The wind direction of new consumption always comes and goes quickly.
From the new Chinese roasting full of feelings, to the new tea that is popular all over the streets, followed by the cafes where many giants enter.
However, the wind is changing, and the brand's enthusiasm for cross-border linkage remains unchanged. Especially when the linkage is particularly conflicting and differentiated, it is easier to grab the eyeballs.
Recently, due to the closure of social accounts successively, the old godmother who encountered the question of "quitting the network" also officially announced that she would start a linkage with a well-known ice product in China.
01
The old godmother, who caused rumors of "withdrawal from the Internet" due to the suspension of multiple accounts, said that she was making full preparations for the release of new products while issuing an announcement on Tmall official stores denying the withdrawal from the Internet.
As soon as the news came out, it quickly rushed to the hot search. Netizens have speculated that the old godmother may launch a new ice cream product across borders.
Under the topic of #old godmother or will launch ice cream#, most netizens are quite looking forward to it.
This is muffled to do something big, and it really shocked me. Let's just say that I'd love to try it.
Some netizens shouted to hurry out, so that they could buy it and send it to friends. Some netizens speculated that this ice cream is not necessarily the taste of the old godmother.
Spicy netizens said: It's not spicy. It is also suggested that there can be spicy ice cream, spicy red oil ice cream, and snail powder mooncakes.
Is this used to make whole props, it's hard to imagine that ice cream is rolled like this now.
Unlike most netizens full of expectations, some netizens think that it is not necessary, who still eats the old godmother now?
In the end, whether the old godmother will launch ice cream will have to wait for the official release.
Choosing to link with ice products at the time when the ice cream sales season is about to enter shows that the old godmother is trying to pursue brand rejuvenation.
02
In 2017, after the founder of Old Godmother Tao Huabi stepped down, the brand's revenue fell from 4.447 billion to 4.328 billion.
In the face of declining performance, Tao Huabi came out again in 2019, and achieved revenue of 5 billion yuan in that year by readjusting formulas and raw materials, a year-on-year increase of 14.4%.
It is also in the past few years of declining brand revenue, many new brands rely on capital support and young marketing promotion, quickly occupying the minds of Generation Z.
Nowadays, when it comes to sauce, it is not only the old godmother, but also many new brands such as Hubang, Chuanwazi, and Fanye.
●Source: Old godmother Tmall flagship store
In the face of the diversification of different eating habits and consumer needs, the old godmother's too monotonous taste has made consumers buy less frequently.
In addition to changes in the external environment, in the past few years when the revenue of the old godmother has declined, on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, some netizens often complain: the old godmother has changed.
In 2015, a well-known media revealed that the old godmother replaced the original Guizhou pepper with the lower cost Henan pepper.
●Source: Old godmother Tmall flagship store
As we all know, the small pepper unique to Guizhou is the "soul" of the old godmother. Although Tao Huabi returned and used Guizhou chili again, it was a toss, which affected the trust of netizens in the brand.
In addition, some loyal users said that the raw materials such as beef and chicken nuggets in the old godmother have become smaller and have begun to increase in price.
At the same time, on platforms such as Douyin and Weibo, where young consumers gather, the old godmother seems to have failed to find an entry point for dialogue and communication with young people.
The latest video of the Douyin account of the official flagship store of the old godmother stayed at the end of November 2022.
The Weibo of the old godmother's flavored food shows that "the company has not undergone an annual review", and no information can be seen.
On the other hand, brands such as Hubang and Chuanwazi, Douyin accounts are at least one every day, full of Internet memes familiar to young people.
03
Some people say that resting on their laurels in product innovation and promotion, and not being able to integrate into the booming hot sauce market, is the main reason why consumers "abandon" old godmothers.
This is not the case.
In addition to tempeh hot sauce and oil peppers, the old godmother launched products such as spicy dishes and hot pot bases, but the popularity of these products did not start, and the monthly sales of the flagship store remained in double digits.
●Source: Old godmother Tmall flagship store
In terms of marketing promotion, the old godmother also tries to open up the "young" traffic context.
For example, the magic video ad "Unscrew Godmother"; Launch the old godmother love talk bottle with earthy love words printed on the bottle cap; Even Tao Huabi himself personally walked into the live broadcast room to bring goods, but the sales conversion was limited.
Perhaps, compared with category innovation and marketing upgrades, the "abandonment" of the old godmother is more due to the current trend of healthy consumption.
A netizen who must eat old godmothers said that with the emergence of emerging hot sauce brands, after trying other brands of hot sauce, she found that the options were not limited to old godmothers.
●Source: Old godmother Tmall flagship store
At the same time, the new brand pays attention to the selling points of "0 calories", "0 fat" and "light food", which has obvious advantages of being chosen for consumers who want both taste and health.
In addition to diverse tastes and rich materials, the style of packaging design, whether it is convenient to buy and the price of the product all affect consumers' willingness to buy.
Nowadays, when it comes to old godmothers, consumers will still have the feeling of "national old brand". Occasionally I think of the spicy taste of the old godmother, and I will still buy a bottle to taste.
However, the increasingly volatile hot sauce market is essentially a field where consumers continue to try new things. Over time, no matter how eye-catching the brand halo is, it is not as good as consumers' personal choices based on taste preferences.
●Source: Old godmother Tmall flagship store
At this time, the old godmother launched ice cream, and it is indeed exciting to break the convention in terms of taste and category.
This reminds me of another famous brand that has also crossed over ice cream - Moutai. When Moutai launched ice cream, it also attracted many netizens to line up to buy it.
It is undeniable that Moutai ice cream is a "Yang conspiracy" for Moutai to break into the young group.
As the senior management of the brand said: Moutai ice cream is a strategic upgrade product and an important starting point for Moutai to promote the strengthening of the brand.
Young people win the world. Will the old godmother and ice cream get together and help the brand win back a game in the "withdrawal from the net" question and win more young people?
04
Objectively speaking, Moutai launched ice cream to let more young people who do not have the habit of drinking baijiu taste the taste of Moutai.
According to the price of Moutai wine, the price of "alcohol content" in Moutai ice cream is much higher than that of Moutai itself.
It is clear that the "alcohol content" is low, and it is more expensive to sell. It is conceivable that Moutai ice cream has contributed a wave of revenue while helping the brand achieve the so-called youth.
Back to the old godmother. If you want to play with flowers, the main thing is the taste. More important than taste is the cost performance.
●Source: Old godmother Tmall flagship store
After all, a bottle of old godmother is about 10 yuan, and if the price of ice cream launched becomes an "assassin" because of "cross-border linkage", it is really unnecessary.
For domestic old brands, how to highlight the characteristics of the product and play flowers across borders is a technical job.
For example, Qiaqia co-launched the "Melon Seed Face Mask" with a number of brands; White Rabbit releases milk candy flavored lip balm; Hero Pen has teamed up with RIO to launch RIO Hero Ink cocktails and more.
These linkages show that no matter how the wind of new consumption changes, cross-border co-branding that not only attracts attention with differentiation but also extends to maintain brand tonality has become a new arena for many old brands to compete for traffic.
●Source: Old godmother Tmall flagship store
After all, young consumers have a strong desire to try new things.
The point that the old godmother needs to crack lies in how to balance health, taste and price, chase popularity, create topics, do social, play creative, and so on.
Or, the old godmother launched ice cream just to stir up a wave on social media platforms and contribute a wave of revenue by the way.
It does not matter whether it sells well or not, it is enough to help old brands complete the iteration of "youth" through the Internet and be active in the eyes of a new generation of consumers.
Of course, if the old godmother ice cream can be better than Moutai, it will be a bonus.