Author: Xiaoshidai
Golden passion fruit, the new "Internet celebrity" in the beverage industry, has become the latest limited new flavor of Pulse!
Recently, Xiaoshidai saw many netizens show off this new product on social platforms, and the packaging of the traditional blue main color was matched with a bright golden yellow for the first time, and the "limited appreciation" logo on the packaging was also very eye-catching. It is reported that the Golden Passion Fruit Flavored Pulse will only be sold for a limited time this year.
In April last year, Gao Yueqiu, general manager of Danone China Beverages, revealed to Xiaoshidai that in addition to the popular lime and peach flavors, Pulse will also launch limited-season products. And this wave of golden passion fruit flavor on the market, Pulse launched a "gold" marketing interaction on social media.
It is reported that the purchase of the above new products has the opportunity to win the pulse of the gold medal¹, which is undoubtedly attractive to the young consumer groups who are awakened in advance and keen on gold, and behind the pulse is the brand insight that keeps the same frequency with young people.
Let's take a look.
Golden Passion Fruit "True Fragrance"
Over the past few years, Pulse has never stopped developing new flavors, from coconut pineapple to sea salt green mango, to cactus small green orange, rose grapefruit, grapefruit, etc., Pulse has always maintained the rhythm of introducing new flavors, and strives to refresh and enrich consumers' feelings about the brand with "new taste experiences".
So, how was the new protagonist "Golden Passion Fruit" chosen this time?
Source: Kerry
In fact, as a fruity fruit with a rich aroma, refreshing taste, and versatility, passion fruit flavor has been popular in recent years. In the "Soft Drinks and Drinks" of the "2023 China Flavor Atlas" released by Kerry, passion fruit entered the "Top 10 Flavors in the Past Five Years".
At the same time, according to the "2022 Tea Beverage Development Report" released by Meituan Gourmet and Kamen, "Full Cup of Passion Fruit" ranks among the top three in the sales ranking of fruit tea drinks in 2022. The ready-made tea has a wide market base among young consumers, which also shows that passion fruit flavor has a lot of fans among young people.
The relevant person in charge of the pulse brand said in response to the inquiry of the snack generation that unlike the purple passion fruit, the golden passion fruit has the characteristics of "more fragrant and sweeter", and the fruit fragrance is particularly strong. What's more, Golden Passion Fruit is the winner of the consumer taste test, and it is the "C-position" contestant voted by consumers after tasting it.
"When we first developed a new flavor, we had four products, and after many rounds of evaluation and testing, Golden Passion Fruit came out on top. The above-mentioned person said. In addition, as a vitamin drink, this golden passion fruit flavored product not only has a variety of vitamins such as niacinamide and vitamin B6, but also has a "full" vitamin C content, and the vitamin C content of each bottle of 600mL pulsation can meet 100% of the daily needs of the human body (the daily demand for vitamin C refers to GB 28050-2011 Food Label Nutritional Reference Value (NRV)), realizing the full "gold content" at the product level.
Interestingly, Xiaoshidai also found on social platforms that many netizens who like to share homemade drinks have spontaneously "formed CP" with pulsating and passion fruit, and added passion fruit to different flavors of pulsating drinks to make various special drinks. This wave of pulsating official "group CP" also responded to the demands of netizens.
Young man "hitchhiker"
The introduction of new flavours and seasonal limits is nothing new for beverage brands. However, behind the "little things" that the brand has always insisted on innovation, there is a continuous insight into the changes in consumer preferences and needs.
Under the current fierce social competition and the high pressure of involution, new changes from the trajectory of daily life are likely to become a source of joy and new vitality for many young generations, and delicious food is becoming a kind of spiritual healing.
According to the above-mentioned "2023 Chinese Flavor Atlas" released by Kerry, "consumers prefer to use food to heal their body and mind, obtain a sense of pleasure, and relieve negative emotions such as anxiety and depression in uncertain times." ”
Returning to the pulse of this wave of seasonal limited flavors, its action is not limited to looking for the "flavor" itself, but also based on the characteristics of the product itself, deeply matching the love of contemporary young people for gold, launching "gold content" theme marketing activities, creating social hot events, and inviting consumers to participate.
Xiaoshidai saw that on April 3, the official Weibo of Pulse released a lottery - from the #的粉丝中 of paying attention to the official Weibo and participating in the topic #Who understands the "gold content" of the flavor of pulsating passion fruit, 10 people were selected to give each of the pulsating gold medals, which attracted many young netizens to hear the "gold". In the comment area, it is full of interactive messages such as "pump me and pump me" and "full of gold content".
By creating a marketing event, Pulse connects the Golden Passion Fruit flavor with real gold with the theme of "gold content", which not only expresses the real material of Pulse's new flavor, highlights its health product attributes containing multiple vitamins, but also hits the current craze of "love gold" among young people.
According to a gold jewellery industry report, in the five years from 2016 to 2021, the proportion of young people buying gold has skyrocketed from 16% to 59%, and the "golden blood" of China's young people is awakening. The combination of this hot spot also once again reflects Pulse's intentions in "youth insight" - to perceive and gain insight into young people's preferences at any time, and to think about how to better communicate with young people and maintain the same frequency.
Pulsation retrieval state
Just like the once-well-known slogan of Pulse, Pulse is now showing a healthy and positive trend, and the No. 1 vitamin drink brand in China has announced to the outside world that it has "regained its form".
In Danone's latest annual report, released in February, pulsating high growth has become a well-deserved performance highlight. According to the data, with the recovery of China's beverage scene and the recovery of business, Pulse's sales revenue in 2023 has achieved a year-on-year increase of 14.1%.
"Last year, Pulse not only achieved strong growth, but more importantly, its market share also increased for the first time in a long time. Danone CEO Sheng Ruian said at the annual report performance meeting that he is determined to achieve better results in 2024 with an eye on the peak sales season. ”
At present, the prelude to the peak sales season in 2024 is gradually kicking off. Let's wait and see if the limited-edition Golden Passion Fruit Pulse can take advantage of the victory and become the "golden warrior" of the beverage industry today.
1. According to the official Weibo news of Pulsation, the pure gold small gold medal is AU999-about 10mg