EVOL Branding Research and Positioning

BRAND RESEARCH AND POSITIONING
4 BRAND RESEARCH & POSITIONING / 09.18.15

EVOL has reached a critical point in
its growth trajectory, securing key
distribution at Walmart and Target.
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It’s now time to pour gas on the brand,
so we set out to discover what is at
the heart of EVOL, as well as where its
competitive advantage lies.

What you’ll see today
1. Research Objectives and Methodology 05
2. Key Findings 07
3. Food Philosophies 11
4. Frozen Meal Perceptions and Needs 18
5. The Frozen Meal Landscape 33
6. EVOL Brand Perceptions 47
7. Key Insights 66
8. Creative Brief 68
9. Appendix 70

Core Research Objectives
1. Uncover emotional and physical needs in the frozen
category as well as the role frozen meals play and
how that role may be evolving
2. Identify the competitive frame of reference for Evol

and where and how the brand fits in
3. Understand the brand perceptions of Evol – obtaining the

brand’s essence and shedding light on its precious elements
4. Ladder insights up to a higher order consumer need and

fertile emotional space that help to differentiate the brand
from the category

Methodology
We spoke to a total of 41 consumers from

August 3 – August 6, 2015
8, 2-hour focus groups across 2 markets

(Denver, CO and Seattle, WA)
4 Evol Loyalist Groups (n=19)

4 Competitive User Groups (n=22)

Key Findings

EVOL is the brand of choice for
people who use the internet!

Also: consumers are significantly more likely to report
a desire to smoke weed with EVOL as compared to
Amy’s (the “allegedly vegetarian” frozen meal brand).
Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves…

Had you there for a hot second
didn’t we?

Exploring Food
Philosophies
How people want to eat is almost
entirely tied to the notion of what’s
healthy—an allusive, hard to define
concept in its own right.

Currently, we find ourselves at an interesting
intersection between the fake/diet health of
the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s and the evolved/real
health of today. Fancy pants anthropologists
call this liminality—but really it’s the idea that
we’re at a watershed moment of cultural change.

We’re stuck between two food belief systems:
Old School or “Fake” Health Evolved or “Real” Health
Low everything (calories, sugar, fats, carbs) Real, recognizable, clean ingredients
Science-driven Hand-crafted, local, thoughtful
Cheap Moderation/room for indulgence
Calorie counting Balanced (carbs, fats, protein)
Organic, no GMOs, antibiotics, hormones
“You’re eating a smaller portion, so that’s going to be “I have been trying to focus on clean eating. I try to stick
healthier because you’re eating less…and you have to look to a lot of whole food vegetables and protein sources.
at the fat grams and calories and make sure they’re decent.” I don’t eat junk food, fast food, sugar, or soda. I look at
food in an absolutely different way now.”
–Competitive User, Denver Group 1
–Competitive User, Denver Group 1

Consumers are shifting towards real
health. They are raising their ideals
and expectations as they become
more conscious of the impact food
has on their bodies and lives.
“I think people will realize that they can take a stand. And they
can have some power, some energy, behind what they do to their
bodies, and what they’re also doing to the environment through
health and through food choices.”
—Loyalist, Denver Group 4

Reason 1: Personal Evolution of Convenient Eating
30s
20s
College
The teenage years
The after school special of Comfort food as a reminder Adjusting to life in the working, less Trading up, in life
portable food. Nutrition ain’t of home for the cooking- active, (and lowly paid) world. Trying to and in food.
no thang. impaired college kid. control food intake by eating “healthier”.
“So you transition as you get older, and you’re like, I need to eat healthy. So I’m getting
Healthy Choices or Lean Cuisines, and then all the sudden you realize that those aren’t
really healthy per se.” –Loyalist, Denver Group 4

Reason 2: We are more educated about food than
ever before via documentaries, eating and exercise
movements, and the growth of progressive brands
V E G

Frozen Meal
Perceptions and
Needs
Consumers have been
let down by our category.
“I used to crush a Hungry Man. But they’re
so gross. Walking down the frozen food
aisle – it’s terrifying.”

A frozen meal stigma exists, created
and perpetuated by the traditional
brands of the category
• Mass Produced
• Unhealthy
• Highly-processed
• Plastic
• Flavorless
• TV-Dinner
• Microwaved
• Lazy

But, due to time constraints,
switching to a healthier or
homemade option doesn’t
feel possible.

This creates stress and guilt for
consumers when they engage in
the category.
“I still have this residual guilt about eating it. There is better,
fresh, raw. I can make a better choice, but do I have the time to
do that? No! And this is the next best step.”

