BOSTON — McCormick & Company, Inc. has set up a plan for 2015 to regain momentum from a recent dip in sales. The spice and seasoning company said sales suffered as retailers moved to expand product assortment in 2013.
“McCormick’s last broad-based revitalization of this line was more than 10 years ago,” said Lawrence Kurzius, president Americas, China and chief administrative officer, during a Sept. 3 presentation at Barclays Back-to-School Consumer Conference in Boston. “This restage will include a more contemporary design and fresher appearance.”
The goal of the Gourmet restaging is to “appeal to younger millennial consumers,” Mr. Kurzius said.
In the spices and seasonings category, the plan is to differentiate the brand with greater variety and include a “flavor seal,” he said.
This is not the first time McCormick has restaged its line of seasoning mixes after a long period of not doing so, and they saw success after the restaging. In this restaging of the Gourmet line, McCormick plans on taking some of the tools from that first restage.
“Some of the learning is keeping the package fresh enough to continue to bring in the younger customers, but not changing it so radically that you lose your core franchise and your older consumers,” Mr. Kurzius said.
The objective is to adjust to some of the mainstream trends.
“Some of the things that we’re doing, gluten-free, a liquid recipe mix format, are all to capitalize on some of the new trends,” Mr. Kurzius said.