Limited Edition Foods

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the month always brings a feast of limited edition food products. Over the next few weeks the blog will feature pink bagels, pink chocolate products, pink pastries, as October always offers a veritable plethora of pink items designed to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

But October is not just Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is Domestic Violence Awareness Month as well. Domestic violence is also a huge killer of women, but its purple pride is less trendy (and less profitable) than the pink packaging that dominates the shelves this time of year. This is a shame, because as important as it is to support breast cancer research we cannot forget that domestic violence is quietly devastating women every day:

One in three women has been the victim of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or husband.

A third of the women in America admit that they have been physically or sexually assaulted by a husband or a boyfriend in their lifetimes.

At least three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day.

Children who witness violent acts between their parents are much more likely to grow up to become abusive themselves.

Domestic violence costs the economy over $5 billion dollars every year in health care costs, lost productivity and missed work, and related expenses.

Men are not immune from violence: twenty five percent of the victims of domestic violence are male.

Domestic violence is a devastating epidemic and silence is its friend. Many of the bloggers around the 451 Press network are taking time to promote domestic violence awareness during this first week in October. April has some compelling posts over on Her Daily News, while Susan at Home Computer Talk has a list of online resources for victims or people wanting to learn more about the issues. Beth at Astrology Explored has written about how to recognize the signs that someone is a violent individual and the manipulative traits of an abusive personality.

KD at WatchingCSI.com was kind enough to showcase CSI’s partnership with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a national organization that works with abused and neglected children in foster care.

If you are interested in helping with the issue of domestic violence in a hands on manner, becoming a CASA is an invaluable way to help children who have been removed from violent homes. CASA volunteers get extensive training before they are assigned specific cases by juvenile judges, and they work alongside the attorneys and social workers involved in the case to investigate the child’s situation and make recommendations about what is in the best interests of the child.

If you are interested in learning more about CASA please go to NationalCASA.org or contact the CASA office in your area.

Domestic Violence, purple ribbon, awareness, October, CSI, CASA, astrology

Looks like I was not the only one who liked the ad for Mountain Dew’s limited edition Game Fuel, the folks over at AdWeek liked it too.

One blogger claims that Cornetto is advertising a limited edition Kit Kat version in Kuala Lumpur, but there is no info on the Cornetto website. If you have more info please let me know!

Cornetto, Kit Kat, Kuala Lumpur, Game Fuel

Japanese consumers love limited edition foods and beverages, but crafting a hit can be risky business. Business Week has an interesting article of the Japanese market, where Pepsi’s Ice Cucumber sold out in two weeks. The article states that even Pepsi sodas that don’t sell well in other markets are gobbled up in gentei-crazed Japan.

Pepsi, Japan, Ice Cucumber, Business Week, limited edition, soda

If you read a lot of blogs but don’t comment much, this month is the time to change all that. 451 Press is offering the chance to win cash each time to comment on a blog during the month of August:

What would you buy with $300? Or even $200 or $100? Now is your chance to find out! Comment on any 451 Press site during the month of August and you could win! Three comments will be chosen at random to win a cash prize of $300, $200 or $100. The more you comment the more chances you have to win. So start reading and let those fingers fly.

Whether you comment here on Limited Edition Foods, or over on the TV Channel on Watching Battlestar Galactica, or over on the Miami blog about which celebrities were out in South Beach this weekend, your comment gives you a chance to win.

Good luck … and if you win post here and let us know!

cash, prize, comment, blog

Chocolate brander Hershey’s released bad news last week, reporting profits had fallen 96 percent from where they were last year. Many analysts claimed Hershey’s investment in limited edition foods for part of the decline, even as they cited the brand’s hope that this summer’s limited edition Elvis Reese’s cup would provide a boost in sales.

Most of the issues surround branding costs, which would explain why limited edition products are getting the blame … like any other marketing investment, limited editions must be designed to help the core brand long term. Other woes for Hershey include increased milk costs and a perceived failure to capitalize on the interest in high-end dark chocolate.

Hershey, chocolate, limited edition, Elvis, marketing, branding, profits, sales, milk

The India Times ran an interesting story last week on the fever for limited edition products in that country. The article mentioned some interesting limited edition foods and beverages that have been introduced in the Indian market in recent years, with ties to Bollywood productions and cricket standing out as unique to the region.

While some of the marketing partners may be unique, Indian marketers echo their Western counterparts in citing the value of limited edition foods as a valuable tool to build consumer awareness of the parent brand:

Pratik Pota, Executive VP – Flavours, Pepsi India, says that the logic behind the 2007 launch of Mirinda Sorbet “was to make the orange drink segment more premium, more unisex (as orange drink consumption is skewed towards women) and differentiated. Sorbet was important to stimulate the segment,” he says.

Pota too says that in carbonated soft drinks, “a flavour variant works well in short bursts as the consumer tends to go back to the mother brand.” What’s left unsaid is how the limited edition actually helped the mother brand. Asif Adil, MD, Diageo India — which is planning limited editions initiatives — however, says that Diageo does an MAE (measure and effect analysis) to try and find out the net impact of such campaigns. “Although I can’t give you the actual numbers there is definitely an increase in the sales of the parent brand,” he vouches.

India, limited edition, Pepsi, soda, Bollywood, cricket, sorbet, marketing, economics, Mirinda