Oreo Cookie Success
Big, small, multiple flavors...Nabisco-owned Oreos hit the jackpot when it started making changes to the familiar chocolate-wafer sandwich with vanilla cream filling, according to a recent report in Harvard Business Review.
Oreo cookies were first introduced in 1912, and for 62 years there was one Oreo cookie. But beginning in 1974, Nabisco found new growth in this stale category by introducing new flavors and sizes and advertising aggressively.
Between 1974 and just before 2000, Nabisco introduced a number of Oreo changes: Double Stuf (with double the filling), Chocolate Crème Oreo, seasonal items like the Grinch Oreo and Baseball Oreo, Mini Oreos in bags and single-serve packs and many more.
Oreo basically transformed a cookie into a snack concept by redefining its product through size, shape, flavor and formula. In addition, Nabisco vigorously promoted each new product; for instance, spending $34 million on Oreo-related ads in 2001, or a third of the total spent in the entire cookie category. The result? From 1995 to 2002, Oreo sales grew at an average annual rate of 7.5%; more than four times faster than the category.
The Oreo Cookie brand is a good example of how every category can be reinvigorated through incremental changes that have significant results. If Oreo cookies can do it, you can do it with your product, too.
Talk to you soon,
Kae Groshong Wagner
CEO, Founder — North Star Marketing
Award-winning Author, Speaker
Brand Consultant
CEO Advisor for Sales & Marketing
