Pringles

The Pringles brand moved up one place to 32nd spot in the Top 100, on sales ahead by 3.4% to £146.8m. A solid performance, although not as spectacular as the 14.6% increase recorded in 2006-2007.

So what was driving sales growth in 2007? Well, January saw two new flavours added to its Mini Pringles range – Texas BBQ Sauce and Cheese & Onion – backed by a £1.3m marketing campaign that ran throughout February and March.

But the big news of 2007 was the launch in July of Pringles Rice Infusions. Described as “the most revolutionary new product extension to the Pringles range yet”, they were supported by a massive £11m brand support campaign.

By using ground rice, Pringles was able to deliver a lower-fat product, although this aspect of the brand was promoted only subtly – “shouting flavour, whispering health” as the marketing team puts it.

Parent company Procter & Gamble says the launch of Rice Infusions added £3.9m in incremental value to the overall crisps and snacks category.

“We've been absolutely delighted by the performance of this product,” says Ian Morley, Pringles director for the UK and Ireland. “Rice Infusions delivered more than half of the £16.6m growth from NPD in the crisps and snacks market during 2007,” he adds.

Helped by the success of Rice Infusions, Morley says Pringles put in an “absolutely sensational performance” over the 2007 Christmas period, taking 42% of the large sharing market by value. Christmas activity featured a variety of promotions across the range, including buy-one-get-one-free on 230g packs.

The start of 2008 saw the addition of Prawn Cocktail-flavoured Pringles and Rice Infusions in both Red Paprika and Thai Chilli & Lime.

But the really big news was the launch of two new products in 35g bags – Pringles Pocket Pack and Rice Infusions Bite Size – targeting the £630m single-serve snacks market, and primarily focused on the convenience sector.

P&G's aim is nothing if not ambitious. Morley says the intention is to “explode the Pringles brand by breaking out of 'stacked-potato-chips-in-a-can' into a megabrand covering many different usage occasions, benefits and need states”.

The launch in April is to be backed by a “multi-million pound” marketing campaign.

More developments are promised throughout the year, as Pringles continues to stretch “outside of its comfort zone”. The results will be interesting to watch.

2007 £146.8m
2006 £142.0m
yoy change 3.4%