Candy War Coming? Both Mars

Candy War Coming?

Both Mars and Nestle will, and should, most likely place their main efforts in their overseas markets, especially the UK since these markets historically consume far more confectionary products than the U.S.

Nestle has fallen slightly behind in the races because of some bad choices in product lines that have resulted not only in failed newer lines but dropping sales in their original lines as well. Specifically, the Kit Kat market hit a rough spot during the last six years when the company launched a line of exotically flavored Kit Kat bars. Not only were the flavors themselves a massive failure, but the company launched the new flavors in such rapid succession that the market became flooded with the new flavors and consumers were overwhelmed. Of course, after being disappointed by the more standard flavors, like orange, many consumers were reluctant to branch out into the other flavors at all. The flooding of the market with these new flavors, as well as the introduction of a new slogan caused the sales in original Kit Kat bars to slack off as well causing some consumer reporting agencies to accuse Nestle of ruining a 100-year-old standard in the UK.

Mars, on the other hand, appears to have watched and taken note of Nestle's failures over the last few years. Several new products have been launched by the Mars company, but the vast majority of them have been mostly cosmetic changes to their already strong lines. For example, M&Ms brand has enjoyed a personification of its branding and has gone through a rainbow of color and packaging changes, but there has been little if any changes to the actual recipes. The new products that have been introduced are old standards and utilize proven recipes from already established candies, such as Starburst flavored jellybeans. Of course, Mars has been paying very close attention to consumers, particularly in the U.S., and have responded by introducing healthy choice candies like energy bars and vitamin enriched chocolates. These products have not been on the market long enough to truly access their success, but these seem like smart, intuitive moves for the company given the current psychosocial concerns of the populations.

The logical move for Nestle will be to move back into its old, traditional lines and reestablish its most popular brand in its original sense. The have already readopted their original slogan for the Kit Kat brand after abandoning it in hopes of refreshing the image. Their best moves in light of the competition is to match the cosmetic variety in their product lines that their competitors have succeeded with. They have already introduced larger versions of the Kit Kat bar, as well as introduced more traditional flavors like peanut butter to the line. It would also be recommended for Nestle to adopt a more "hip" and technologically advanced look to their websites as well. They could also adopt an ad campaign that uses a character to promote their brands, which Mars has done with M&Ms and seen great success. Though Nestle clearly needs to cater to their traditional past and maintain that connection, they also must develop more interesting branding efforts to engage newer generations. Broadening their scope by moving traditional brands into other media like ice creams and cookies will help them remain competitive as well.