Pedon is one of those brands that has a solid market share but is not known very well, even in Italy, its home country.
A manufacturer of dozens of private labels product, Pedon has also its own lines of products, one of which deserves special attention.
Pedon has developed a line of gluten-free products which Luca Zocca, the marketing manager, saw as a natural extension of traditional product lines. Especially interesting was the typology of consumers who adopted the product.
The gluten-free label is given only after a series of very though controls and accreditation (clearly mentioned on the packaging by the way) which explains why this product eventually got adopted by a population who does NOT suffer of a gluten-related pathology.
According to Luca Zocca, the US market for gluten-free products is estimated to 30 million people, 9 millions of whom actually suffer from a gluten-related pathology.
Our take:
The business case shows vividly what a market research may probably not have revealed, namely that side features of a product enable it to transcend its initial market and dramatically increase its potential. Think about it for one second. Although the gluten-free products of Pedon are not even organic, the additional control procedures applied are sufficient to attract three as many customers as you may expect.
Posted in Marketing, Strategy.