Dive Brief:
- The health and wellness trend keeps on going, and it has been hurting the sales of Hot Pockets—big time. Hot Pockets owner Nestle is aware of the problem, and has tried two marketing campaigns to revive sales in the past year.
- First, there was a branding makeover that promoted "premium cuts of meat" and "real cheese." Then, Nestle went to comedy video website Funny or Die to create a video ad campaign to target millennials. Neither seemed to work.
- Nestle has also pointed to two specific incidents that have hurt the brand name. One, a beef recall in February hit the Hot Pocket's Philly Steak and Cheese product—which also likely didn't help the 'foodie makeover.' Then, a boost in food-stamp assistance that was introduced in 2009 expired at the end of 2013, which was seen as "a big part of the consumption of this particular product," said Chris Johnson, executive vice president of Nestlé Business Excellence, on a sales call.
Dive Insight:
The bad luck Hot Pockets has been having is in keeping with the trend of 'freshness.' Consumers want to know what they are eating is healthy, and microwaveable Hot Pockets can't prove that—not even with a Funny or Die ad campaign. Nestle has not outlined further steps on rebranding the food. Only time will tell what becomes of Hot Pockets.