Müller invests £2.5 million in relaunching Vitality

The £2.5 million relaunch package which is being rolled out from July 7 will include:
• new recipes
• new pack designs
• a new brand proposition
• a consumer press campaign
• in-store and experiential sampling activity

Spearheading the relaunch is a new Vitality brand proposition – ‘Keeps your tummy working like clockwork’.

The message is reinforced visually through the graphics for the new pack designs which focus on the health benefits of Vitality and feature a trio of different size cogs working in unison.

The largest of the three cogs is etched with the word “prebiotics”, the second cog with “probiotics” and the third cog with “digestive health”. The wording on the packaging also prominently highlights the fact that Müller Vitality is a “Pre+Probiotic low fat” yogurt and yogurt drinks range.

As a result of the independent consumer research undertaken on behalf of Müller UK, the company has reviewed and revised the ingredients for both Vitality yogurts and yogurt drinks.

The most significant change is that Müller UK has more than doubled the prebiotic content from 1g to 2.5g so that each pot and bottle now contains 50% of the daily amount to help keep your tummy working like clockwork.

Prebiotics occur naturally in foods such as onions, chicory, garlic, bananas and artichokes and can work for everyone as they encourage the growth of our own natural good bacteria.

At the same time, Müller UK has removed Omega 3 from the Vitality brand as the research revealed that consumers found the inclusion of Omega 3 in yogurts confusing.

In reviewing the packaging as part of the re-launch, Müller UK has also taken the step of reducing the size of the Vitality yogurt pots from 150g to 125g to bring Vitality in line with other functional yogurt propositions in terms of calorie, fat and sugar content.

This also has the additional benefit of reducing the amount and weight of packaging for the pots, sleeves and trays in accordance with Müller UK’s commitment as a signatory to The Courtauld Commitment - established by WRAP (the government-funded Waste & Resources Action Programme).

Müller UK is supporting the Vitality relaunch with an initial six-month £2.5 million marketing spend which will include sampling and provision of information leaflets in-store, as well as experiential sampling, website activity plus a consumer press campaign which will follow the July roll-out of the new packaging.

Chris McDonough, Müller UK’s Marketing Director, says: “Functional yogurts and yogurt drinks have seen phenomenal growth over the last five years with sales having grown by almost five-fold and four-fold, respectively, since 2002. The two sectors have a combined annual sales value of £398.5 million with yogurt drinks accounting for just over half of those sales.

“Although functional yogurts are still performing relatively well their growth has slowed over the past year and the yogurt drinks sector has already plateaued and started to decline – sales of yogurt drinks over the last year are down by 1.3% and this has been due largely to a decline in penetration levels. People have started to opt out of the functional sector and we have undertaken in-depth consumer research to understand why this is happening.”

Chris McDonough reveals: “The research found that the main barriers to purchasing these products are: a lack of trust that the products have any real benefit; a perception that it’s all about hype and not real science; and a scepticism that the products do not contain enough of the beneficial ingredients to make a real difference. These are all issues which need to be addressed if we are going to bring in new users and encourage lapsed users to return to the category and that’s what we are aiming to do with the relaunch of Müller Vitality.

“We are also putting a lot more emphasis on the prebiotic content of Vitality and have doubled the prebiotic content. At 2.5g per pot or bottle, Vitality now delivers half of the daily amount which can have a beneficial impact on the digestive system and this a fact which we will be communicating on-pack and via our website so that consumers have a clearer understanding of the contribution prebiotics will make to their diet and well-being.

“The re-launch of Müller Vitality is all about re-vitalising the sector and providing consumers with a motivating and credible reason to buy functional yogurts and yogurt drinks.

“The message we’ll be sending out to consumers is, ‘You’ve heard a lot of science about probiotics, but because all tummies are different, not everyone gets the same benefit. We trust your body’s own good bacteria, that’s why we also put in prebiotics which work to feed the good bacteria already in your digestive system. Together prebiotics and probiotics can keep your tummy working like clockwork, whether you choose Vitality yogurt or yogurt drink’.”

Chris McDonough adds: “The 3 in 1 message we adopted for Vitality and the fact that it incorporated three key functional benefits in one product – prebiotics, probiotics and Omega 3 – achieved good cut-through, but we found in our new research that people simply weren’t interested in having Omega 3 in a yogurt product, particularly one that is aimed at adults.

“We believe it was the right move to incorporate Omega 3 in Vitality in 2005 when there was a surge in demand for products enriched with Omega 3 and it has contributed to the brand’s success over the last three years. But the category has moved on considerably, consumers are now more aware of other foods where they can obtain their intake of Omega 3 and having Omega 3 as an ingredient in Vitality is not a key requirement for the vast majority of yogurt/yogurt drink consumers.

“Our pre-launch research has demonstrated that Vitality ‘keeps your tummy working like clockworkTM’ coupled with the prebiotic + probiotic message is easily understood by consumers and is a significantly more motivating reason to purchase the brand.”

Chris McDonough concludes: “Research we conducted into the diet yogurt sector last year gave us invaluable consumer insights which paved the way for our re-launch Müllerlight earlier this year. Within three months, the re-launch programme had reversed the decline in Müllerlight sales and in the latest 12 weeks Müllerlight sales are up by 14.1%. By adopting a similar approach and understanding why there has been a dip in penetration levels within the functional sector and addressing those issues, we are confident that the Vitality relaunch will replicate the success of Müllerlight.”

Müller Vitality has annual sales of £54.5 million and it commands a 14% share of the functional yogurt and yogurt drink sector.

Vitality yogurt is available in 6 x 125g packs in a range of five flavour combinations: Raspberry/Strawberry; Red Berry/Blackcurrant; Blueberry/Cherry; Pineapple/Orange; and Peach & Passionfruit/Apricot. The 6-packs of yogurts have an RRP of £2.48.

Vitality yogurt drinks are available in 6 x 100g packs in a range of six flavours: Strawberry; Raspberry; Red Berry; Peach; Vanilla; and Tropical. The 6-packs of yogurt drinks have an RRP of £1.99.