Are brand extensions of healthy products an adequate strategy when there is a high association between the brand and unhealthy products?/A extensao da marca para produtos saudaveis e uma estrategia adequada quando existe uma alta associacao da marca com produtos nao saudaveis?/?Es la extension de marca para productos saludables una estrategia adecuada cuando hay una alta asociacion de la marca con productos no saludables?
| Autor | Carrete, Lorena |
1 Introduction
The theme of healthy eating has been on the international agenda and on the governmental agenda of many countries for several decades. For example, since 1992 the United Kingdom has promoted an alimentary regime focused on reducing the consumption of fat, sugar, and sodium, and increasing the consumption of fiber (Secretary of State for Health, 2010). The responsibility for an intake that guarantees a good quality of life extends to consumers and enterprises. In the case of consumers, the Nielsen and NMI international report (Frey & French, 2014) indicates that the size of the segment interested in good nourishment as a means to prevent and amend health problems is increasing. In an online survey, 89% of USA consumers reported that the responsibility for being healthy is an individual commitment, although only 70% stated that they are trying to adopt healthy behaviors such as following a complete and balanced diet. This trend towards healthier consumption represents an opportunity for food manufacturers, which through the development of new products can satisfy the current needs of health-conscious consumers and, at the same time contribute to controlling the social problem that overweight and obesity represents.
The management of health brands (health branding) is a challenge for firms that manufacture foods because they must not only offer products with nutritional properties but also be profitable (Anker, Sandoe, Kamin, & Kappel, 2011). Even though the capabilities of food manufacturers are critical for the development of innovations with high nutritional value, the successful commercialization of these products carries the risk of not being in agreement with the reputation and image of the firm, and thus it is important to consider marketing aspects (Gehlhar, Regmi, Stefanou, & Zoumas, 2009). These aspects include considering how the perceived fit between the characteristics of the products of the parent brand and its healthy extensions (products with more ingredients of nutritional value) influence the consumer's attitude towards the new product, because this is a critical antecedent to its acceptance (Buil, Chernatoy, & Hem, 2009; Kemp & Bui, 2011).
Many firms are creating brand extensions based on the reformulation of their products in order to obtain healthier (less unhealthy) versions, as in the case of reducing the amount of sodium, sugar, or fats. Other firms are developing completely new categories of products with a high nutritional value (healthy), which are commercialized under new brand names. Although research regarding brand extension has been continuously carried out since the 1990s (e.g. Aaker & Keller, 1990; Dacin & Smith, 1994; Volckner & Sattler, 2006), it has not been extended to the context of healthy brands, therefore explaining the interest of this study, whose objective was to explore which of the two strategies--modified products commercialized as brand extensions versus the introduction of healthy products under a new brand name--is more appropriate taking into account the effect that the fit between the nutritional characteristics of the usual products of the parent brand and the healthy extension may have on the credibility of the latter type of product.
The type of product selected to carry out this research were snacks, due to the following reasons: 1) they are products that satisfy the needs of consumers because they have the basic meta-attributes of convenience, fair price, tradition, safety, appetence, taste, and variety (Lusk, 2011); 2) their consumer market is not exclusive to any social class or age segment; 3) snack brands need to modify their products in response to the crisis they face due to restrictive government policies and regulations (for example, the ban on the sale of "junk" food in elementary schools in Mexico); 4) snacks are products that Mexicans frequently consume as appetizers or between meals, and their consumption has grown by about 70% in recent years, with 4 kg being consumed by each person every year (CANACINTRA, 2014; Euromonitor, 2013).
Based on the aforementioned context, the research questions associated with the proposed objective are: What snack brands are perceived by Mexican consumers as healthy? What are the desirable and undesirable attributes of a snack that make the consumer recognize it as healthy? How does the perceived fit between the regular products of a brand and its healthy extensions influence the credibility of the firm's ability to manufacture healthy products in the eyes of the consumer?
