Dive Brief:
- Kraft Heinz has added four new and updated juices and juice lines made without added sugar to its Capri Sun brand, according to Ad Age.
- The no-added-sugar lines are Capri Sun Fruit Refreshers, Capri Sun Organic, Capri Sun 100% Juice and Capri Sun Fruit & Veggie Blends. Fruit & Veggie Blends is actually a relaunch of the company’s former Super V brand, which Melanie Huet, Kraft Heinz's VP of innovation overseeing the brand, told Ad Age didn't clearly convey the juice’s healthy ingredients.
- A new advertising campaign used to introduce Capri Sun’s new lines feature kids along with singer/songwriter John Legend, a celebrity dad who should resonate with many millennial parents.
Dive Insight:
Capri Sun found itself up against growing competition from natural and organic children's drink options. Companies like Honest Kids and Juicy Juice organic are positioned to appeal to the increasing contingent of parents shunning sugary food and beverages in favor of healthier sugar-free and all-natural alternatives for their children.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that almost two-thirds of kids (63%) drank sugar-sweetened beverages daily from 2011-2014. Increasing evidence has shown that these kinds of poor eating habits can, in fact, lead to health issues, including childhood obesity.
With Capri Sun such an important brand for Kraft Heinz — holding 25% share of kids’ single-serve beverages in the U.S. — the company set out to improve the drink’s ingredients and turn around faltering sales. According to Ad Age, Capri Sun sales have fallen about 6% this year.
The company now features a fairly broad range of Capri Sun juice drinks, including the original sugar-sweetened ones — which remain the brand’s leading seller.
While parents are the primary target of Capri Sun's marketing, children have a lot of influence over what their parents buy, influencing 95% of food and beverage purchase decisions, according to a report from the Food Marketing Institute and Rodale. Children are also quick to want — or demand — products that they see in commercials. which is why advertisers spend more than $12 billion per year to reach the youth market.
Traditional marketing media, however, may not be the best way to reach today’s millennials. Under Huet, Capri Sun is setting a course to reach out to more mom and dad bloggers — likely a smart play. Increased use of social media marketing as well as more personalized and targeted efforts could raise awareness of the new offerings and grab the attention of busy, young parents.