According to new data released today, fewer and fewer consumers are considering buying Heinz Beanz products as prices rise and the cost of living crisis continues to influence consumer choices, while perception of value and quality has also decreased in recent months.
The update comes despite Kraft Heinz insisting its “savvy” advertising is responding to consumer demand.
Heinz Beanz’s YouGov BrandIndex consideration score, which tracks whether consumers consider a brand the next time they want to buy a particular product, fell from 35% to 29% from early March to the end of May, among the only people who shop in their family. It also dropped from 36% to 34% among those partially responsible for shopping and from 35% to 32% in the general population.
YouGov suggested that the price increase may have contributed to this decline, as the cost of Heinz Beanz products has increased faster than that of competitors over the past year.
Data from The Grocer released in March showed an average price increase for Heinz baked beans of 40% year over year, compared with 28% for private labels and 35% for challenger brands.
Reduced value perception
The Heinz Beanz value score, which measures consumers’ perception of value for money, has also dropped significantly, from 12 in early March to 4 late last month.
Meanwhile, Heinz Beanz’s quality score dropped from 40 to 35 during the same time period among consumers who were the only shoppers in their families. Its quality score also dropped from 40 to 38 among those partially responsible for the purchase.
In March, which consumer watchdog? shared the results of a taste test, which allowed supermarket private-label baked beans from Asda to score as high as 77%, compared with Heinz Beanz’s 71%, despite being the most expensive of the bunch. brands tested. Aldi’s private label baked beans came in second with a score of 75%.
Consumers are increasingly turning to branded goods in search of higher value for money.
Sarah Hutchinson, YouGov
Heinz’s recent ‘Unbelievable’ ad campaign launched in February was named UK advertiser of the month for March and April, meaning public awareness of the ad Heinz’s reporting grew faster than any other brand YouGov tracked during this time period.
This has done little to prevent Heinz’s decline in value, consideration and quality score, said Sarah Hutchinson, consumer brand manager at YouGov.
“Consumer dissatisfaction with rising prices is reflected in the Heinz Beanz value score, which fell from 12 to 4 between early March and late May for those responsible shop in their family. Like many branded goods, prices for Heinz products have increased over the past year, and our data tells us consumers are increasingly turning to branded goods in search of value. higher value for money.”
Are big brands really against the private label threat?
YouGov data shows that 34% of UK consumers mainly bought branded goods in March, compared with 29% choosing mainly branded goods. Meanwhile, data from Circana (formerly IRI) shows private label products now account for 37% of value FMCG sales in the UK – up 4.3% since 2022.
Last month, Kraft Heinz admitted it was seeing continued competition from private labels, but stated that it was used to this environment amid inflation.
Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio said they are “getting the savvy” on how to deploy their advertising to reach consumers, as well as making sure they have the “right solutions in the right place” channel” to meet consumer needs in the face of the private label threat. products.
Earlier this month, Heinz launched its first global branding platform – arguably Kraft Heinz’s biggest media investment to date – using the tagline “It must be Heinz” to promote more Heinz product range, including beans and ketchup. The campaign is part of a broader plan to increase Kraft Heinz’s market share and increase marketing spend, announced last month.