For them, there’s a gap between what I want
to believe about myself vs. what my behavior
of eating frozen meals indicates
I want to believe I am: But...
savvy buying frozen meals

health conscious makes me feel less than that—
educated big gap it makes me feel lazy,
thoughtful unhealthy and
active out of control.

So many consumers avoid thinking
about the category. They turn off
their brain and stay in their lane of
buying Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s.
And really, can you blame them?

“I like Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine. I also eat
Lean Pockets too. They’re really convenient and fast.
It’s a habit too. It’s something I’ve been eating for a while.”
—Competitive User, Seattle Group 2

Frozen meals have played a basic, albeit important,
role in life. They feed hunger, quickly. And to that point,
the corresponding needs within the category have
traditionally been quite functional:
Save Me Time Save Me Energy Fill Me Up
“It’s for when I’m in a pinch. It’s for when I haven’t had a chance to go to the grocery
store and that box just happens to be sitting there and I’m hungry.”
—Competitive User, Denver Group 2

These functional needs have and will
always be at the core of what consumers
want from frozen meals.

Then, in the 80’s, the convenience of frozen food was
married with the ‘dieting’ needs of the era. This was
Lean Cuisine’s heyday.
Keep me thin Portion control
“I stay away from a lot of carbs. To me personally, carbs are the same as sugar. I like
a good protein source and 300 calories or less.”
—Competitive User, Seattle Group 2

But needs are evolving. Consumers want their
frozen meals to feed more than just hunger.
“It’s about fueling you, keeping you focused…feeling like you ate healthy choices
throughout the day; that you didn’t go off pact.”
—Loyals, Denver Group 4

So today, there’s an opportunity to call in the
next generation of frozen meals. Meals that
do more than save you time and fill you up.
Meals that move you forward.
Move me forward
Keep me thin Portion control

Food that moves you forward
works in three ways:
1. Physically: The act of putting simple,
real food in your body.
2. Emotionally: The positive feeling that comes
from making a progressive food choice.
3. Culturally: Participation in moving the
challenged food system forward through
buying a higher standard food.

The components of food that moves you forward
Guilt Free Full of Goodness

I’m not a bad or lazy A fresh and real tasting product
person for eating/serving my that’s been made with care, love,
family a frozen meal. and thought.
Smart
Energizing
I’m smart because
I’ve made a choice
Food That Feeling energized post-
that doesn’t stray from Moves You my frozen meal. AKA: the
my overarching food
ideals—even if it is Forward inverse of a Stouffer’s mac
and cheese syndrome.
frozen.
Pleasurable Adventurous
Transforming an otherwise sad
The simple notion that food
desk lunch into a flavor
should be a tasty, joyful
adventure,
experience.
punctuating my day.

Understanding
the Frozen Meal
Landscape
Consumers define the frozen meal category across
two dimensions.
IN CONTROL
A choice I feel better about
as it’s more in keeping with
my food philosophy.
SUSTAINING LIVING
Eating to resolve hunger. Eating to enjoy
and thrive.
A choice I feel guilty about

due to poor quality.
OUT OF CONTROL

Poor Choice: Consumers neither truly enjoy, nor feel good about eating
these brands. They fulfill an extremely functional role.
IN CONTROL
SUSTAINING LIVING
POOR CHOICE
• Science meat • Mass produced
• Long ingredient list • Cheap
• Poor ingredient quality
• Unhealthy or “fake healthy”
OUT OF CONTROL

Poor Choice: Consumers neither truly enjoy, nor feel good about eating
these brands. They fulfill an extremely functional role.
IN CONTROL
“To me, it’s like you got hit by a

SUSTAINING truck after you eat them.” LIVING
—Competitive User, Seattle

Group 2
OUT OF CONTROL

Sad Healthy: these brands promise a healthy meal, but leave consumers a
bit disappointed, leading to lower loyalty and emotional connection overall.
IN CONTROL
SAD HEALTHY
• Makes me feel “healthy,” but at a cost
• Lack flavor, good texture, enjoyment
• Lack satisfaction
SUSTAINING LIVING
POOR CHOICE
• Science meat
• Long ingredient list
• Poor ingredient quality
• Unhealthy or “fake healthy”
OUT OF CONTROL

Sad Healthy: these brands promise a healthy meal, but leave consumers a
bit disappointed, leading to lower loyalty and emotional connection overall.
IN CONTROL
“Kashi doesn’t taste as good,

I feel like it’s healthy, it’s
SUSTAINING
just not as tasty as the other LIVING
ones.”
OUT OF CONTROL

Interestingly, Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice walk the line between feeling
in control and out of control. These brands are in a precarious position as some
consumers buy the lip service, while others are quickly calling them on their bull.
IN CONTROL
SUSTAINING LIVING
OUT OF CONTROL

