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Lumps in your milk? Yes please, say Fonterra and Kraft

Lumps and milk don’t generally go too well together. Except when it comes to Primo Pineapple Lumps milk, which is the first of a few planned licensing deals between Kraft/Cadbury and Fonterra Brands over the next couple of years. 

According to Fonterra Brands senior product manager Janine Chamley, Primo Pineapple Lumps sold 25 percent of its annual forecast sales in the first five weeks after launch, which is the best ever limited edition flavour and even outsold the chocolate flavoured Primo. 

Volume sales were 26 percent over forecast, 33 percent higher than the prior month (Feb, 2013) and 17 percent higher than same time a year ago (March ’12). In supermarkets, Primo sold 296,000 litres in March, up 35 percent on March 2012, and drove the highest share in past two years for total Fonterra at 59.4 percent. 

She says marketing activity was minimal and socially driven, with no paid media support. But the punters were obviously interested in the new flavour, because two posts on the Primo and Pascall NZ Facebook pages achieved more than 2,400 likes, 500 shares and 300 comments.  

“We’ve even had a keen fan make a homemade Pineapple Lump ice cream using Primo Pineapple Lump flavoured milk and Pascall Pineapple Lumps lollies,” she says. 

Instore advertising has consisted of shelf strips, wobblers and posters up on the Pascall confectionary pallet displays. But it goes both ways and it’s thought sales of Pineapple Lumps have also increased significantly, in part because of the instore displays next to the chillers. 

Co-opetition has been a bit of a buzzword for a few years now, and it’s certainly unusual in this market—and at this scale—for two big beasts like Fonterra and Kraft to play nice. But it’s not unheard of. And it can be a win-win. Cadbury already licenses its brands to Fonterra’s Tip Top, which produces a range of Cadbury ice creams. And in the past Cadbury licensed its brands to Tatua, which made Moro and Crunchie flavoured milk (it’s thought this latest licensing deal is worth around four percent of gross sales). 

“From Will Radford [who has recently left Cadbury to take up a job as the New Zealand category and marketing manager for Pacific Brands]through to general manager of marketing Iaan Buchanan, the Cadbury team have been great to work with and this has been an exciting first of many exciting new limited edition flavours featuring Kiwi favourites that we’re planning on launching over the next few years.” 

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