The juice industry has been through a series of challenges in recent years – from increased prices due to grocery-wide inflationary pressures, to rising fears over juice sugar content.
This has led to consumers re-evaluating not only the products they consume but also the brands too, with own-label food on the rise. Brands now account for less than 30% of category volume, according to data from Kantar.
Even Tropicana, a leading name in the juice sector that also owns Copella and Naked, is not immune to these pressures. In response, the brand has embarked on a transformation to ensure that shoppers see the benefit of sticking with Tropicana – even when budgets are squeezed.
“We are more clearly communicating to shoppers who need to justify every penny what benefits they’re getting,” says Tropicana marketing director Elizabeth Ashdown. “We are communicating what ultimately makes Tropicana the best-tasting juice.”
Tropicana’s juicy challenge
The challenges in navigating the cost-of-living crisis are headwinds that many brands in the grocery sector are all too familiar with.
Ashdown says that Tropicana is no exception, pointing out that over the last 20 years, the juice industry has lost a third of its volume as it has become “quite commoditised”.
However, the juice giant lost almost a third of its sales volumes last year alone, with Nielsen data showing a 30.7% plunge in the year to 23 December 2023.
The drinks giant has faced big challenges with its smoothie brand Naked over the past year. Co-op delisted the brand after it struck a deal with rival Innocent and it was also pulled from Waitrose’s shelves as it shook up its juice range to remove duplication and differentiate from other retailers.
Tropicana has worked to revive Naked. “We’ve recently done some work to optimise and evolve our brand positioning, and allow Naked to play a clear role within the holistic energy needs of consumers, particularly the younger consumer. It’s about positioning Naked as a drink that can really revitalise young people,” she says.
And it seems to be working. In the last 12 weeks, Naked volumes have risen 25%, and Copella by 8%. However, it’s biggest flagship brand Tropicana was “still in decline”.
As it currently stands, Tropicana volumes are around 9% down in the last 12 weeks, but hearteningly, its “decline is softening”, with the past week seeing it edge up 2%.
Ashdown says that there is “a lot of things that we’re doing to get back volume growth.”
So, what is Tropicana doing?
Fresh packaging
In April this year, Tropicana launched a new brand identity alongside a slew of new products.
Among other changes, the juice manufacturer refreshed its packaging designs to feature new fruit graphics that reincorporate the 75-year-old brand’s red and white straw – a symbol of Tropicana since the 80s.
Ashdown explains the change in packaging is about refreshing the brand. “It’s really about communicating our care, quality, expertise and taste that we’ve generated over 75 years much more on our packaging and being much more proud of who we are as Tropicana,” she says.
“The iconic orange and the straw – the brand assets – had been lost. But it was a symbol of what was always at the heart of what Tropicana was about, and that is creating the highest quality juice that is as fresh as you can get. A straw in the orange is that symbol – it shows the freshness from the fridge.”
Ashdown adds that packaging also serves to create “brand blocking”, the concept of organising retail store shelves by grouping together products of the same brand.
Range expansion
Alongside its April brand refresh, Tropicana launched a ‘Special Start’ range, which comprises three 100% pure pressed fruit juices; Sanguinello Blood Orange, Pink Grapefruit, and Pineapple.
Some of the most recent products introduced by Tropicana
The launch was accompanied by the addition of two new flavours to its multi-vitamin range – Smooth Orange and Mixed Berries – and followed a series of new product developments including its Sparkling range.
It also introduced two new ambient ranges in Tesco, Rise & Shine and Fruit Sensation, and expanded into the smoothie category with the introduction of a Tropicana Kids range late last year.
Ashdown says that Tropicana’s new product development is driven partly by the brand’s desire to become occasion-centric, and “better meet the needs of consumers, for example with the Rise and Shine range for that morning occasion”.
“It’s about making sure there is a Tropicana whether you want that fruit-based enjoyable, refreshing, or soothing choice.”
Ashdown adds that future innovation will continue to focus on different occasions. “What we’re doing now is about expanding our portfolio outside breakfast and innovating with our Tropicana Sparkling and our Naked energy drinks which enables us to meet currently untapped consumer needs whether that is for lunch or your mid-afternoon Tropicana pick-me-up.”
Yet, Tropicana also aims to prioritise affordability to reconnect with loyal consumers. For example, the Rise & Shine launch targeted a “typically more value-driven” category that “lacks quality juice offerings”, with a more refreshing, lower-sugar juice at an attractive price point.
Ashdown adds that its innovation in certain categories is about “bridging the price gap” as consumers choose private-label products over more expensive branded items.
“It’s about encouraging people to trade up from private label into branded. So it’s a bit of a mixture across price promo, communicating our difference, and really investing behind the brand.”
Communication
Tropicana recently made the decision to “invest heavily in communication”, in particular with the campaign, ‘Not all oranges are the same’, which has run across national press, social and out-of-home (OOH) in London and the south of the UK.
Ashdown says: “With the juice sector becoming quite heavily commoditised, you see a real need for brands to very clearly communicate what makes them different and unique.
“So yes, we’re investing heavily in communication. We were the biggest investor in media in the category last year, and we’re continuing to invest significantly in the Tropicana brand,” she says, adding that the campaign is about spreading the word on its fruit expertise and quality.
“Once you start to tell consumers that there is another level of care and pride that goes into getting the best taste, it really does start to take them to a different place, much more artisanal, much more crafted, and a sense of value that they place on juice as a result.
“Now I’m not saying its going to completely change the game overnight, but in terms of romanticising this category, we are communicating what ultimately makes Tropicana the best tasting juice.”
Speaking about the success of the campaign so far, she points to brand awareness data which has “massively accelerated over the last four weeks”.
“This is brilliant news. It’s an example of how we’re going to differentiate and change the narrative about Tropicana through communication.”
As for the future, Ashdown hints at a fresh Naked campaign and new distribution deals with retailers. And after a period of rampant NPD, it is focusing on growing these new products.
“Our focus is very much launching these [products] brilliantly and embedding them in the market. We’ve got sampling and activation plans happening over the summer. Our focus for 2024 is about really generating great success behind the platforms that we’re launching, expanding our distribution, particularly within the impulse channel.”
In a competitive juice market that continues to face inflation and the rise of own-brand, Tropicana is tackling challenges head-on with rebranding, innovation, and communication.
By enhancing product offerings and emphasising its quality, Tropicana aims to reconnect with consumers, and lead the brand into a new era.
