Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods vs. Green Giant Frozen Vegetables-- Product Positioning and Strategy

Product Positioning and Strategy:



Figure 1: Consumer Perceptions About Frozen Foods5

On a perceptual map, Birds Eye Foods’ frozen vegetable products can be labeled as both nutritious and convenient. It is expected that parents likely buy the vegetable products for their children, however these frozen vegetables likely rate low in terms of being thought of as a children’s food. Birds Eye has yet to address the issue of product offerings that are suitable for children, but it continues to pride itself on offering a long line of varying products, each with equal ease of preparation. Birds Eye has also worked to alter customers’ perceptions about the difference between fresh and frozen vegetables. What some customers don’t realize is that frozen vegetables can be frozen within hours of their harvesting, making them actually much fresher than the supposed “fresh” vegetables at the supermarket, but while maintaining the nutritious value of the foods. Birds Eye has taken note that if customers perceive their frozen vegetables as actually being fresher and just as nutritious, then they are likely to buy more of them.[5] In this way, Birds Eye seeks toposition frozen vegetables in consumers’ minds as being very fresh and healthy. Green Giant has also adopted this strategy, for in December 2003 the company began to put the phrase “Frozen Vegetables Are as Nutritious as Fresh” onto the packaging of its frozen vegetable products.[6] Birds Eye and Green Giant are both actively working to overcome the stigma about frozen foods. This is important because research performed by Elaine Watson in the United Kingdom in 2006 reveals that 32% of consumers view frozen food as being not as fresh as chilled food (Figure 1).[7]

Birds Eye has introduced two new lines of steam-able frozen vegetable products, “Steam and Serve” and “Herb Garden Collection.”[8] The packaging of these products attempts to appeal to the taste of consumers with large pictures of savory vegetable concoctions. This labeling and packaging strategy is interesting because it attempts to entice new customers to purchase frozen vegetable products that they would not have considered before.

[9][10]

Next, Birds Eye has established itself in the marketplace as a frozen vegetables innovator.Customers spend a great deal of time in the frozen food aisle just learning about steam-fresh packages and the like.[11] Packaging plays a very important role for both Birds Eye and Green Giant frozen vegetable products. The packages are generally colorful and display a diagram which teaches a customer about the technology inside of the bag (i.e. steaming). The consumers’ recognition of packaging between the two brands is the key to creating brand equity amongst them (Figures 2 and 3). When consumers see either brand name on a frozen vegetables product, they know to expect quality and freshness. Birds Eye packages are blue, while Green Giant packages are green. Green Giant has for a long time sold canned products with green labels, so the brand equity built up in that industry has transferred over to frozen foods, and helped the company’s frozen vegetable offerings sell better. Furthermore, while Birds Eye’s bird logo is recognizable to many consumers, Green Giant owns the “Green Giant” logo consisting of a large green man, which holds overwhelming recognition in the world of branding. This has further lent itself to Green Giant’s sizable brand equityand competitive branding advantage (Figure 4).


Birds Eye Foods for a long time sold its frozen vegetable products under both brand names it owned and through private labels. It conducted the latter activity simply to move quantity through its factories.[12] Birds Eye Foods hired Neil Harrison to be its CEO in 2005, and one of his first moves was to discontinue Birds Eye’s sale of non-branded frozen vegetables. He insisted that those sales were “crippling” the company by occupying key resources that could be better used.[13] So in 2006 and 2007 Birds Eye Foods sold 5 of its frozen vegetable plants.[14] With this move, Birds Eye cemented its place in the branded frozen vegetable market and proceeded to focus its efforts on marketing those products.


Birds Eye, being the new product innovator that it is, often releases new types of products and new varieties of existing products. Like most companies, Birds Eye must pay a slotting fee to grocers for placing these new products into grocery store freezers. A Form S-1 that Birds Eye Foods submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 8, 2009, states that slotting fees were incurred during the launch of Birds Eye’s Steamfresh line of meals that were substantial enough to impact to company’s gross margin.[15]While it is unclear how much Birds Eye and Green Giant must pay for slotting fees related to individual products, it is obvious that the total cost for these fees is sizable and likely hurts each party equally as much given the level of market penetration each company seeks.[16]


Other posts on Birds Eye:
Birds Eye Foods Memo, Competitors, Brand, Summary of Frozen Vegetables Market
Birds Eye Foods Brand Analysis and Comparison with Competitor Brand: Target Market Segmentation Strategy
Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods vs. Green Giant Frozen Vegetables-- Distribution
Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods vs. Green Giant Frozen Vegetables-- Promotion
Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods vs. Green Giant Frozen Vegetables-- Pricing
Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods vs. Green Giant Frozen Vegetables-- Product Positioning and Strategy
Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods vs. Green Giant Frozen Vegetables-- Brand Recommendations
Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods vs. Green Giant Frozen Vegetables, Full Report
Brand Analysis Report: Birds Eye Foods Frozen Vegetables; Review of Product Sub-Category
Annotated Bibliography for Birds Eye Foods’ Frozen Vegetables, Full Document
Annotated Bibliography for Birds Eye Foods’ Frozen Vegetables, Part 1
Annotated Bibliography for Birds Eye Foods’ Frozen Vegetables, Part 2
Annotated Bibliography for Birds Eye Foods’ Frozen Vegetables, Part 3



Works Cited


"Birds Eye Foods, Inc. - FORM S-1 - October 8, 2009." Internet FAQ Archives - Online Education. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

"Birds Eye Foods : Promotions." Welcome to Birds Eye Foods: Frozen vegetables to nourish your family. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

"Birds Eye Phases Out Private Label, Will Focus on Brands." Frozen Food Age 55.1 (2006): 10. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

"Birds Eye Steamfresh Meals For Two." Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota. 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

"Birds Eye to Sell Frozen-Food Plants." Rural Cooperatives 73.5 (2006): 35-36. Print.

