4 Failure lessons from Colgate's Most Short-lived Product

Did you know that Colgate had once launched a Lasagna frozen meal?

By 1970s, Colgate-Palmolive had established a trusted brand in oral care, with a strong global presence.
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It was around this time, when parallely frozen meals were building a new category in US supermarkets, its primary reason was the growth in the number of working families, looking for convenient dining options.

Seeking new opportunities, the brand wanted to expand into new product categories beyond personal care. Colgate decided to leverage its brand recognition to enter the frozen food market with a line of ready-to-eat meals

Perceived Value Proposition:

• Quality and Trust: Leveraged Colgate’s reputation for quality and reliability in personal care products.
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• Convenience: Meals designed for quick preparation, aligning with busy consumer lifestyles.
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• Variety of Choices: Offered a range of entrees to cater to different tastes and preferences.
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• Healthy Options: Positioned as a healthier alternative to other frozen meals available at the time.

Market Reception:

• Consumers strongly associated Colgate with toothpaste and oral hygiene products and the idea of a toothpaste brand offering food products was off-putting to many consumers.
• This caused confusion in brand equity and diluted the strength of the Colgate brand in its core category.
• The product failed to gain traction in the market. as supermarkets were hesitant to stock the product due to anticipated low consumer interest.
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Did you know that tested this category with Colgate Lasagna in a limited test set in Madison, Wisconsin? but had to quickly pulled within weeks!

Severe Impact on Brand Equity:

• Significant resources were invested in product development, packaging, and marketing and the failure led to financial losses due to unsold inventory and marketing expenses.
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• Competitors capitalised on Colgate’s misstep to strengthen their market positions in oral care.

4 Lessons to learn from Colgate’s Biggest Failure

1. Brand Alignment: Colgate’s identity was firmly rooted in oral hygiene. Extending into food created a disconnect that confused and repelled consumers.
   ​Solution: Startups should ensure new products or services align with their established brand image and customer expectations.
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2. Thorough Market Research: Colgate underestimated the negative consumer reaction to the brand entering the food market.
   ​Solution: Invest in comprehensive market research to gauge consumer attitudes toward brand extensions or new ventures.
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3. Consumer Sentiment: Brands evoke specific feelings and expectations; controlling these engagements and setting expectations is key.
   ​Solution: Ensure that new products align positively with existing brand associations to foster acceptance.
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4. Brand Positioning: Colgate did not effectively reposition the brand to support the new product line, leading to market rejection.
   ​Solution: Develop a strategic positioning plan when entering new markets, possibly using sub-brands to differentiate offerings.