Desde que surge la idea hasta que un proyecto se presenta 'en sociedad', éste puede tardar hasta tres años en ver la luz

Being creative, knowing what the market asks and building notoriety are key to succeed

French perfumer Bernabé Fillion says that the most craziest and most surreal project he has made in his life was to design a perfume with a moon aroma.Assures that it is the most ephemeral and special smell that has ever composed.For Javier Aranda, chef with two Michelin stars, cooking with living lime is one of his biggest challenges.He tried, he confesses, with gasoline, but the idea did not prosper.

At the other extreme, the Ferrero Group has not had to turn its famous Rocher.The Bombón is so genuine that it has not needed to reinvent himself, although he threw it more than three decades ago.Yes Florette has done, going from selling packed lettuce to market their full salad bowls.These have energized the sector and multiplied their consumption.

"There is no single way, but many, to launch a new brand in the world of great consumption and each one must find its path," explains Oliver Gutiérrez, of Lacía, an agency that has been advising companies for 20 years in the complex workto be released in the market.

Creating a new brand "is not an easy or fast process," explains Ana Barrio, expert from the consultant Nielsen.A recent example is the Coca-Cola, which this week has presented in Sociedad Royal Bliss, its new beverage brand, the first that premieres in 10 years.The project began to take shape two, hundreds of people have worked there and it has meant an investment of more than 20 million euros.

A perfume to create a drink

In its development, the aforementioned perfumer and the laureate kitchen chef participated.They came into play when the company had already defined the project."We knew what our way was, where we wanted to get there, and they have been our travel companions," says Paloma Cruz, director of carbonated drinks of the group.

Bernabé Fillion helped elaborate the aromas of the new soft drinks and Javier Aranda oriented in the pairing and explained how to combine them and present them better.Coca-Cola turned to them because I wanted to create "something different", they were looking for "people who had worked outside their comfort zone," says Esther Morillas, Marketing director.

Maybe another group would not have occurred to a perfumer to launch a soda.Or if.Because conceiving and giving birth a brand can be more or less easy, depending on the sector and what one wants to complicate life.

According to Ignacio Ochoa Santamaría, CEO of the consultant Branward, “it is not the same to create a corporate firm as a commercial, just as it is not like to launch a car than a food or fashion product.Each has its process, particular and specific ».

THE TESPOS OF THE BRAND

In food and drinks "product development cycles are long and complex," explains Jaime Martín, general director of the Innovation Consultant Lantern.It can take about two years, as is the case with Royal Bliss, or lengthening more in the case of brands "that do not have a large group behind" that support them and that have to start from zero.

Ana Barrio, from Nielsen, warns the difference between «create a new brand and a line extension.The risks and remains are very different ».80% of innovation that is launched to the market are improvements in existing products and only 20% are new creations.

An example of the first case: «Bácapa activia yogurts.The product already exists.What opens is a variation of it ”, in this case yogurt with a fruit base.

In the case of Royal Bliss, it is a new article, aimed at a different audience and with a new denomination.Coca-Cola sources point out that to manufacture it "a different production line had to be created" to those that are already for Coca-Cola soft drinks and that was a greater investment.

«Creating a brand or product from scratch allows you flexibility, because you are not subject to existing brand values.You have no legacy.However, you have to invest a lot to get notoriety, in which people know your product, ”says Barrio.

The role of the wrapper

Lacía has helped launch cosmetic brands, detergents, yogurts, chocolates or drinks.This agency specializes, above all, in the packaging of the product, something "nuclear when launching a firm to the market," explains Pepe Torquemada, director of the agency.

In a world in which we have gone from buying at counters to do so in self -service, «the role of the packaging is essential to attract the consumer.That is why there are companies that have been built through packaging, ”explains Oiiver Gutiérrez.

Put the case of Florette, which has changed the way to consume salads thanks to its prepared product bowls, ready to eat.They were first launched in 2013 and their sales already contribute 70% to market growth in this type of packaging.Its consumption in Spain has multiplied by two in the last three years.

The Lacia offices in the center of Madrid remind Google: there are football, craft workshops where to manufacture the products of the products, tables where to draw and many rooms where to spit ideas.They have, for example, a machine that recreates the light that is in supermarkets to «see how the product is going to behave before the consumer, with this lighting.Creativity is a key factor in the development of a brand, ”explains Oliver Gutiérrez.

