.
Safe for Diabetics
High solubility
pH Stable
Non‐Fermenting
Good shelf life
Can partially replace sugar or other caloric sweeteners Taste can be optimized through other caloric or non‐
caloric sweeteners.
Good for dental health – it fights cavities – can thus also be used in toothpastes.
The product has been on the market for a long time.
This identity element highly pertains to Brand World 1. The brand as product mostly has the features and story of every other stevia product assessed in the competitive analysis. This means that the characteristics can give an entry ticket into the category and serve as POP elements. All these characteristics seem to be closely tied to the PureCircle who is not only a supplier for NP Sweet but for many companies around the world. NP Sweet has the exclusivity agreement with PureCircle on a B2B level, so in that sense, they are pretty strong in the Danish market, but regarding the B2C market, the contractual ties are cut and competitors are free to enter the Danish market with PureCircle as a supplier. What this means is that NP Sweet no longer can use PureCircle’s background as a product differentiator or advantage, no NP Sweet must look to the other partner, Nordzucker and contemplate that company’s strength. The NP Sweet stevia brand has a completely natural background since neither PureCircle nor Nordzucker has produced or marketed artificial products. This can be an advantage in terms of naturalness and a hurdle in terms of calories. NP Sweet will be able to leverage the product through its applicability in different products that can emphasize its benign nature. For instance, stevia can be used in toothpaste and can be the natural substitute for the artificial sweetener xylitol. If NP Sweet will be one of the first movers in Denmark in establishing partnerships will established brands like e.g. Colgate, it can enhance their level of awareness and brand equity. Being apt for diabetics and also supposedly safe enough for children (due to its naturalness) are also angles to consider if such statements can hold up. All in all, the way to use the product
characteristics as not only POP but also POD seems to be through co‐branding, ingredient branding or other types of collaborations and through a detection of the positive characteristics of Nordzucker. In terms of competitors a benchmark for NP sweet could be the stevia brand from Tate and Lyle. This company also has experience with sugar and has put sugar/stevia blend products into the market with very natural‐
looking packaging. Identity in terms of taste must be linked to other well‐tasting natural sweeteners as to enforce this taste identity, such as erythritol and sugar.
BRAND AS ORGANIZATION
Pros Cons
Pure Circle supply chain and profile in general Whether the sugar profile of Nordzucker is a pro or a con must be detected through image research, because on one hand it represents calories and all the things you cannot eat and simultaneously it represents the natural origin, process and end product sugar.
Global Stevia Institute (information/education) The fact that LBJ, the CEO of NP Sweet was formerly an employee at Nordic Sugar may taint his approach and priorities of NP Sweet and the stevia considerations. For instance, the first product they consider to put on the market if they are to make a table top would be a blend of stevia and sugar. Which is not in itself a bad initiative but the focus on sugar may blind the opportunities of zero calorie stevia products.
Sustainability, fair trade and natural profile (CSR) Nordzucker needs to be more integrated into the image of NP Sweet, since it is not sustainable to use PureCircle as the main bearer of the corporate image.
Trustmark They must be sure to be extensive in their stakeholder
and competitor assessment and not be limited by the focus on sugar. In this way the identity will hold stronger and be more preemptive in terms of competitive attack.
There are strong competitors in the international B2C market so if the identity assessment is not held up againt ALL relevant stakeholders NP Sweet will be easily blind‐
sighted.
PureCircle is world leader in stevia production Nordzucker’s distribution channels Familiarity and Local Profile. Nordzucker is a Nordic company with Dansukker in their product portfolio which is a household brand in Denmark
PureCircle is global and can appeal to consumers beyond the Denmark
This identity aspect highly pertains to all three Brand Worlds having the physical elements of the organization as well as the people and stories told. PureCircle is highly elaborated, but Nordzucker must
also be integrated into the corporate identity profile to a much higher degree, since this will also reflect on the stevia brand identity. Utilizing every bit of PureCircle’s Profile to establishing a credible and attractive product that can truly live up to the POPs in the category is naturally something NP Sweet is doing and should continue to do. This profile can naturally be used against the small players in the specialty stores that are not seared with CSR initiatives. But overall, just like e.g. Pure Via, and Canderel, they emphasize the distributor and not the supplier of the company, since many share the same suppliers. A more elaborate value chain analysis and brand audit of Nordzucker could enrich the brand as organization identity of NP Sweet. Now switching to a very different lane that pertains highly to Brand World 2
BRAND AS PERSON
Pros Cons
Healthy Weight obsessed
Wholesome Compromising nutrition
Calorie‐conscious Counts every single calorie
Light‐hearted Stressed
Slim and active Dieting dominates thoughts
Busy Losing sight of being happy in the an uncompromised
mission to be skinny (beautiful).
