Bagged salad specialist Florette has revealed that it is planning its biggest-ever UK marketing investment to back a major 2012 promotional campaign, that it hopes will help engage consumers like never before.
The group will invest some £5m (€5.8m) next year as it looks to tap into what it sees as several major opportunities for its bagged salads in the country, including the launch of a new television campaign, taking advantage of several sporting and celebratory activities, and the opportunity to innovate.
'We are excited about the potential for category growth in 2012, and there are some big opportunities coming,' said Elaine Smith, marketing manager at Florette in the UK. 'As a brand leader, we believe we need to communicate with consumers to help drive sales of bagged salads.'
A new television campaign will launch in April next year, Smith explained, while there will also be a focus on linking Florette's salad products with the numerous sporting activities taking place throughout the year, as well as celebratory events such as the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
'These represent the perfect platform to engage and capture the mood of the nation,' she continued. 'They generate huge consumer interest, and can be key for bagged salads – so it will be an integrated campaign that harnesses the sporting mood.'
Florette's opportunities lie in the fact that many major events in 2012 will be TV-based for consumers, creating opportunities for meal occasions, with food and drink playing a major role in watching sporting and celebratory moments.
The drive will be supported by celebrity endorsements, on-pack activity, media support, digital activity and in-store sampling, among other promotional methods, Florette said.
Innovation will also be a key part of the group's drive in 2012, with Florette looking to inspire consumers with different product combinations and taste innovation.
Looking back
Meanwhile, Florette's category manager Tony Walsh revealed that prepared salads had 'weathered the storm' this year despite a number of difficulties, including a slump in consumer confidence over the economy, rising VAT and the European E.coli crisis.
According to Walsh, the category has seen yearly sales value growth of 3.9 per cent and unit sales growth of 3.7 per cent compared with 2010, driven by increased purchase frequency in the UK.
'Florette is outperforming the prepared salad market as a whole,' he said. 'Our growth is roughly twice as much as the overall market.'
Overall, he noted, 2011 had been a year of ups and downs, with brands growing and the weather proving important to the category, while sales growth had been 'resilient' despite fragile consumer confidence.
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