Tweaking Big Brands And Pleasing Consumers

Forbes

4 days ago

As times and tastes change, many companies are rolling the dice and taking a chance on reformulation ... More of their classic products.
From the Colosseum to Coca-Cola, Mona Lisa to Mondelez's billion-dollar brands, classics are classics, right? They're timeless things that, precisely because they don't change, are reliable and reassuring. Consumers love the safe harbor of something that they have loved for years. But can tweaking turn a big seller into a bigger one, even if it's done with some risk? It can backfire, per the effort to introduce the 'New Coke,' but it can also inject new life.
At least in F&B lately, as times and tastes change, many companies are doing what they can to reinvigorate and remake classics, changing everything from size to packaging to that third rail of formula. And, surprise, surprise, sometimes it actually works as they remake and extend brands.
Classics tend to have big sales, not necessarily big growth, which makes growing a household name very different from growing a startup. Still, the potential can be irresistible. Chips Ahoy!, for instance, might be a classic case of a classic experiencing change.
Mondelez International said the cookie — which dates back to 1963 and is the second biggest seller behind Oreos (also their brand) — was known by 95% of consumers but only in about 30% of homes. The company saw that disparity as an opportunity. Rather than rest on its laurels, Mondelez rolled the dice and bet some of its chips on the classic cookie, adding chocolate chips with higher cacao and Madagascar vanilla extract, according to Food Dive, which called this 'the biggest update for the $1 billion brand in nearly a decade.'
Others point to AI and technology in general, making it more attractive to reformulate even classic products with a 2.0 to keep up with changing tastes. In a blog about F&B, Siemens said, "Frequent product reformulation is necessary to meet evolving consumer preferences and regulatory changes.' Still, the stakes are higher when the brand and sales are bigger.
While reinvigorating a household brand can sometimes call for reformulation, it may also mean ... More extension into new products, flavors, or offering health-conscious options.
According to Siemens, maintaining a centralized database of ingredient specifications and past formulations lets R&D teams 'speed up reformulation' while ensuring compliance and consistency. However, messing with the recipe is only one thing on the menu of change at big brands.
Mondelez, for instance, didn't just change ingredients but sought to extend the Chips Ahoy! brand into cakes and pastries, launching Baked Bites in addition to muffins. Along with minis, it rolled out bigger cookies, gluten-free cookies, and new flavors, such as chocolate caramel, red velvet, Reese's, and s'mores.
Mondelez has also modified its marketing, shifting from TV to social media to win over Gen Z consumers. Chips Ahoy! ads have been showing up on TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube, as well as online gaming, the NCAA, and the Boys & Girls Club.
As Food Dive puts it, 'extensions provide additional choices for consumers' who are finding the classic snack in less classic media. But isn't it risky to play with the marketing formula as well as the formula to make the product? Sure, it is, but with risk can come reward. So, what are the wages of change? For the half year leading up to March 29, 2025, Chips Ahoy! sales edged up 2.3%, while the biscuit category dropped 0.3%, according to Food Dive. The brand added 2 million homes, a sign that, sometimes, classics and change combine well.
Coca-Cola has been trying new things, even if changing the flavor of Coca-Cola in 1985 for what it dubbed the 'New Coke,' designed to battle back against Pepsi's popularity, backfired. Instead of a 'New Coke' wave, it led to an uproar and battle to bring back the old Coke. After three months, Coca-Cola retreated to its old formula, with the byproduct of an even bigger love after a brief loss.
'If that is what the consumer wants, that is what we will give him,' Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York Chairman Charles Millard said at the time.
Not all change is good — quickly after its release, Coca-Cola pulled "New Coke" from shelves after ... More consumer uproar.
What do consumers want now? Well, that depends on the consumer, first of all. But companies keep chasing the consumer. Coca-Cola more recently rolled out Coca-Cola Spiced, which it discontinued after a little more than half a year, proof that change (or expansion and extension) doesn't always please consumers. Coca-Cola tweaked Coke Zero, adding Stevia, a sweetener from plants, after making changes in 2021 and in 2017, 'reformulating' it to taste more like traditional Coca-Cola.
If Coca-Cola has been embracing change by including new products, PepsiCo has also been doing more than steady as it goes. Kadence International, a global market research firm, noted that classic brands are taking new tacks to hold prices down, touting smaller portions as healthier. Success tends to breed the status quo, while adversity is the mother of invention — and intervention. PepsiCo's fourth quarter 2024 net revenue, for instance, slipped 0.2%, according to Kadence, which said its Frito-Lay brand dipped 3%, Quaker Foods tumbled 6%, and its beverage segment fell by 3% as some soft drinks fell on harder times.
According to Kadence, PepsiCo is 'pushing portion control and value packs — smaller products positioned as both health-friendly and cost-effective.' PepsiCo also spent $1.2 billion to buy Siete Foods with its grain-free, gluten-free snacks.
'PepsiCo markets its smaller snack packs as portion control options, framing them as a wellness move rather than a cost-cutting tactic,' according to Kadence.
Smaller snack packs are on the rise as consumers shift their focus to health-friendly options that ... More provide portion control.
Kadence also said Coca-Cola's mini-cans follow the less-is-more playbook, offering lower prices and smaller portions for health-conscious consumers. PepsiCo, with Frito-Lay, Quaker Foods, and beverages, is betting on single-serve and multipack options as healthier and budget-friendly, Kadence said.
'By rolling out smaller Lay's chip bags, Gatorade bottles, and Quaker oat packs, PepsiCo hopes to keep customers loyal while adjusting to changing eating habits,' according to Kadence.
Meanwhile, Kadence said Nestlé is 'betting big on plant-based proteins and dairy alternatives," and McDonald's reformulated its menu to better suit the 'health-conscious" consumer. It's tougher to turn a big boat, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't at least adjust course now and then.
While older consumers may remain loyal, big brands sometimes make changes to attract or even chase younger consumers. Practices, not products, can be the key to some young consumers' hearts and wallets.
Gen Z consumers born between 1997 and 2012 and Gen Alpha born from 2010 to 2025, for instance, are 'heavily weighing corporate accountability,' according to Inc. magazine.
Packaging will continue to play a pivotal role in what attracts and retains customers, whether it's ... More the design, manufacturing transparency, or environmental impact.
Packaging is also a key component, according to a Menu Matters survey, which found that 32% of consumers are turned off by packaging that feels 'weird,' and 31% dislike a lack of information on a product's background or story. Coca-Cola has reportedly been rolling out shorter, lighter bottles to have less environmental impact and win over more consumers. Could there be a backlash from those who love the old bottles? It's tough on or toward the top of the pyramid, but that's still, really, a pretty good place to be.