Multi‐tasking Hygge
Hygge Unavailable
Spiritual and being in the moment Might be a little dangerous Balanced between physical and mental health
Loves to indulge but tries to be disciplined about it
Conscious about ideal body images
Responsible
Convenient
Informative
Pureness
Letting go of control and embracing common sense
The brand as a person is inclined to be healthy and active without being too controlling in leading this lifestyle. The brand serves as a helper in terms of calorie reduction, but what kind of helper needs to be further specified, since there are already umpteen sweeteners having this function. ‘Feeling Better about Body’ is one of the much valued psychological attributes and this could be one of the helping functions of the brand. Being healthy as a person does not only entail physiological health – it also pertains to mental health. Pureness of the food and beverages you consume also adds to the overall health of the person.
How do you align the goal of healthy dieting together with the busy everyday life, where you need some structure and planning to get through the day? Goal alignment is very difficult since the different goals or event the different levels of goals can be conflicting. Indulgence seems to be just as highly valued as being
healthy and can thus be an important brand element but it is also accompanied with a sort of discipline.
There are some ‘Brand as Person’ elements that will can be used for POP, such as the rudimentary aspects of health, diet and naturalness, but overall the brand as person is an opportunity for NP Sweet to create the POD of the brand. Having the elements found so far it could be interesting for NP Sweet to dive even further into the person traits taking point of departure in the findings of this report.
BRAND AS SYMBOL
Pros Cons
Leaf
Strong artificial colors
Green Bottles and glasses that looks like gives associations to
chemistry labs (cf. glasses above and SteSweet packaging)
Nature E‐Number
Farmers in stevia fields Placement in supermarket (next to artificial sweeteners) Hand planted Cannot be called natural product but only natural origin Granulate stevia can invoke associations to sugar Stevia does not truly reflect what is in the product since
the components used are called steviol glycosides, which is not a very marketable name.
South American terrain NP Sweet calls their B2B product stevia and does not seem to be keen on calling it anything else, even if it were a B2C product
PureCircle Trustmark It is called an additive
Belongs to Sunflower family (natural and familiar association)
Extracted like tea (illustrates natural process)
PureCircles Branding initiatives
PureCirlce name / Nordzukker /NP Sweet name
PureCircle corporate story
Nordzuckers natural background
Sold in specialty stores (Helsebutikker) If approved to be used in organic products it would be beneficial for NP sweet and could also revolutionize the organic sector that has been limited to making products with caloric sweeteners.
NP Sweet logo
The ‘Brand as Symbol’ highly pertains to Brand World 3. On one have you have the chemical and artificial associations and on the other you have the natural and pureness. They are indeed opposites and it is crucial to be consistent in not using elements in the brand position that would signal artificial. As stated in the literature review by Grunert et al (2011), people who are health conscious are more likely to interpret claims as risky, and further “Our senses are more attuned to danger detection than expectations of sensory delight” (Lindström 2 2005, p84). This supports the fact that it is important to eradicate all signals that may help the consumer on its way to interpret symbols in a negative light. Stipulating where the sweetener can be purcahsed is also a way to send a signal of the validity of stevias natural heritage, since e.g. (health) specialty stores conceptually only carry pure and healthy goods. If the natural is to be believable, it is argued that the packaging must differentiate from the looks of the artificial sweeteners and refelct the whole, CSR friendly and natural background of NP Sweet like e.g. Tate & Lyle’s packaging. The use of symbols is also a chance for NP Sweet to differentaite themselves from the competitors, as well as ascertaining their position in the sweetener category which makes these brand identity elements fit for both POP and POD.