A few days ago, I was eating Jelly Belly jelly beans in the car with my son (who begs for them every time we visit his grandparents, who buy them in bulk at Costco). He would periodically comment to me about which flavor he was eating: glorying over the pear and tangerine, or wincing when he got a coffee flavored one. I taught him the trick of plugging your nose, while eating the coffee flavored jelly beans, and all you will taste is "sweet" (this is of course true because the tongue can only taste sweet, salty, bitter, and sour--everything else comes from your nose).
It set me thinking again about the amazing chemical innovations that make these flavors possible. Actually infusing jelly beans with real coffee flavor would be costly and impractical. A few drops of an artificial chemical, however, and...presto, a close enough approximation to the flavor of coffee (for better or for worse). My mind wandered back to Carlie and the Chocolate Factory, where one of Willy Wonka's inventions was a single piece of chewing gum that could replace all the courses of a meal. Well, I thought, we aren't that far away. If you added turkey flavor to a jelly bean (I'm sure it's been done), gravy to another, and cranberry to a third, you could top it off with a chocolate pudding pie jelly bean and have all the flavors of thanksgiving in one small handful of chewy candies.
Little did I know, however, that the Willy Wonka invention is now even closer to reality. In a recent advertisement, Stride Gum shows off its new Shift gum series, a sugarless variety that changes flavors while you are chewing. The two flavors currently available are Berry-to-Mint and Citrus-to-Mint. See below for the advertisement.
Here's a brief analysis of the advertisement and the product itself (although I haven't yet tried it).
First, I'm intrigued by the growing use of faux focus groups in TV advertising. It's clear that consumers want more transparency (and "reality"), but instead marketers are giving them a dramatized version of that reality. I've taken part in or observed many focus groups, and typically they are boring enough to make you fall asleep. I think this is a compelling way to involve consumers in the "product development" process, even if it is a facade.
Shift gum is also doing three things really well from the brand management perspective:
1. Continual innovation - With Wrigley close on its heels, Stride brand's owner Cadbury (which is now part of Kraft) is working hard, spending millions to come up with the "next big thing." This is not high technology. We can expect that copycat products will be on the market soon. But at least Stride can reap some early rewards from its fast-moving innovation.
2. Positioning - Stride, which touts itself as the "ridiculous" gum, is in competition with Wrigley's "5" gum for the teen and young adults market. They are supporting the "ridiculous" claim with products that are different, wacky, and overwhelming (at least that's what the ads will have you believe).
3. Functionality - Gum, in many senses, is a commodity type product. You have the flavoring part and the chewable part (which, according to my father/physician, CANNOT get stuck in your stomach for 7 years). Gum is meant to be chewed, enjoyed, then spit out. The new products on the market, however, would have you believe that "long-lasting", "flavor switching", "breath-freshening", "teeth cleaning", and other claims are all functions of the gum that provide value to the consumer. In some cases this is a valid claim, but when you think about it, is there any value or function in your gum switching from one flavor to another? Probably not, but functionality (and value) is in the eyes, and the mouth, of the consumer.
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