2007_pg200-201.pdf maynards and jelly tots brands & branding
TRANSCRIPT
200 Brands & Branding
Brands & Branding
Walk through the sweet aisle of your
supermarket, and you can’t help but
notice the jewel-bright colours of
Maynards enticing offerings. They’re
a sure indication of sweet times to come, and along
with their brand promise that ‘Life is fruity’, they’re
pure fun. But they happen to have a rich heritage,
too...
Maynards has been a part of every sweet lovers’
vocabulary since 1880. That’s when the father of the
brand, Charles Riley Maynard, first started creating
his concoctions out of a candy kitchen in the United
Kingdom, aided by his brother Tom and wife Sarah
Ann, who used to serve the duo’s customers.
The brand remained in the family well into the
next generation, when Charles’ son, Charles Gordon,
introduced Maynards Wine Gums to the range.
Interestingly, Maynard Senior was originally wary
of the new product; as a teetotaler, it took some
convincing until he realised that, despite their name,
the gums were in fact free of alcohol.
While Maynards remains the leading fruit sweet in
its country of origin, it crossed the Atlantic Ocean in
1949, when Beacon purchased the rights to the brand.
Maynards has proved as much a hit in South Africa
as it is in the United Kingdom, with the Durban-based
factory producing a range that includes gums, jellies,
beans and chews. Originally marketed under different
names, the creation of the Maynards umbrella brand
has entrenched its presence in the highly competitive
sweet market.
This is particularly important given the nature of
the market – here, it is impulse, rather than
pre-planning, that drives purchasing behaviour, and
Maynards has leveraged off a number of marketing
activities – including television, point-of-sale, radio,
print, outdoor and tactical – to create a brand which
stands out as fresh, innovative and always a little
surprising.
Product development naturally plays an important
role in enhancing this perception of the brand, and to
this end, the brand strives to continually deliver high
quality sweets that live up to Maynards’ colourful,
fun-filled image, while satisfying the tastes of today’s
consumers. The brand’s gums and jellies ranges are a
case in point, offering great taste without any fat.
Small wonder, then, that Maynards has successfully
earned the position of market leader in the gums and
jellies market segment. Consumers’ special feeling for
the brand is also reflected in the awards and surveys:
for example, Maynards’ Enerjelly Babies were voted
the third preferred brand in the 2007 Generation NeXt
Study’s Coolest Sweets category.
The kudos bestowed by South Africa’s youth shows
that Maynards’ future is likely to be as bright as its
much-loved sweets – and the popularity enjoyed by
the brand for well over a century continues unabated.
Brands & Branding 201
Brands & Branding
Energetic, adventurous and inquisitive: that
description neatly sums up most kids. It’s
also a pretty apt description of Jelly Tots
– which may well be why the brand has
been amongst South Africa’s favourite sweets since
its launch almost 40 years ago.
Think of Jelly Tots, and you immediately imagine
a taste adventure: the fun little sweets have been a
part of generations growing up, on the playground,
with friends – wherever.
Although the sweets haven’t changed much since
their introduction to the South African market in
1968, the brand has – and yet, it remains a colourful
part of childhood. In fact, the 2007 Generation NeXt
Study recently revealed that South African kids
consider Jelly Tots to be their number one preferred
brand in the Coolest Sweets category. Added to
this, Youth Dynamix BratTrax® research reveals
that Jelly Tots has, for the past six years, been voted
amongst South Africa’s 10 most popular sweet
brands by children younger than 12. That’s no
mean feat, especially for a brand operating
in a highly competitive, impulse-driven
market where consumers are influenced
by taste delivery and format, rather
than brand loyalty.
What is it that makes the brand so
irresistible to its target
market? Perhaps it’s
the colour and fun
they associate with
the brand. This has
been portrayed
in a variety of
ways since the
brand’s entry
into the market:
in the 1980s,
especially, the
Jelly Tots brand
was brought to
life by a host
of loveable
characters,
including a
fireman, a
nurse and a
policeman.
In the 1990s, the brand was modernised when
these characters were replaced by Mr Tots or JT, the
Jelly Tots worm.
The brand held further changes in store, most
notably with the addition of new products in 1997.
However, it was in 2001 that Jelly Tots’ current
incarnation came into being, with the introduction
of a single core range, characterised by its jelly
texture.
Then, in 2002, Jelly Tots was relaunched with
new packaging and a fresh marketing campaign all
indicative of its revitalised brand. Four years later,
the brand was acquired by Tiger Brands.
Today, the Jelly Tots range includes Original,
Power Sour and Craziberries flavours. While it
remains a firm favourite amongst kids, the
brand boasts a variety of formats and pack sizes
which make it a convenient choice for adults craving
a sweet fix – and, because the sweets are both fat
free and made without gelatine, they fit in well with
today’s health conscious lifestyle.
What’s next for the brand? Jelly Tots is likely to
continue on its ‘taste adventure’ – the tagline that
explains the Jelly Tots experience. As a major player
in the jelly segment of the kids sugar confectionary
market since it was established, the brand’s ongoing
popularity is likely to remain unchallenged for years
to come.