THE GOLD STANDARD
Godiva Chocolatier has been known for over 80 years as the leader in premium chocolate. The brand uses Chocolate Talk, a private, invitation-only on-line community of Godiva consumers that was created with their partner Communispace. The single most important thing Godiva does with the Community is Listen. They gather feedback about their members’ lifestyles on a daily basis, helping them develop compelling new products and programs that enhance the Godiva experience. In addition, the member-to-member conversations in the community provide Godiva with a unique way to learn how their chocolate fits into members’ lives.
So it was no surprise when they turned to their community to understand their members’ changing behaviors during the tumultuous economic environment of 2009. What they heard led to the development of a new product line that would change the face of the brand and mark a ground-breaking moment for Godiva.
A CHANGING CONSUMER MINDSET
When people think of Godiva, the words that come to mind first are “WOW,” “LUXURY” and “EXPENSIVE.” Because of the ailing economy, consumers were more likely to give up things that they felt were luxuries and, as a result, Godiva’s sales were soft. Through various exercises and assignments members completed, the community brought to life the changes in behavior such as shopping habits, gifting patterns and “self-treating” in the midst of the recession. From this work, it was clear there were two key themes at play that were changing how members were interacting with the brand-accessibility and affordability.
Accessibility: While members love eating Godiva, they were reducing their visits to the mall, where the majority of Godiva Boutiques are located. At the same time, competitors were making premium chocolate available in more locations where consumers shopped often—e.g., Grocery and Drug Stores. This allowed members to self-treat with other premium chocolate brands more often.
Affordability: Members were budgeting more than ever before and therefore seeking premium chocolate at a value. The majority of Godiva consumers gift the signature Godiva Gold Ballotin for “Special” Occasions to people they have an intimate relationship with (Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, etc.)—the Gold Box communicates that they spent money on the recipient because they are worth it. However, members were also starting to seek more affordable premium chocolate to gift to people they were not close with, but still wanted to impress (e.g., Mail Carriers, Teachers, and Co-workers). The members helped Godiva uncover this “Casual Gifting” behavior that was a gap in their portfolio, especially in the accessible channels where they were not participating.
A GAME-CHANGER COVERED IN CHOCOLATE
Listening further to community members, Godiva’s big “ah-ha” came “wrapped” in a small package. Their members’ interaction with Lindt and Ghirardelli uncovered the biggest growth engine in their portfolio—individually wrapped chocolates. Community members talked about how often they like to share Lindor Truffles and Ghirardelli Squares with everyone—at home, at work, at parties etc. In-depth discussions revealed that members don’t always like to share the unwrapped chocolates in the Gold Ballotin with people not close to them. By wrapping Godiva chocolates individually, Godiva could now tap into a common behavior already happening in the category—sharing. Importantly, Godiva then took the bold move of putting these individually wrapped chocolates in the Channels where consumers habitually buy them most often—Grocery and Drug Stores. And because Godiva Gems are more affordable, they allow consumers to not only self-treat daily, but also “casually” gift to people they are not as close with but want to impress. With the community validating their ideas about how to meet consumers’ needs, Godiva had the confidence to move ahead.
The Godiva Gems platform was launched globally in September 2009. In North America the launch took place in Boutiques, Department Stores, and for the first time ever in Grocery and Drug Stores, and in all of Godiva’s Boutiques in Japan, Europe, Pacific Rim, and China. Gems are little Truffles, Caramels and Solid Chocolates that are individually wrapped to enjoy anytime, anywhere. Perfect for savvy shoppers who appreciate the highest quality chocolate at an affordable price, Godiva Gems are delivered in a Godiva-worthy way—quality chocolate, in vibrant packaging with colorful wrappers that have a “Touch of Gold” to remind consumers that it is the Godiva quality they know and love. Godiva Gems not only meet consumers’ affordability and accessibility needs (e.g., Godiva offers a $4.99 Stand Up Bag of Gems Truffles in Grocery Stores), but they also pioneered new behaviors for the brand.
By listening to their consumers, Godiva was able to make Gems a game-changer for the brand globally. The decision to launch a more affordable and accessible line of chocolate was a bold move that would turn out to be the single biggest global launch in the history of the brand. Godiva Gems has become a significant growth engine for the brand globally. Sales to date are $35 million and are projected to become 10% of Godiva’s worldwide sales in its 1st year. In North America, Godiva’s Wholesale business is up +42% YTD June 2010, driven primarily by their new distribution in Grocery and Drug Stores (Safeway, Publix, Wegmans, Kroger, CVS/pharmacy, etc.). In addition, Godiva was also the #1 premium brand of chocolate at CVS/pharmacy (Source: IRI Latest 4-Weeks Ending June, 2010) with a share of 19.3, surpassing Lindt’s share of 18.9. Godiva’s longer-term goal is to replicate this success across all of Grocery and Drug Stores as they build out this platform.
By tapping into universal behaviors like “sharing” and “casual gifting,” Godiva offers much more versatility than ever before. And most importantly, Godiva Gems makes the brand more relevant all year-round—not just for special occasions anymore.
“The community provides us with the ability to continuously tap into our members’ minds to be sure we are meeting their desire for Godiva chocolate. In addition, it was instrumental in getting Gems to market fast so we can stay competitive in the Premium Chocolate category. Our members’ input was crucial to the success of the Gems platform every step of the way, particularly with the foundational insights that helped set our path forward to Godiva becoming a more year-round relevant brand,” said Rich Keller, Global Business Director For The Every Day Godiva Platform.