The first: see the opportunity

Although there is no single way to conceive a launch, there are a series of phases through which most of the premieres pass before seeing the light.First you have to analyze the opportunities offered by the market.Then a product proposal, the financial analysis, the development of prototypes and a commercial and marketing plan, say in Branward is made, they say in Branward.

According to Jaime Martín, De Lantern, "generally brands seek first areas of opportunity: what interests the consumer at a given time".As a new brand, "you can encompass a great trend", as is the growing interest in natural drinks.

You can also focus on a specific audience, as is the case with Royal Bliss, designed for a client who consumes combined in bars and restaurants."Trends are thoroughly investigated and market potential is sized," summarizes Jaime Martín.

Come out of the comfort zone

Once it is detected where the business opportunity is passed to a second phase: the design of the new product concept.Here, experts coincide, "large doses of creativity" are required so as not to copy what others do and be original.You also have to "screen the ideas until you find those with more potential," explains Jaime Martín.

Sometimes you can imitate something and launch a new category successfully: «Yatekomo is a copy of the noodles who have been selling in half the world, but Gb Foods knew how to see the opportunity, build the category in Spain when it did not exist and at a timein which cheap and fast solutions were sought in the kitchen, ”says the expert.

The three rookie challenges

There are three challenges that novice brands have to do well if they want to succeed.Ana Barrio, from Nielsen, lists them: «Comply with the sensory or experience with the client.When you are a new product that people do not know, you have to know how to connect well with the consumer to attract it ».

The second challenge is to achieve credibility: "Not being known, as you don't have a legacy or associated values, you have to get people to trust you".The value for money also has to be chord, because "people are not going to pay more for something they do not know," summarizes the expert.

In the world of great consumption, with the products we use daily, "the realization of previous test is fundamental," explain sources in the sector.It occurs, for example, when a new brand of yogurts or beer is going to be released, that limited editions are first launched to see if the product works before starting to sell it throughout the distribution.

The city where the temperature is taken to the consumer is not Madrid or Barcelona, "they are more cosmopolitan and less representative cities when assessing the results", but Zaragoza, more neutral territory.

How long it takes

If the new brand is fashionable, the thing changes.Luis Lara, from the KPMG consultant, points out that the key is to know if you are going to sell in physical store or on the Internet.

In the first case, "it takes longer to process the licenses of these spaces than to define your product," he says.If you opt for a multi -brand channel (the case of El Corte Inglés or online platforms) the thing is greatly facilitated and times can be shortened.

«It depends on many factors: the multinationals that want to launch in Spain some product that they already sell in another country have it easier, because they only have to adapt it to our culture.Half of the work is done.If parts of zero, you have to form new equipment or invest in factories you will spend more and take longer, ”summarizes Ana Barrio.

When brand new brand there are companies that are "more reactive" to what is happening in their product category (yogurts, drinks...) And they try to respond to that demand, «they go one step behind.Others are more pioneers and go ahead »because they anticipate what the consumer is going to ask for."The latter invest more in research, their strategies are different and their projects take longer to see the light," says Nielsen's specialist.

Insiders, outsiders...

According to Luis Lara, from KPMG, that the process is more or less easy "depends on whether you are already within the sector and you have contacts and know the suppliers, or you come from outside".Two examples: before creating the firm with its name, Rosa Clará was a commercial director of Pronovias, so she knew the market.The creator of the Shana clothing chain was also an ex, in this case of Inditex."The advantage of those who come from outside is that they do not know the rules of the game and it is easier for them to break them," says Lara.

For Ana Barrio, the key phase in the creation of a brand is to make themselves known.«It is the most complex process because you have to build notoriety.If the consumer does not know who you are not going to buy you, ”he says.For experts, it is important to invest beyond the product launch period.For some brands it extends to two years, while others reduce it to one.The first "manage to position better" than the latter, explain sources in the sector.

Patience, small

When negotiating with supermarkets where to place your product "you will also have an advantage if you are a large or known group (the case of Coca-Cola Oheineken) that if you come from outside the sector or you are a small brand".An entrepreneur who manufactures gourmet foods tells markets the strip and loosen.«They called us because they met us at a power fair.The conditions that offered us to sell in their stores were abusive, ”they say.

Sector's sources explain that, if you are a small fish, it is best "to put your head in the most minority channels, gourmet stores or specialized.In the third or fourth year the flower opens, not before ».