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Product Idea 1 - Mood board

A mixed bag of biscuits containing one that has healthy properties and one that has sweet, indulgent properties.

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Ernest Adams product range

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Ernest Adams: A Thorough Analysis

History:

Ernest Alfred Adams was born in Wellington, England in 1892. The son of a baker, upon finishing his education, he went to work for his father and learnt the trade. Sadly, soon after, his father was forced to declare bankruptcy, moving on to Australia for a new start. In 1912, Adams joined him, opening his own bakery in Victoria in 1915. 

After the untimely death of his first wife and second son in childbirth, Ernest moved his life to Christchurch in 1921. It was here that he met an elderly baker named Hugh Bruce. An impression must have been made as Bruce, who was looking to sell his business, changed his mind and went into partnership him. The company was called Adams Bruce Ltd. By 1929, there were bakeries not only in Christchurch but also Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. During this time, the company did split between the North and South Island, the South Island company becoming known as Ernest Adams Ltd. A merger between these two companies occurred in 1974, making Ernest Adams a nationwide company. Acknowledging his tough experience with his father’s bankruptcy, he successfully steered the business through the Great Depression of the 1930s by cutting his own pay to avoid redundancies, among many other unusual tactics. He also managed to keep his retirement benefits for his employees intact and financially supported those of his ‘working family’ that fought in WWII.  As these times eased, Earnest Adams Ltd was the largest bakery business in the South Island. In 1962, Adams received an O.B.E. from the Queen for his community work. Throughout his working career, he had taken an active interest in better education and welfare for those less fortunate. He also served in the Christchurch City Council from 1953 to 1956 and through his affections for Arthur’s Pass; he was on the Pass’ National Park Board from 1948 till 1958.

(From http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/ernest-adams-arrived-in-christchurch-1921/)

Founded in 1929 by the Adams family of bakers, Ernest Adams is a trusted Kiwi brand that has been delighting generations of New Zealanders with delicious bakery treats. Today, Ernest Adams is still proudly made right here in New Zealand with a team of over 80 dedicated staff producing an extensive range of ready-made cakes, slices, loaves, and cookies – including gluten-free options. Ernest Adams is the No. 1 selling Christmas brand* with the most comprehensive range of seasonal products including Christmas cakes, puddings, fruit mince tarts and trifle sponge. Ernest Adams also produces brandy snaps, éclairs, profiteroles and meringues. In addition to this large range of every day and seasonal sweet baked products, the Ernest Adams site (in Palmerston North, New Zealand) manufacturers a range of ingredients that includes pastry and icing. Ernest Adams products are distributed and sold locally and overseas.

(from https://goodmanfielder.com/portfolio/ernest-adams/)

Price: At Countdown supermarkets, Ernest Adams 350 gram biscuits retail for $2.70, whereas at New World Supermarkets they sell for $2.79. Comparing these to Pak’n’save prices, Pak’n’save sell Ernest Adams biscuits for $2.69. In summary throughout these three supermarkets, the price of these biscuits varies between the $2.70 to $2.80 region, however, they do not rise above $3.00 or fall to $2.50. It is clear that Ernest Adams is setting the price of their biscuits accordingly with the perceived value of these products in the minds of consumers. 

Place: On supermarket shelves, Ernest Adams sits at eye level, alongside Farkbake (competing company). This tells me that the supermarkets aim to introduce specials, or really anything primary that they want to the consumer to notice. By doing this, it allows the supermarket to sell exactly what they are intending to. For Ernest Adams, it is important that their products are at eye height because it enables them to communicate through placement as opposed to promotion. It is a more direct and assertive approach to consumers.

Product: Ernest Adams biscuits come in a 350-gram bag. The bag features a photograph of the biscuits themselves, as well as other various supportive elements such as illustrations etc to help promote the product. The colours of each bag are plain and relatively basic, which in a way reflects the simplicity of the bag of biscuits. Despite the slices, Christmas cakes, and loaves that are within the Ernest Adams range, it seems the biscuits are amongst the cheapest of the lot.

Promotion:  In terms of promoting and advertising their products, Ernest Adams has a distinct lack of presence, and I feel as though it is because their owners Goodman Fielder are not providing enough opportunity for the brand to grow. The only promotive advertisement that I could find was a singular YouTube video that wasn’t really advertising the brand itself, despite it being the official Ernest Adams YouTube account. 

Competition:

Target Audience: