Incredistupid....

[chibi_trillian]

Hrm.  Why do people do focus groups if they don't want to hear anything that makes their product sound bad?  Especially if the product is, y'know, a fucking stupid idea?

The Original E-mail:

Dear sophomore, juniors, seniors and faculty,

I need YOUR input. My name is ***** ***** and I am a senior Visual Communications Design student. Currently I am taking an independent study under the direction of **** ****** with a focus in packaging design.

I have created a new, revolutionary way to package bread. The idea is similar to that of sliced cheese. My company, entitled, "Incredibread," is a line of gourmet breads that are not only delicious and fresh, but they stay fresh for weeks after you buy them. The secret is vacuum sealing. Each indiviual SLICE of bread is sealed air-tight in a peelabe, plastic coating. This locks in flavor and freshness in the whole loaf for up to 12 weeks without the need to freeze leftover slices. Also, Incredibread brand breads are packaged in clear plastic, clamshell containers that are easier to store on shelves and prevent accidental crushing of the bread. Say goodbye to bagged bread.

PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHMENT FOR THE LOGO AND FLAVORS.

Now for your part....please answer all or some of the following questions. Your input is GREATLY appreciated.

1. Do you feel that consumers have a need for bread that stays fresh longer than about a week? If so, is it also important for consumers to have bread that won't smash accidentally?

2. Do you think that consumers are ready for an alternative to traditional bagged bread?

3. Do you think that most consumers value bread brands that have later expirations than others?

4. Do you think that freshness and "just baked" appeal is important to consumers who buy bread?

5. Do you think consumers would purchase Incredibread over traditional bagged bread knowing the advantages that each slice will stay fresh for up to 12 weeks and will resist smashing?

 

Thank you!

 

My Reply:

>>> ****** ****** 03/29/05 7:55 PM >>>

1. Do you feel that consumers have a need for bread that stays fresh longer than about a week? If so, is it also important for consumers to have bread that won't smash accidentally?

No. Most people either eat bread faster than that, or don't eat bread at all. Or, should they fall into the slim middle category, they keep their bread in the fridge or shrug and feed the stale stuff to the birds, because the loaf cost $0.75. The average person's gauge on "Is my bread fresh?" is "Does it have mold?" The more specialized flavors may have a selling point, simply because people tend to eat speciality bread more slowly than white, wheat, or rye. It's hard to make sandwiches from speciality bread.

Most people will eat smashed bread anyway, or turn it into something else.

2. Do you think that consumers are ready for an alternative to traditional bagged bread?

No. The idea is likely to be met with about the same ridicule that wrapped peanut butter slices did unless you shell out a lot of cash to make it look interesting BEFORE it hits shelves. It's also an environmental nightmare of wasted packaging, which would be my personal reason for not buying it.

3. Do you think that most consumers value bread brands that have later expirations than others?

No. People will look for the bread of the kind they want and the price they want, and THEN they look for the one on the shelf that has the latest expiration date. People do the same thing with milk.

4. Do you think that freshness and "just baked" appeal is important to consumers who buy bread?

If it's really important to them, they'll buy their bread from a bakery. Then they have actual "just baked" bread.

5. Do you think consumers would purchase Incredibread over traditional bagged bread knowing the advantages that each slice will stay fresh for up to 12 weeks and will resist smashing?

In a word, no. It might have some novelty value, and people will buy it once as a "well ain't that somethin'" item. You may be able to find a niche in extremely specialized markets--people who travel a lot, camp food, people who are obsessive about food cleanliness, that sort of thing. If you hype it enough, you may manage to start a food fad, but fad is just that--fad.

Now for questions: Is the bread actually vacuum-sealed, or just plastic-wrapped? Traditional white and wheat breads, being about half air, would promptly collapse under vacuum conditions, thus negating the whole "resists smashing" part. Inspired by curiosity, I placed a slice of fairly fresh white bread into a makeshift human-generated vacuum (ziplock bag, aquarium tubing, packing tape to make a seal). The crust withstood the test, but the center collapsed to a width of about four millimeters (original width: 17 mm). It did not restore itself after being removed from vacuum conditions. Rye and other more "solid" breads may hold up somewhat better, but they are also more smash resistant to start with. Have you any pictures of actual packaged bread-product?

On the upshot, the logos do look quite nice.

Their Reply:

To respond to some of your comments...

-The average loaf of bread stays fresh about one week without refrigeration and because my target is single to small families, the bread actually does not get eaten very fast, and would likely mold without freezing. Even then, the bread is not the same when thawed.

-Second, the specialty flavors are due to the fact that it is an upscale bread company to be sold possibly in some grocery stores, but mostly in gourmet markets ie. whole foods, trader joes

-I think the market is very ready for a alternative to bagged bread. You could say this about a lot of market items. For example, bagged chips were the common until Pringles came out with an air tight, stackable can. They were surely met with opposition, and the can is sure not super envirnomentally friendly, but pringles is one of the leaders in the chip market.

-Also, in the surveys I've conducted I've foudn that freshness is very important to people buying bread, as well as expirations and price, because, like milk, the longer it lasts the better, because you don't have to throw it out and waste more money on another product--again, keep in mind my target of single to small families

-Because the bread is gourmet, it will of course be thicker, like that of a fresh baked loaf. It will actually be vacuum or nitrogen sealed under proper conditions, which is possible without smashing it. (I wouldn't consider a ziplock and aquarium tubing a proper vacuum under factory conditions) And the seal around the bread is very thin, much less than a ziplock, more like string cheese.

-And in response to your packaging concerns--yes I would agree that there is additional plastic; however, it is not moreso than many of the products that exist today--Many foods today are indivudally packaged and then packaged again together ie. string cheese, candy, snack foods like crackers and 100 calorie packs or even banages. Pre-packaged gives a sense of sanitation in products. And whether your pro-environment or not, there will always be items to buy that aren't environmentally friendly. Society has already adapted to this by recycling many different types of materials.

Thanks for your comments and questions

*******

Wow...apparently, someone has never actually packaged their product up, considering a human-generated vacuum is much less compressive than a factory one, and thin plastic is more likely, not less, to collapse a product made mostly of air.