Guilty Pleasure: Consumers tend to emotionally connect with these
comforting, yet unhealthy, brands.
IN CONTROL
SAD HEALTHY
• Makes me feel “healthy,” but at a cost
• Lack flavor, good texture, enjoyment
• Lack satisfaction
SUSTAINING LIVING
POOR CHOICE GUILTY PLEASURE

• Science meat • Mass produced • Comfort foods • Lower ingredient
• Long ingredient list • Cheap • Homey flavors quality
• Poor ingredient quality • Mass Produced
• Unhealthy or “fake healthy” • Long Ingredient list
OUT OF CONTROL

Guilty Pleasure: Consumers tend to emotionally connect with these
comforting, yet unhealthy, brands.
IN CONTROL
“It’s a relaxing and

rewarding thing.”
—Competitive User,
Denver Group 1
SUSTAINING LIVING
OUT OF CONTROL

Real, Good Food: These brands feel the most aspirational and ideal, with
the only downside being the presumed premium pricing.
IN CONTROL
SAD HEALTHY REAL, GOOD FOOD

• Makes me feel “healthy,” but at a cost • Natural / organic
• Lack flavor, good texture, enjoyment • Short ingredient list
• Lack satisfaction • Real, higher quality ingredients
• More premium and sophisticated flavors
SUSTAINING LIVING
POOR CHOICE GUILTY PLEASURE

• Science meat • Mass produced • Comfort foods • L ower ingredient
• Long ingredient list • Cheap • Homey flavors quality
• Poor ingredient quality • Mass Produced
• Unhealthy or “fake healthy” • Long Ingredient list
OUT OF CONTROL

Real, Good Food: These brands feel the most aspirational and ideal, with
the only downside being the presumed premium pricing.
IN CONTROL
“Amy’s tastes fresher. The ingredients are very specific

and they are things that I can understand and read.
I tend to trust that brand. It tastes good and the food
does taste real.”
SUSTAINING LIVING
“EVOL’s not compromising on their ingredients and they’re

not just trying to fit in with all the other stuff that we’ve known
for years. They are breaking the whole compromise.”
OUT OF CONTROL

By owning the higher order territory of food that moves
us forward we can gain share within our category by
getting frozen food consumers to trade up.
IN CONTROL
OUR DIRECT COMPETITIVE SET
SUSTAINING LIVING
OUR ADJACENT COMPETITIVE SET
OUTSIDE OUR COMPETITIVE SET
OUT OF CONTROL

It also positions us to more readily
steal share from fast casual and
QSR.

Quick recap intermission
There’s an opportunity to...
1. Call in the next generation of frozen food.
2. Be the frozen meal brand that doesn’t just
save you time and fill you up, but moves
you forward.
3. Steal share within and outside our category
by owning the higher order territory of
“food that moves us forward.”
Deep dive
on Evol
So what’s the difference between EVOL
and our competitors? We led our consumers
through a guided visualization of each brand,
reimagined as a hotel room, in order to pull
them apart.

Amy’s Room
Amy’s personality is warm, in a pachamama,
hippy kind of way. Overall, the brand feels
comfortable, cozy, familial, introverted,
and safe.
“There’s a bunch of women in their forties or fifties who
are getting on the hippie train. They are welcoming,
kind, and down to earth.”
—Loyalist, Seattle Group 4

Amy’s Room
Healthy Choice’s Room
Healthy Choice’s personality is health-
minded, but in a bland and joyless way.
Overall, the brand feels generic and
uninspiring.
Note: We did not conduct the room exercise for Healthy

Choice within the research. Instead we used overall
consumer-driven brand feedback for our analysis.

Healthy Choice’s Room
Stouffer’s Room
Stouffer’s personality is homey and friendly,
if not a little aloof. Overall, the brand feels
warm and all-American, but also a bit
unkempt and out of touch.
Note: We did not conduct the room exercise for

Stouffer’s within the research. Instead we used overall

Stouffer’s Room
Lean Cuisine’s Room
Lean Cuisine’s personality is feminine, but
also a bit inauthentic and superficial. Overall,
the brand feels like it is building a façade of
trendy mindfulness in order to overcome its
true nature.
Note: We did not conduct the room exercise for Lean
Cuisine within the research. Instead we used overall

Lean Cuisine’s Room
Evol’s Room
EVOL’s personality is young, hip, lively,
and open-minded. Overall, the brand
stands out as much more modern, fresh,
clean, fun, and energetic than Amy’s.
“I’d say EVOL is more energetic and “Evol is more of a friend and Amy’s
interactive [than Amy’s]. It’s mingling.” is more like my mom.”
—Loyalist, Seattle Group 3 —Loyalist, Seattle Group 3

Evol’s Room
Our personality traits align nicely with
the emotional and functional attributes
consumers selected as core to the brand.