"Clarence Birdseye Biography." Biography.com. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. .

Fleenor, D. Gail. "Frozen Vegetable Sales are Steaming." Progressive Grocer 88.5 (2009): 110-12. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

Garrison, Bob. "Eyes on the Prize: A Smaller Birds Eye Foods Embraces a Fork-to-Field Approach and its New Future as a Branded Marketer." All Business. 1 May 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. .

"Green Giant Fresh Brand History." Green Giant Fresh®. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

"History of Birds Eye® : Clarence Birdseye : Father of Frozen Food." Welcome to Birds Eye Foods: Frozen vegetables to nourish your family. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

Kerin, Roger A., Eric N. Berkowitz, and Steven W. Hartley. Marketing (Mcgraw Hill/Irwin Series in Marketing). 8th ed. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print.

McCarthy, Shawn P. The Art of .COMbat Ancient Wisdom for the Competitive Economy. New York: Wiley, 2001. Print.

"Morar Consulting - Brand Performa." Morar Consulting - Home page. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

Reyes, Sonia. "Birds Eye's Veggie Tales." Brandweek 42.37 (2001): 1-2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

Riell, Howard. "Birds Eye Lines Seek to Inspire Consumers." Frozen Food Age (May 2006): 12. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

"Snyder of Berlin : About Us : Distribution Information." Welcome to Birds Eye Foods: Frozen vegetables to nourish your family. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

"Sup: Promotions Archives." SunSentinel.com. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

Watson, Elaine. "Frozen Frustration." Food Manufacture 81 (2006): 13. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .


[1] "History of Birds Eye® : Clarence Birdseye : Father of Frozen Food." Welcome to Birds Eye Foods: Frozen vegetables to nourish your family. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[2] "Green Giant Fresh Brand History." Green Giant Fresh®. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[3] Fleenor, D. Gail. "Frozen Vegetable Sales are Steaming." Progressive Grocer 88.5 (2009): 110-12. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

[4] Ibid.

[5] Watson, Elaine. "Frozen Frustration." Food Manufacture 81 (2006): 13. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

[6] "Green Giant adds new on-pack claim: 'Frozen Vegetables Are As Nutritious As Fresh'" The Free Library. Frozen Food Digest, Inc. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[7] Watson, Elaine. "Frozen Frustration." Food Manufacture 81 (2006): 13. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

[8] Riell, Howard. "Birds Eye Lines Seek to Inspire Consumers." Frozen Food Age (May 2006): 12. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

[9] "Sup: Promotions Archives." SunSentinel.com. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[10] "Birds Eye Steamfresh Meals For Two." Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota. 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[11] "Birds Eye Phases Out Private Label, Will Focus on Brands." Frozen Food Age 55.1 (2006): 10. Business Source Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

[12] Garrison, Bob. "Eyes on the Prize: A Smaller Birds Eye Foods Embraces a Fork-to-Field Approach and its New Future as a Branded Marketer." All Business. 1 May 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. .

[13] Ibid.

[14] "Birds Eye to Sell Frozen-Food Plants." Rural Cooperatives 73.5 (2006): 35-36. Print.

[15] "Birds Eye Foods, Inc. - FORM S-1 - October 8, 2009." Internet FAQ Archives - Online Education. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[16] "Morar Consulting - Brand Performa." Morar Consulting - Home page. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[17] Garrison, Bob. "Eyes on the Prize: A Smaller Birds Eye Foods Embraces a Fork-to-Field Approach and its New Future as a Branded Marketer." All Business. 1 May 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. .

[18] "Birds Eye Foods, Inc. - FORM S-1 - October 8, 2009." Internet FAQ Archives - Online Education. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[19] Reyes, Sonia. "Birds Eye's Veggie Tales." Brandweek 42.37 (2001): 1-2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. .

[20] "Birds Eye Foods : Promotions." Welcome to Birds Eye Foods: Frozen vegetables to nourish your family. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[21] Kerin, Roger A., Eric N. Berkowitz, and Steven W. Hartley. Marketing (Mcgraw Hill/Irwin Series in Marketing). 8th ed. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print.

[22] "Snyder of Berlin : About Us : Distribution Information." Welcome to Birds Eye Foods: Frozen vegetables to nourish your family. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

[23] McCarthy, Shawn P. The Art of .COMbat Ancient Wisdom for the Competitive Economy. New York: Wiley, 2001. Print.

[24] "Clarence Birdseye Biography." Biography.com. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. .