Louise Marsland’s (@Louise_Marsland) pick of new product, packaging and design launches.

Nature Valley granola bar launches in SA; Promoting wine tourism; adidas is a scream; Armani celebrates the modern woman; and there’s still time to enter Product-of-the-Year.

New healthy snack launches

The world’s category leader in granola bars, General Mills, has launched its Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars into South Africa as “the perfect snack”.

“Snacks are a growth spot for packaged food companies worldwide, particularly with the growing trend of ‘better-for-you’ on-the-go eating,” says Jackie Foster, SA Brand Manager for General Mills. General Mills pioneered the granola-bar market in 1975 with the launch of the Nature Valley brand in the US.

“The healthy, active consumer group in South Africa is large and growing fast, and we wanted to bring a snack to the market that people can take with them when they’re on the move – whether they’re biking, hiking, running, walking…or just want to have a wise snacking choice on hand during a busy work day!”

The granola/muesli bar category is worth over USD$11 billion globally, and the Nature Valley brand contributes almost USD$1 billion to global sales, explains Foster.

And South Africa is experiencing double-digit growth in this category.

Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars are available in three taste variations: Oats and Honey, Canadian Maple Syrup and Oats and Chocolate. Each flavour is sold in singles and in 6ct multipacks.  There is also a 6ct variety pack available for those who want to try out all three flavours.

Wine seduction

Marketing the atmospherics of wine tourism is becoming big business, says Monika Elias, the founder of the first consumer-driven Klink Wine Tourism Awards.

“Wine tourism is about the successful seduction by the context and product of the wine brand. If a visitor is successfully seduced, they will want to relive the experience by telling friends and family.”

Wine tourism, she says, cuts out the ‘middleman’ by enticing winelovers to the farms and the “authentic and enticing” adventures on offer.

Elias elaborates: “Wineries acknowledge they are no longer simply selling products; and they are doing more than just associating their wares with a desirable lifestyle. They are creating ‘atmospherics’ that trigger an emotional need: to be part of a world that is different to the everyday reality.”

Atmospherics, in the world of brand marketing, include architecture, furnishings, lighting, sound, temperature and kinetics, which combine in ways that the brand experience is enhanced. By creating a variety of ways in which consumers can engage with the brand at the place of origin, as well as once they leave the farm, wineries increase the sense of satisfaction felt by the consumer.

Social media, in particular, allows wineries to create useful connections, she says.

Wine consumers are now choosing to take the time to distinguish what they really want as it is through these direct communication channels that consumers can voice their opinions of products, and wineries can best create and drive brands.

Monster fashion (@adidasZA)

To commemorate the highly successful Monsters movie franchise, Adidas and Disney Pixar have collaborated on a range of footwear, apparel and accessories called ‘monsters in training’, inspired by the recent release of the new Monsters animated movie, Monsters University.

As part of the launch, kids in Cape Town and Durban were invited to test out the ‘Scream-O-Meter’ and win various prizes. Over 2000 entries were received.

Scream-O-Meter designer Craig Bellingham, managing director at Kirmack Designs, explained that the machine was a specially-designed booth which used a microphone and audio amplifier circuit to measure each scream, converting it into an electronic signal that represented the volume level.The louder the scream,the better the chances of winning.

I could use a Scream-O-Meter in my office some days. Particularly Mondays. Tuesdays too sometimes, possibly Wednesdays, even Thursdays.

And it should be mandatory for every creative director and agency head.

 Tribute to modern femininity

Just in time for Woman’s Day is the launch of Giorgio Armani’s new fragrance ‘Si’, which he describes as his “tribute to modern femininity, an irresistible combination of grace, strength and independence of spirit”.

As representative of ‘Si’, actress Cate Blanchett fronts the campaign.

The fragrance is described with opulent verbosity as “chic, sultry, intense and soft… a chypre reinvented, lingering, captivating… with an olfactory signature that is rhythmic, elegant and unique, combining an inflection of three accords: blackcurrant nectar, modern chypre and light musky wood…

“As an intoxicating nectar, this creative mixture exposes all of its femininity and its passion – it is the power of darkness.”

Who writes this stuff? Oh, wait…

Enter Product-of-the-Year (@poy_sa)

There is still time to enter South African Product of the Year as the entry deadline has been extended to 16 September 2013. Enter at: www.productoftheyear.co.za .

Product of the Year, an international brand, showcases the most innovative and useful new products on the market, and those that save the consumer time and money. Research is conducted by Nielsen.

Manufacturers of the winning products can use the Product of the Year branding to increase awareness and sales.
– Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com.

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Louise Marsland has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 18 years of her 25 year media career as a former Editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing; as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper; and is the co-founder and Publishing Editor of SA’s newly launched industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.

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