“They break through the walls of what a
frozen meal is. You can still have the life-
style that you want.”
—Loyalist, Seattle Group 4

At the emotional core of EVOL lies a progressive
change agent at the forefront of the food revolution.
Precious to Evol Supportive to Evol

Satisfying
Progressive
Leader
Innovative Authentic
Young/Hip Trustworthy
Witty, Bright/Colorful
Energetic
Love
Change Agent Transparency
Food Revolution Approachable

The functional core of EVOL’s brand adds up to real,
uniquely tasty foods that are (truly) good for you.
Precious to Evol Supportive to Evol

Real Food Organic
Healthy Responsible Sourcing
Clean Free of GMOs
Simple Ingredients Proteins free of

Antibiotics and Hormones
Unique Ingredients
Unique Packaging
Unique Flavors
No Artificial Ingredients
Recognizable Ingredients or Fillers
Taste Rules!

When our emotional and functional attributes work together
it all ladders up to this higher order opportunity we’ve been
talking about.
Evol’s Brand Benefit:
FOOD THAT MOVES YOU FORWARD
Evol’s Emotional Core Evol’s Functional Core
Progressive Made-From-Scratch Goodness
Young & Hip Unique Ingredients and Flavors
Active Taste Rules
Change Agent Modern/Unique Packaging

Summary of
Key Insights
Top Insights
1. Modern life places huge energy demands on us all. We are living

faster, more intense and hyper-productive lives than ever before.
2. A tension exists within the world of frozen meals. Their convenience
helps us keep pace with our modern lives, but their contents are not
keeping pace with our values.
3. Eating to sustain and survive is no longer enough. We want to feed
our lifestyle, activities, health, and wellbeing.
4. EVOL stands out as a youthful, active, progressive, and clean eating
beacon of hope.
5. EVOL lives at the intersection of thriving and in control. A position we
can lean into harder.
6. An opportunity exists to welcome in the next generation of frozen food.

Creative
Brief
Creative Brief
Tension: We want better food choices that can keep

pace with our busy lives, but the broken
food system is holding us back.
Question: How do we prove that Evol is food that

moves us forward?
Brand idea: Food that moves us forward.

Appendix

Packaging Learnings
Packaging Cues: What it signals to consumers
clean look clean food

straightforward and simple we have nothing to hide
sustainable trustworthy brand / conscience
bright & colorful energetic, hip brand
call out of premium ingredients more sophisticated and tasty

Packaging Opportunities
• A proprietary way to talk about our freezing process

and how it locks in nutrition and freshness.
• Made on date.
• Connection to “local” (i.e. contracted with local farmers).
• Handcrafted.
• Clearly communicates fresh plus ups (either provide or encourage
consumers to add their own fresh ingredients or sauces).

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BRAND RESEARCH AND POSITIONING

4 BRAND RESEARCH & POSITIONING / 09.18.15

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2. Identify the competitive frame of reference for Evol

3. Understand the brand perceptions of Evol – obtaining the

4. Ladder insights up to a higher order consumer need and

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We spoke to a total of 41 consumers from

8, 2-hour focus groups across 2 markets

4 Evol Loyalist Groups (n=19)

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Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves…

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The teenage years

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I want to believe I am: But...

savvy buying frozen meals

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Save Me Time Save Me Energy Fill Me Up

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Keep me thin Portion control

Save Me Time Save Me Energy Fill Me Up

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Keep me thin Portion control

Save Me Time Save Me Energy Fill Me Up

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Guilt Free Full of Goodness

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A choice I feel guilty about

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“To me, it’s like you got hit by a

—Competitive User, Seattle

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“Kashi doesn’t taste as good,

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POOR CHOICE GUILTY PLEASURE

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“It’s a relaxing and

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SAD HEALTHY REAL, GOOD FOOD

POOR CHOICE GUILTY PLEASURE

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“Amy’s tastes fresher. The ingredients are very specific

“EVOL’s not compromising on their ingredients and they’re

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OUR DIRECT COMPETITIVE SET

“To me, it’s like you got hit by a

—Competitive User, Seattle

“Kashi doesn’t taste as good,

“It’s a relaxing and

1. Modern life places huge energy demands on us all. We are living

Tension: We want better food choices that can keep

Question: How do we prove that Evol is food that

Brand idea: Food that moves us forward.

• A proprietary way to talk about our freezing process