Let’s start this introduction to the intriguing new re-design of 9NINE Super Seed Bar by considering some facts.
The UK is eating fewer ‘sit down’ meals and more ‘on the go’ snacks. That’s why consumers are demanding healthier choices. They’re making decisions based on the health benefits snacks can provide. As a result of this, whilst the mainstream cereal bar category is in decline, healthier cereal bars are experiencing 32.4% value growth.
Seed based products are seen as ‘a big signifier of health and slow release energy’. The company behind 9NINE Super Seed Bar is 9BRAND Foods Ltd. Business Development Manager Amie Trigwell puts it in a nutshell: ‘ these days, it’s all about seeds’, she said.
Seed product sales are already worth £46M a year
Seeds? We were amazed that seed product sales are already worth £46M a year. What’s more, the category is growing at the rate of 11% year on year. That’s higher than crisps, nuts, savoury and healthier biscuits. Blimey…
But is your mouth watering yet? Would you try a product made of seeds over something, well… more conventional? Maybe you wouldn’t, but if you did – you might be pleasantly surprised: 9NINE have made seeds taste delicious!
Having said that, for a healthy snack to become a mainstream success it has to preach its message not only to the healthy-conscious ‘converted’, but also to the ordinary Jane or Joe, (that’s you and me), who’s hungry and wants something tasty and satisfying to calm the craving. That kind of evangelism costs money, but the good news for vending operators (who demand profits from every spiral), is that 9NINE Super Seed Bar clearly has the budget backing to think BIG and make a compelling impression.
‘The investment has given us the opportunity to really develop.’ Amie Trigwell
This is thanks to the significant seed capital, (sorry), that’s been injected by ethical investment company ‘Bridges’, as Amie confirms: ‘the investment has given us the opportunity to really develop’, she said. ‘We’ve been able to reposition the brand to appeal more strongly to the healthier snacking consumers, who want more than ‘natural’ and ‘healthy fuel’, they want something that also promotes mental energy.
The advertising and PR campaign that’s rolling out from 9NINE HQ in Chester in support of the brand is, well… gob-smacking. There’s a major consumer poster campaign in the offing that’ll hit consumers on the London underground, the national rail system and elsewhere. (The brand is already all over social media). 9Nine products are a hit: you’ll find them in WH Smith Travel, Costa and even on Easy Jet flights (not to mention major retailers such as Tesco!) and now, the company’s attention is turning to vending.
‘There are operators out there already offering healthy choices and they’ve enthusiastically embraced 9NINE Super Seed Bar’, Amie said. ‘Our mission now is to demonstrate to all operators that there’s great and growing demand out there for healthier snacking options, and that we have the marketing clout to highlight the benefits of our brand and in so doing, grab a significant share of this burgeoning market.’
Amie is referring to the company’s forthcoming ‘Play On’ campaign, the focal point of which will be the establishment of a playground in London designed entirely for use by adults. There is a correlation between the 9NINE Super Seed Bar and play. Play, it seems, ‘shapes the brain and invigorates the soul’, and that pretty much mirrors the intention of 9NINE Super Seed Bar.
Grown-ups frolicking in an urban playground? You don’t need to be a media guru to appreciate that the papers, the radio and even the TV are sure to pick up on what is, after all, a great story. It won’t belong before ‘ordinary’ consumers are aware of the brand’s health-giving properties and eager to give it a try.
Vending operators need to be ready to reap the benefits of this PR whirlwind.
Consumers are no longer required to choose ‘taste’ over ‘health’
‘Once bitten, 9NINE Super Seed Bar consumers are smitten’, Amie says with a smile. She has a point: aside from the fact that this is a product with all manner of health and well-being benefits, it’s delicious. Consumers are no longer required to choose ‘taste’ over ‘health’: In 9NINE Super Seed Bar, they get both.
Some earlier ‘healthy’ products suffered from lack of exposure and ‘worthy’ packaging which, whilst they highlight the benefits of a product, fail to stand out either on shelves or in spirals. This product hasn’t fallen into that trap: the product looks great; the new design really leaps out at the consumer.
‘We’ve never before seen a healthy brand with such an exciting marketing and promotional campaign behind it’ said John Crichton of Automatic Retailing, the company supplying 9NINE Super Seed Bar ‘At AR, we’re ready to maximise the advantages that will bring – and we recommend that our customers do, too.’
‘We want to make healthy snacking available in as many places as possible to as many consumers as possible’, Amie concluded. ‘People are increasingly demanding healthier snacks on the go these days and vending machines need to reflect that to maximise sales. Automatic Retailing have recognised this trend and with their support, we’re determined to succeed in the vending marketplace.’
You can get the full story on the 9ninebrand web site.
Orders: contact sales@automaticretailing.com or call 0191 238 0400.
9NINE are exhibiting at AVEX 2017.