This article is organized as follows: after this introduction, a theoretical framework (section 2) is presented to discuss the basic concepts studied in this research; the third section describes the methodology used to collect the data and specifies how it was analyzed; next, section 4 describes and discusses the results by including tables and graphs to support the findings; finally, there is a conclusions section where the theoretical and practical implications derived from the research are reported.
2 Theoretical Framework
A brand involves a complex set of rational and emotional attributes that can be tangible or intangible and from which the consumer generates associations that help to form his/ her knowledge about the brand (Keller, 2003). Brand associations involve what the firm wants the consumer to remember when comparing with competitors (Aaker, 1991) and reflect the desired positioning of the brand in its market (Dawar & Lei, 2009). In the case of so-called healthy brands, a series of associations between characteristics of the brand products and healthy consumer styles and behaviors are stimulated in the consumer (Evans & Hastings, 2008).
One of the attributes involved in this is the brand name, which represents a critical decision for enterprises and is a relevant research topic (Chen, Ma, Zheng, & Wang, 2015). The name of a brand is not only a symbol of the product's quality, but also generates associations in the consumer that are linked with the functional, social, and psychological value of the attributes of the brand (Teas & Grapentine, 1996). These associations have a significant effect on the purchase intention of the consumer (Grewal, Krishnan, Baker, & Borin, 1998). Therefore, an appropriate decision regarding the brand name offers enterprises advantages over their competitors (Del Rio, Vazquez, & Iglesias, 2001).
The research on brand extensions provides evidence regarding situations where this commercialization strategy works in an assertive manner. An extension of a brand uses the same brand name to launch new products inside the same category or in a different category (Aaker & Keller, 1990). One of the advantages of this strategy is a reduction in the costs of introducing the new product line, because the consumer is already familiar with the brand and this increases the probability of success of the new line when consumers transfer their favorable attitudes towards the original brand to the extension (Aaker, 1990). There are times when a firm may even use a brand extension to improve the associations that the brand has built in its favor or correct those that may represent a risk (Park, Millberg, & Lawson, 1991).
However, positive evaluations of brand extensions depend on several elements, the main one being the degree of fit or correspondence between the traditional products of the parent brand and the child products of the brand extension. This perceived fit or compatibility refers to the extent to which the consumer perceives there to be good similarity/correspondence between the parent brand and the extension. A high perceived fit improves the evaluation of the extension (Aaker & Keller, 1990; Bottomley & Holden, 2001; Volckner & Sattler, 2006) and reinforces the appreciation of the parent brand (Zimmer & Bhat, 2004). If the firm launches a product which is consistent with but not a substitute for those of the parent brand, the consumers perceive a good fit, transfer the qualities of the brand to the extension, judge it to be credible, and thus better evaluate the brand extension and introduce it into their consideration set (Reast, 2005).
Additionally, when the brand extension is perceived as similar, this results in favorable feedback of the positive evaluations towards the parent brand (Aaker, 1990), strengthening the basic relationship of the brand that makes it different and unique, reinforcing the brand image, contributing to the brand equity, and increasing purchases of products of the same brand (Buil et al., 2009). In contrast, an extension with a low degree of fit may result in a loss in the differentiation and credibility of the firm, weakening the favorable associations of the parent brand (Keller & Aaker, 1998). Moreover, non-similar extensions or ones with a very low fit are questioned by the consumer. In conclusion, a brand extension is more credible, receives better evaluations, and reinforces the appreciation of the parent brand when it is perceived to be similar or consistent with the original products.
Several papers have studied consumer reactions to brand extensions based on the fundamental model developed by Aaker and Keller [A&K] (1990). Bottomley and Holden (2001), for example, performed a broad analysis of the data collected by A&K to better understand how the quality of the parent brand and its interaction with the perceived fit between the parent brand and the extension influence the attitudes towards the extension. The authors conclude that if the capabilities of the firm manufacturing the original products are perceived to be transferable and complementary to the capabilities required to manufacture the product of the brand extension, this helps the evaluation (Bottomley & Holden, 2001). However, if the brand extensions are easy to produce (e.g. simple adjustments to existent products) and are not seen as authentic innovations, the extensions may be...
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