WALTHAM, Mass. (Affinnova) — Affinnova, Inc., a global marketing technology company that dramatically improves innovation and marketing success rates, today released the results of a new study showing the potential for Greek yogurt to expand beyond the dairy case and become the next super trend in consumer packaged goods. Results identified close to a dozen product ideas that could extend Greek yogurt across new categories in food, health & beauty and baby care.
“Health trends have the power to transform the way consumers view entire product categories and even brands,” said Waleed Al-Atraqchi, President and CEO of Affinnova. “We’ve seen that with antioxidants and now with gluten free. The difficulty lies in knowing when a trend is not a fad and how far it can extend across categories. Because the characteristics of trends are fluid, consumer packaged goods companies need to examine trends on a continual basis. Without up-to-date information, companies miss the opportunity to lead and shape their categories or risk unsuccessful forays.”
Using its Power Screener Technology, Affinnova tested 40 prospective Greek yogurt product ideas with consumers in the U.S. across food, health & beauty, baby care and pet. Results show:
Health & Beauty makes sense: Few companies have incorporated Greek yogurt as an additive to skin care products despite its inherent protein and vitamin benefits. This presents a tremendous opportunity for brands in the $10 billion natural health & beauty category.
Affinnova’s data suggests that anti-wrinkle cream could present the biggest breakthrough opportunity, offering a “safer” and more “natural alternative” to current products, while providing “smoother skin.” The idea scored especially high with health conscious consumers and consumers older than 55. Similarly, baby diaper rash cream infused with a Greek yogurt additive also scored high.
Still room for breakthroughs in food: While Greek yogurt has infiltrated some food categories beyond yogurt it still remains underpenetrated compared to trends like antioxidants and gluten free, which have become mainstream across multiple food categories.
Affinnova’s data suggests that companies could be missing opportunities to expand Greek yogurt’s presence throughout the grocery store. Driven by its high protein benefits, consumers expect Greek yogurt to become commonplace in ice cream, dips, salad dressings and ready-to-drink smoothies. Additionally, the findings show that muffin and cake mix infused with Greek yogurt, as well as frozen breakfast options like waffles and pancakes, are prospective standout ideas.
Demographically, salad dressing scored extremely high with women, who seek added protein and reduced fat options for their dressings. Ice cream emerged as the top idea with men by a wide margin.
Areas where the trend may stop: While companies can try to push a trend into new boundaries, consumers ultimately determine where it will end with their purchase decisions.
As an example, yogurt-based shampoo products have failed in the past most notably in the late 1970’s. Affinnova’s study confirmed consumer sentiment has changed little in 35 years, as Greek yogurt shampoo achieved low scores. Also, while there are often commonalities between what consumers want for themselves and their pets, pet food and care products with Greek yogurt received a lukewarm response from consumers.
Affinnova’s Greek yogurt study was conducted online in September 2013 with 800 U.S. consumers. To obtain an e-report for the Affinnova Greek Yogurt Study, which includes a full ranking of all product ideas and verbatim consumer feedback, please visit www.affinnova.com/greekyogurt.
About Affinnova
Affinnova is a global marketing technology company that dramatically improves innovation and marketing success rates. Powered by Affinnova’s optimization algorithms and predictive analytics and insights, marketers can explore a substantially wider creative space of product, advertising and design ideas, quickly identifying which will perform best in the market. Led by the strength of its technology platform, Affinnova has gained significant momentum across both large and mid-sized enterprises, including Global Fortune 500 companies Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Pfizer and Bank of America. For more, visit www.affinnova.com.