By Joshua Rapoza
Ok, here we go another "listen to your customer" story. But this one is pretty sweet.
In the 1930s, Sunline Inc. started making a fruit drink mix (similar to Kool-Aid) called Frutola, distributing it all over the US. Through customer feedback, Sunline learned that instead of adding water to the mix to make a drink, kids were eating the mix right from the package.
So in the early 1940s, Sunline pivoted, by discontinuing Frutola and releasing two new products in the candy market, both of which are still on the market today. The first was a paper straw containing the drink mix formerly known as Frutola and was called Pixy Sticks.
The second was a small pouch of the same (or very similar) drink mix with a small spoon. That product’s name was Lik-M-Aid. This spoon feature was later replaced by a candy stick and now the product is known as Fun Dip. (Any fan of either of these products (or parent of a child who loves them) knows they tend to make a mess).
Based upon this feedback—of just how messy these products are—in the 1960s Sunline added a hard packed, tablet-like candy containing the same ingredients and called it SweetTarts. SweetTarts became so popular that it almost ended the Pixy Sticks.
Now all owned by Nestle, all of these product iterations are still available and are highly successful products.
What does this teach us about listening to our customers? Your value is at your core. Don’t change what your customers value in your product, pay attention to what they value and then change everything else.
See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/8814/0430/1033/2014-07.pdf
Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org
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