It must be Wattie’s quality

The rise and rise of supermarket house brands has failed to end Wattie's reign as the biggest brand on supermarket shelves.

The brand was the strongest seller of goods scanned at supermarket checkouts in 2004, the fifth year in a row it has topped tables prepared annually by researcher ACNielsen.

Not only did sales of $189.9 million of goods make Wattie the heavyweight, it was also the second-fastest-growing brand. ACNielsen's associate director of marketing, Emma Shutes, said while supermarket house brands were not directly included in the latest research, overseas their presence was felt through the decline of other brands. Wattie, in contrast, expanded its sales through supermarkets by $8.5 million in 2004 from the previous year.

That was particularly surprising because Wattie largely operates in categories such as frozen and tinned goods - early targets of house brands.

"Obviously, they are winning out in terms of quality," said Shutes. She said innovations such as microwavable packs of frozen vegetables gave Wattie the edge, despite growth of about 11 per cent a year for supermarket own brands, with even faster growth in frozen and chilled foods.

Wattie was "probably feeling the pressure, but not to the extent seen overseas, where house brands take out entire categories", she said

Heinz Wattie's New Zealand managing director Nigel Comer said the company had doubled its research and development spending last year and would be maintaining that this year. Its team in Hastings had come up with several products now being adopted by Heinz Wattie elsewhere in the world, such as the Australian roll-out of Wattie's Soupreme soup paste and the Steam Fresh Vegetables under the Heinz brand.

"We've put out more innovation in the past 12 months than in the rest of Wattie's history."

Comer said investment in new capability in areas such as frozen meals, where sales were up 50 per cent, and commitment to quality were also paying off.

Wattie's marketing spending went up significantly in 2004 and would be stable in 2005, with the eight-year-old Food In A Minute television slot before the news on TV One working well for the company.

The fastest-growing brand by dollar value of sales was Meadowfresh, owned by Fonterra. But that reflected the progressive rebranding of the Tararua brand to Meadowfresh. The emergence of Coca Cola's Keri Brand was a more significant story. Fourth on the list of the fastest growing brands with a $6 million increase in supermarket sales, a multi-million-dollar marketing budget has seen Keri jump from 97th to the 70th biggest brand.

Coca Cola bought Keri when it swallowed Rio Beverages for $40 million in 2002. A spokeswoman for the drinks company, Alison Sykora, said the creation of umbrella brand the Keri Juice Co at the end of 2003 was the focus for redevelopment of the four-decade-old Keri name.

Growth has been spurred by the launch of new sub-brands such as the not-from-concentrate Keri Premium, as well as a series of TV advertisments based around the fictional family running the Keri Juice Co.

Posters and outdoor advertising have played a role, and sampling has begun to make its way into the strategy. In the early stages of the brand overhaul, there were also less overt strategies, such as a competition which found New Plymouth was New Zealand's most optimistic city. The brand's latest TV campaign began a few weeks ago and Sykora said the family look and feel of its advertising would continue. Spending on the brand would also be maintained at levels similar to last year's "millions" of dollars.

Shutes said the Kiwiana-style advertising was obviously paying off for Keri - but it was also helped by competitive pricing.

Despite its age, the phrase "Yeah right" has helped DB Breweries Tui beer brand to seventh place among the fastest growing brands. The local brand, which has roots stretching back to 1889, has moved from 63rd place to 47th among the top 100 brands.

DB marketing head Mark Davidson said the campaign was still going strong.