Consumables
More than 70-percent growth for Dent
Monday 30. June 2008 - The Norwegian confectionery company Brynild Gruppen has found a true recipe for success for its Dent pastille. Since its relaunch in the market in February 2008, Dents sales have increased by more than 70 percent! A new package made from Stora Enso Performa White board is part of the new concept.
Dent belongs to the category of pastilles that adults typically purchase regularly. It has been a well-known brand in the Norwegian market since the 1970s, but a few years ago it was losing substantial market share. That was when Brynild Gruppen decided to take it over and reform the product concept.
“In early 2007, we started a project to rebuild the idea, flavour, package and concept of Dent. Besides the taste, which is the most important thing about a product like Dent, the pastilles were given a new shape and formula. Now Dent comes in five flavours with no sugar. Since the relaunch, it has grown extremely popular among consumers who are typically adults, women and men, aged 20 to 35 years,” says Flemming Andreassen, Dent Product Manager. These young adults are in the process of developing their typical habits, so if they choose Dent now, they will probably remain loyal consumers.
Better surface for brilliant graphics
There were several aims in the package innovation project that was part of the Dent relaunch. One of the goals was to simplify the packaging process by removing the plastic wrapping that was used around the old box. Consumers found it annoying to open the wrapping and to deal with the litter. A new package was needed for re-branding and differentiation from rival products as well.
“After testing different materials, we selected the Performa White board with polyethylene coating on the inside of the box. It has a good surface for our new brilliant graphics, with a number of special effects such as embossing, UV varnishing and iriodin,” says Stig Gustavsen, Purchase Leader Packaging at Brynild Gruppen.
New handy and effective design
The new Dent box certainly looks trendy and eye-catching. On the other hand, the efficiency of the packaging process was greatly improved by creating a new box design and reforming the packaging line accordingly. Brynild Gruppens partner in the project was Schur Pack from Denmark.
“The old box had a plastic wrapping just to keep it closed until purchase. We were able eliminate this wrapping by developing a new box design and closure with just a little glue. Schur Packs engineering expertise played a vital role in rebuilding the packaging line,” Gustavsen says. “The new closure features the shape of the pastille and it is handy for the consumer to open and feel the quality material. To summarize, we have got a much more luxurious package without increasing packaging costs.”
Dent has secured its place in the Norwegian Top 3 of regular-purchase pastilles and is reaching higher. The same pastilles are sold using the Tenor brand by Brynild Gruppens subsidiary in Sweden. The market is growing by 3 to 4 percent per year, and new products comprise as much as 20 percent of sales. “There is always some upgrading and downgrading of products going on in the confectionery business. Some go for lower quality packaging material but we think that is proven suicide,” Gustavsen says. Long live Dent with its fancy new box!