Tropicana’s Premium Premium not premium enough
Premium sub-ranges can help grow brand profitability, providing they offer real added value to support the premium price. They may not add huge extra volume, but every pack sold should be delivering both higher % gross profit and cash profit.
Unfortunately, Tropicana's new sub-range doesn't seem to work like this. It fails to follow our suggested guidelines for premium ranges:
1. Get your naming right
The first problem is the dodgy range name: Tropicana Pure Premium Premium Edition. Its the premium premium one. So does that mean that the main Tropicana Pure Premium one is no longer premium? Uh….
2. True added value
New premium ranges need to have immediately obvious added value versus the main range. This is not clear in the new Tropicana Premium Premium range. The flavours are OK, but don't seem to be that special: e.g. Sanguinello Orange and Pineapple and Mango and Lime.
Are these really worth 35% more than Orange and Passionfruit for example?
3. Dinstinctive packaging
The new Tropicana Premium Premium pack looks almost less premium than the Tropicana Premium one, doesn't it? The Premium one has a nice visual of the fruit. The Premium Premium one has less fruit, and instead has a big un-subtle block of colour and a stamp saying "Juice Expert Since 1947".
By the way, if the pack is distinctive enough, ideally using 3d shape not just graphics, then you shouldn't even need a sub-range name (point 1 above). The pack should sell premium-ness by itself.
4. Confident pricing
Premium sub-ranges should be, well, premium. The Tropicana Premium Premium range has a premium of 35% vs. Tropicana Premium (£2.99 vs. £2.00), which is not that big. But to make things worse, it was on promotion in my local supermarket, as you can see in the visual above, bringing it back to £2.00!
Either this is poor promotional planning from Tropicana. Or it means Sainsbury's don't believe in the range's ability to support the 35% price premium.
An example of a premium range that has worked well is one on Ryvita, which was featured in our latest brandgym book. It has increased profitability of the brand by following well the guidelines above:
– Added value product: seeds and grains add both taste/texture and health benefits
– Distinctive pack: the pack (right below) is not that different vs. main range (left below), but it does clearly communicate the added benefit via the seeds on either side, and distinctive colours
– Confident pricing: the premium range is £1.45 for 200g, vs. 90p for 250g of Ryvita Original, which is a 100% price premium
In conclusion, when it comes to premium ranges, we should follow the immortal words of pop group Wham: "If you're gonna do it, do it right". Add true value in a distinctive way to support a significant price premium.
