Tropicana: The Last Straw
Remember the hubbub around Tropicana redesigning it’s packaging? Well, looks like it really was a pretty bad thing:
According to Information Resources Inc., unit sales dropped 20%, while dollar sales decreased 19%, or roughly $33 million, to $137 million between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22. Moreover, several of Tropicana’s competitors appear to have benefited from the misstep, notably Minute Maid, Florida’s Natural and Tree Ripe. Varieties within each of those brands posted double-digit unit sales increases during the period. Private-label products also saw an increase during the period, in keeping with broader trends in the food and beverage space.
That compares flat unit sales and a 5% drop in dollar sales for the entire category. That’s really not good at all. Not surprisingly, Tropicana denies any connection, telling AdAge, “No dots to connect here.” Ha.