NEUBAKE, the low-end brand of Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc. (GBPI), is expecting to double its sales this year, with the addition of its new pioneering loaf-bread format to its product lineup.
Launched in February, Super Slice, the latest offering of NeuBake, has 10 slices of loaf bread per pack. This is larger in size than the flagship vertical format, yet reasonably priced.
“We know that Gardenia pioneers in a lot of things. Like, before when all the breads were in a lying-down position, it started the upright position. At this point, we also thought of a horizontal format. With the Super Slice, we introduced something innovative to be noticed in the market,” GBPI Marketing Manager Thea Tan told the BusinessMirror.
True to its “Super Tipid” tagline, buyers, especially individuals, can save with this new offering, as they “can make bigger sandwiches at a very affordable price”, she said.
Each 300-gram pack of white bread NeuBake Super Slice is sold at a suggested retail price of P29. At P35, the wheat variant is catered more to health-conscious consumers.
“Filipinos always eat bread. So every now and then, they look for [an] alternative. They look for good-quality bread that is affordable,” Tan noted.
The newly launched Super Slice has already received a favorable market response since its debut four months ago. The share between white and wheat is almost equal.
“But, of course, white bread is costs higher,” she added, adding 8 out of 10 breads the brand sells are white and two are wheat.
“Consumers have also good acceptance of the wheatened variant because of the high level of health consciousness. Initial observations indicate expansion of [the] market, as we are offering a good tasting, yet very affordable bread available in the mass market,” she said.
NeuBake was made available to the market by GBPI in 2012 via its flagship, white bread in vertical form at 450 grams. It costs only P36 per pack. At present, the brand accounts for less than 10 percent of the entire GBPI bread portfolio.
“We’re really hoping NeuBake will become more popular, with sales doubling at the minimum,” the GM said, without citing exact figures due to confidentiality.
She is confident of their expectation considering they have finally introduced the brand to the low-end market through advertising. Just recently, a television commercial (TVC) for Super Slice was released and is still being shown nationwide. This ad campaign features Youtube-sensation-turned-childstar Sebastian Benedict Granfon, also known as Baste at the noontime show “Eat Bulaga” on GMA network, and his real-life mother Sheila. Both appeared recently in a media presentation held at Salu restaurant in Quezon City.
“We thought of Baste because he is very popular now. He would signify somebody who really enjoys the NeuBake Super Slice,” she noted. “And when we looked at the behavior of a mother, of course, mommy Sheila embodies a typical mom, who thinks wisely in order to have savings for the family.”
This is the first time Gardenia promoted NeuBake through advertising after its entry into the low-priced segment with such branc, Tan said.
She recalled a lot of people were surprised to know the brand is made by Gardenia when they saw the company’s trademark and logo printed in the packaging. Gardenia did not endorse nor launch any campaign for this brand even if it was already available in the market.
“Consumers started buying NeuBake when they realized it’s [from] Gardenia. They’re assured it’s of good quality,” Tan said. “We hope they will also like Super Slice because it’s giving them a different format to enjoy NeuBake.”