Plant based was growing. Growth is not a strategy
A beverage company was evaluating plant based milk as a strategic growth category in China.
Deciding that takes more than a category growth number. It takes the competitive dynamics, the sub categories worth entering, the occasions they are drunk in, and the channels that serve those occasions.
Shopper insights are what join those four together. A sub category with no occasion behind it is a shelf listing rather than a strategy.
We asked the players, then sat in the coffee shops
Deep dive in depth interviews ran with large players, medium players and new entrants in the category.
Store checks and menu audits then covered coffee chains, cafes and retail, so what was listed on a shelf and what was written on a menu were both recorded.
Exit intercepts in coffee chains caught the choice at the point it was actually made.
The shopper marketing questions and the channel strategy questions were run together, because in this category the occasion and the channel turn out to be the same decision.
Oat milk owns the coffee cup. Almond is the one to watch
Oat milk had the strongest positioning in coffee, because it has minimal impact on flavour.
Almond milk was expected to grow by about 20 percent.
Taste, texture and price were the primary adoption drivers. Health and sustainability were secondary, though growing.
Channel role varied significantly by occasion: retail for home use, coffee chains for out of home consumption.
The client came away with priority sub categories and occasions identified, which supported portfolio focus and partnership decisions with coffee chains and retailers.
