dorset cereals Case Study

Opportunity

With so many people beginning their day with a bowl of cereal, it’s no wonder that the global breakfast cereal market is expected to grow to nearly £44 billion by 2030. dorset cereals is known for its muesli and granola products.

In 2020, dorset set out to launch a new muesli product that would reignite love for this meal among health-conscious adults. Despite its high protein and nutrient content, some people associate muesli with blandness. dorset was challenged with overcoming these associations to attract new customers.

“Innovation is a key ingredient for growth,“ said Becca Hamson, Brand Manager, dorset cereals. “We set out to make muesli appealing to a wider group of people. We needed to understand how consumers felt about several new products. Bringing the right one to market would be key to expanding the dorset brand to new households.”

Solution

dorset engaged with System1, the leading marketing-decision making platform, to capture insights from consumers about these new ideas.

System1’s Test Your Innovation is a platform that enables brands to predict and improve the profit potential of ideas, including new products and brand assets. Test Your Innovation, which is available as a self-serve option, leverages “wisdom of the crowd” methodology, asking 500 respondents who represent the general population whether they would purchase or sell shares in each idea. This provides an unbiased view of a potential product’s success with results within 48 hours.

Products are assigned a Star Rating based on the percentage of people who would purchase shares and the speed with which they make this decision. The Star Rating predicts likely success and has been validated against over 200 in-market product launches. The platform captures the emotional response that people have to the idea, with happiness carrying the most weight. Respondents also list the main advantages of the idea and offer suggestions for improvement.

Results

dorset tested over a dozen different ideas with System1, including multiple claims to understand which were likely to perform best in market.

Muesli with granola clusters performed exceptionally well with respondents. dorset’s product development and marketing teams leveraged these findings to create Muesli Crunch featuring signature muesli grains with crispy granola clusters. It is now available in three flavours – dark choc and hazelnut, ultimate fruit & nut and marvellous pecan & almond –in more than 500 Tesco stores as well as Ocado and Amazon.

“System1 helped us better understand which muesli idea could evolve into a marketable product with additional work from our internal teams. It’s been wonderful to see our idea come to life on supermarket shelves. We’re excited for Muesli Crunch to become a new customer favourite and create new raving fans who are eager to start their day with a healthy and delicious muesli meal,” added Hamson.