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Hidden Valley Ranch is hunkering down on a market penetration strategy by encouraging consumers to consume more ranch-flavored products. Some of you might be like the other GenZers and millennials the company's research shows dunks their pizza in ranch dressing. Now, the company wants us to eat it at breakfast, too, by offering ranch seasonings for eggs and hash browns. Already surpassing store sales of ketchup and barbecue sauce, Hidden Valley wants us to sop up more (and more and more) ranch in different product offerings besides its traditional dressings.
Hidden Valley offers a multitude of ranch flavors, typically retailing for $4.59 - $5.99 for 16-ounce and 20-ounce bottles, respectively. The company actively tracks trends by monitoring 100,000 restaurant menus and social media posts to get ideas for new flavors and is aiming to reduce product-development timelines to 6-12 months from the typical 18 months it takes to bring a new product to market. "Only Serious About Flavor"
The future of laundry detergent is liquid-free squares. Forget about heavy bottles or boxes, these soft, woven tiles eliminate the need for plastic bottles and cuts the product weight drastically. The last benefit is key as more consumers buy detergent online. The woven layers dissolve in water and are intended to be used in cold water, saving on electricity usage. P&G, the maker of Tide brand of laundry detergent, is launching Tide evo with the slogan, "Welcome to Tide evo, the next evolution of clean." It took P&G more than a decade to develop this product, but it is not the first to offer a dry detergent or laundry sheet as the products are known, but it is the largest brand to do so.
It is expected that a box of 44 Tide evo tiles will be priced at $19.94. Unlike Tide's colorful pods that have been a consumer favorite, P&G's research found that consumers preferred the plain, white look of the tiles, but it did say that designs or logos can be printed on the tiles.
In addition to releasing a carryall bag for its hefty 40-ounce bottle, the company plans to offer more products for guys—the new Stanley man who wants more than a steel canteen for outdoors. The new Stanley man wants a sleek bottle that transitions between the gym, work, and nightlife. He's a man who cares how he looks and is into sports, according to the brand's marketing mastermind.
Stanley is doing something right with its branding: Sales increased from $73 million to $750 million in the four years between 2019 and 2023. The company attributes much of the success to the $45 40-ounce Quencher, which has become a status symbol among young women and tweens. The cups used to only come in white, black, and green, but they started selling them in other colors, and sales took off. The company has been successful in leveraging social media to build the brand among females. We'll see if they can create the same brand equity among men.
While you were away on spring break, a bill was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support to ban the popular Chinese-owned TikTok app or force it to sell to a U.S. owner. This threat is not new, but it has taken the app's owner by surprise, thinking it was not going to come to this and certainly not as quickly as it did. The bill moves on to the Senate next, with the outcome unsure, especially during an election year and some not wanting to alienate young voters. However, President Biden said he'd sign the bill into law if it comes to him, which is strange considering he recently launched his campaign for re-election on the app to appeal to younger voters. The concern lawmakers have with the app stems from the fact that its owner, ByteDance, is Chinese-owned and could pose a threat to U.S. national security because all Chinese companies MUST turn over whatever the Chinese go
TikTok didn't do itself any favors, either, by encouraging users to contact their representatives in Congress to voice disagreement with the ban - that seemed to add fuel to the fire showing how much the app can influence users. Things to discuss: What is the name of the bill that passed the House of Representatives? Former President Trump tried to do the same thing with an Executive Order when he was president. What happened? What are the Berman amendments, and how do they apply in this situation? #BermanAmendments Other jurisdictions have placed bans on TikTok (e.g., state of Mississippi on government devices). Have any states completely banned the app, and if so, what has happened? How has TikTok been addressing this threat in the U.S.? Have other countries banned TikTok? How is the TikTok product different in China compared with the U.S.?
