CarlNelsonFranceAdvertising: Swiss Miss Cocoa Mix

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Swiss Miss Cocoa Mix

Twenty-five years ago, scientist and explorer Will Steger made history when his team of six men and 42 sled dogs crossed Antarctica—all 3,741 miles of it. The journey had taken seven months, not least because temperatures dipped to 100 degrees below zero while 80 mph winds lashed the team. "Every day, camp after camp, through storm, whiteouts and clear weather, we skied and pushed our sleds," Steger later recalled. Fortunately, they also had a little help. Steger estimated that his men had drunk 2,070 cups of Swiss Miss instant cocoa.

Photo: Nick Ferrari

That wasn't a brand endorsement so much as simple proof of brand universality. When it comes to drinking chocolate (and let us remember that Theobroma, Latin for cocoa, means "food of the gods"), Swiss Miss is the go-to brand—"synonymous with a simple, delicious and comforting treat," a spokesperson told us. And in a country that goes through $781 million worth of cocoa powder each year, that's no small thing. Swiss Miss enjoys a 64 percent market share (up 9 percent over last year) and sells nearly four times as much cocoa by volume as its closest competitor. If you happen to be over 40, you'll recall the actual Swiss Miss: Heidi, the Claymation maiden who sang her Yodel-ay-hee-hoo song on TV in the 1970s and '80s. And if you've ever shoveled snow, gone ice skating or simply been cold, there's a good chance you've warmed up with a cup of instant cocoa, courtesy of Swiss Miss.

"When you think of cocoa, you don't think Ghiradelli or Starbucks," said Jose Parado III, design director of Haugaard Creative, which brought back Swiss Miss' original packaging a few years ago. "Swiss Miss is synonymous with hot cocoa."

The funny thing is, Swiss Miss is also a newcomer to the category. The native peoples of Mexico started drinking ground cacao mixed with water 4,000 years ago, and both the Mayans and Aztecs followed suit. Cortés brought the drink to Europe, and it popped up again in Boston in 1670. Fast-forward to 1946: Sanna Dairies of Ridgeland, Wis., began making instant powdered cocoa called Swiss Miss and sold it to airlines as an in-flight beverage. The drink was so popular that by 1960 Sanna began retailing it in grocery stores. ConAgra has owned Swiss Miss since 1990.

As for Heidi, she's come and gone. A late '80s package redesign booted the toothy maid and her "Swiss" flowers in favor of a blue alpine theme. But ConAgra obviously sees the value in nostalgia, since it hired Parado's firm in 2013 to bring back the original packaging, now selling at Target. If Heidi is a bit stereotypical, she's also memorable.

"Even lapsed users remember, I used to drink that when I was a kid!" Parado said.

And fortunately for Swiss Miss, lots of adults still do.