Brand Failures

22 Gerber Singles
When branding goes ga ga
Baby-food manufacturer Gerber is responsible for one of the most frequently
referenced brand failures of all time. Alongside Coca-Cola’s New Coke and
Harley Davidson’s perfume, Gerber’s attempt to crack the adult food market
is certainly one of the main entrants in the branding Hall of Shame.
The idea was to produce small servings of food for single adults – such as
fruits, vegetables, starters and desserts – in the same jars used for baby food.
However, when Gerber’s adult range was launched in 1974, the company
soon discovered that the idea of eating products such as ‘Creamed Beef ’ out
of a small jar was not most people’s idea of a good night in.
Furthermore, the product was called Gerber Singles. According to Susan
Casey in the October 2000 issue of Business 2.0, ‘they might as well have
called it I Live Alone and Eat My Meals From a Jar.’
Whether the product had been market researched is anybody’s guess – and
it is certainly hard to get a comment from Gerber itself. One thing is certain,
however. Baby food for grown-up loners failed spectacularly.
Lesson from Gerber Singles
Think from the consumer’s perspective. Although Gerber Singles made sense
from Gerber’s perspective (after all, the company could save manufacturing
costs by using the same jars as for its baby food), no consumer was
interested in buying a product which not only told the world that he or
she couldn’t find a partner, but also gave the reason why (because the
person was a big baby).