#686 have your cake

I went to the grocery to get a cake mix to make some cupcakes.  I found that cakes, like so many other categories, have experienced a flavor explosion.  

The choices are almost overwhelming:  Tie Dye, caramel, strawberry cheesecake, blue raspberry, pink lemonade, watermelon, blue velvet, pink velvet, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate, fudge truffle, pumpkin cream, cherry chip, orangesicle, zebra...there are several shelves of flavors I have never tasted.

Because of the abundance of new flavors, the marketers had to do something to the standard flavors to make them look appealing in the mix. "White" only is distinctive when it is shown between Tie Dye and zebra, so now other manufacturers have repackaged to become Traditional Vanilla and Traditional Chocolate, etc. (I guess to tug on your sense of sense of nostalgia?)

I am one to experiment, so my last batch was watermelon and yesterday was pink lemonade.  Both caused people to do a double take before they tried one, but the flavors received a thumbs up afterwards.

Two thoughts for you:  

1) How does your product/service/message compete in this ever-changing market?  Do you create new additions to keep customer interest or do you rebrand your current mix to appeal to longevity/history/vintage/legacy?  

2) How do you personally keep fresh in today's world?  As I have written before, little experiments expand your comfort zone with taking risks and fostering creativity in other areas.  The next time you're at the grocery, reach for the orangesicle instead of the lemon and push your taste buds into the unknown.

-- beth triplett
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