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First printed in Checkout Magazine
Shopper demand boosts oat cereals
By
Tracey Gregory
and
Fiona Briggs
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| Oat appeal: Oatibix is targeting the health conscious consumer |
The oat cereal market is expecting a boost with new product launches and brand investment capitalising on the demand for healthier cereals.
In response to growing consumer demand for oat-based cereals, Weetabix has launched a cold oats cereal Oatibix. Available in two variants, Oatibix and Oatibix bitesize, and in two varieties, Original and Sultana and Apple, the launch is backed by a £2m TV advertising campaign, which starts at the end of the month (August).
Ken Wood, ceo of the Weetabix Food Company, said: The launch of new Oatibix and Oatibix bitesize has resolved the temperature, time and textural problems previously found with hot oat cereals. By creating an oat cereal that can be enjoyed cold, we have opened up a whole new sector which means consumers can now enjoy the health benefits of oats all year round.
While Oatibix is expected to help grow the cold oats category, the hot cereals sector, should get a further boost with Quaker, the Pepsico oats brand, spending £5.8m on a campaign for its hot cereals range as part of a total £11.4m investment in the brand this year.
The campaign, which includes TV and press advertising, sampling and pr, supports a new pack design, a new product formulation for Oatso Simple, new flavour variant and family packs.
According to Quaker marketing manager Jo Cartwright, the brand is benefiting from the trend to healthy eating.
Oats are back in fashion and are becoming a beacon for health, she said. As the leading oats brand, Quaker claims it has driven 71% growth in the hot cereals category which in turn has fuelled a 46% growth in the £1bn cereals market. Cartwright reports Quaker has increased its share of the total cereals market to 2% as consumers come out of the ready to eat category and switch to porridge.
The new pack design has been introduced across the cereals range and features more prominent Quaker branding and images of the product. The brand has removed artificial ingredients from the Oatso Simple recipe and cut sugar and salt levels. A new Oatso Simple flavour, Apple and Blueberry, has been added to the range plus family packs for the top selling Oatso Simple flavours, Original and Golden Syrup. TV advertising featuring the character, Windy Miller, will break in the autumn.
Oatibix is available in 12 x 24-biscuit packs, retailing at £2.08 and Oatibix bitesize is available in 6 x 550g packs, retailing at £2.38.
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