When Kenco launched their instant coffee in a pouch format – a first for the category, they got much less of a response than they hoped, so drafted us in to help them understand and tackle the problems.

We started by investigating what the pouch format itself meant to consumers to see if there was some fundamental incongruity, but this uncovered nothing but positivity. So we then looked at how the pouch format fitted into the instant coffee category and struck insight gold. Within a habitual purchase category, the pouch, combined with a premium foil substrate and unclear graphics, was signalling ground rather than instant coffee, hence it being bypassed by the masses. This miscommunication was compounded by merchandising issues, with the pouches often positioned away from jars, thereby hindering any beneficial cognitive links between the two formats.

Our insights and recommendations enabled Kenco to remedy its pack communications, thereby disrupting the habitual purchasing in the category and winning the attention that its innovation deserved.