“The cost of acquisition is insane,” Nier says. While Heinz had no marketing budget for Heinz To Home, it was picked up in the press, driving significant traffic to the site. Having an established name behind you helps. “There’s a big barrier to entry in understanding the various platforms and tools, but once you have a decent grip on them, the real challenge begins: how do you find and convert customers at a cost that makes the whole thing worthwhile?” says Sokol. “Advertising - particularly via digital channels - is hugely important for DTC brands to establish their customer bases and fuel growth.”īrave Foods co-founder Seb Sokol describes DTC as “a numbers game”. “DTC brands are, from the outset, forging relationships with their customers in a different way from a traditional brand,” says Sophia Haynes, IAB director of campaigns. It is possible - Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) research found 97% of the UK online population are aware of at least one of the 50 largest DTC brands in the UK - but it requires work. If brands are to bypass the supermarkets, they need to dedicate more resources to attracting customers. “To justify a delivery charge, you have to consider what may make it worthwhile to your consumer”įor PepsiCo, is similarly focused on bundling goods, whereas prompts customers to create a snack pack for themselves or friends. “To justify a delivery charge, you have to consider what may make it worthwhile to the consumer, and what would add most value.” “You have to think differently about the way you are selling your range, and how the consumer wants to shop in this channel,” Harrison says. Roberts Bakery also sells bundles and kits. There’s no point launching a DTC business to sell a single bottle of ketchup.” “The idea is not to compete with a retailer,” stresses Nier. Heinz has an ‘Essentials’ 16-can mix bundle, as well as sauces and babyfood packages.
That is crucial - and it typically involves bundles that aren’t available in the mults. One thing they can’t outsource is the product offering. “Not only did we have to source the components quickly, but to understand and co-ordinate a very new order and fulfilment model,” says Harrison. Similarly, the Roberts site required “brilliant collaboration” internally and with outside agencies. “We knew we needed to work with experts, especially if we wanted to be quick.”
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“We know how to shift big pallets to supermarkets, but not a bundle to the final shopper,” Nier explains. Heinz worked with two: one built the e-commerce website, while another manages payment, fulfilment and delivery. So how have brands launched DTC ops so quickly? And do the initiatives have a life beyond the crisis?Įxternal partners have been key to getting DTC sites up and running. “It’s difficult for anyone to get flour or yeast - these items are still scarce in supermarkets, long after loo roll was replenished to usual levels.” Also getting in on the act have been Pukka, Princes and PepsiCo (the latter in the US). “With the UK in lockdown, baking is booming,” explains Megan Harrison, Roberts marketing director. Roberts Bakery spent just four weeks getting its site, which sells Get Baking kits, up and running this month. Heinz hasn’t been the only big brand launching a DTC site in the pandemic. So a team of four set about building the operation, and three weeks after the DTC idea was pitched to Heinz’s leadership team - “they simply told us to make it happen,” Nier says - the first Heinz consumer-facing e-commerce site went live. “If you wait two or three months your opportunity has gone,” says Nier. “We thought ‘is there anything we can do?’” Nier says. As lockdown has left swathes of consumers at home, unwilling or unable to brave the shops, while historic spikes in demand are coupled with poor availability, it was “the best opportunity to ever try” the DTC site. So says Jean Philippe Nier, Kraft Heinz’s head of e-commerce, who spearheaded the launch of Heinz To Home last month. In which case, there has never been a better time. Unless, of course, you are selling directly to consumers. Global pandemics are rarely a good time to start a new business venture. Lumina Intelligence: UK Food & Drink Reports.
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