Jolly Rancher: Overcoming the 'Waiting Room Candy' Stigma

Jolly Rancher: Overcoming the 'Waiting Room Candy' Stigma

Jolly Rancher: Overcoming the 'Waiting Room Candy' Stigma

Championing the little treat that started it all.

The Ask
The Ask
Revive Jolly Rancher’s sales by connecting with a new audience.
The Problem
The Problem
In a world chockfull of fun and interesting candy, Jolly Rancher doesn’t stick out. 
The Insight
The Insight
The graveyard for all candy is the waiting room bowl.  
The Solution
The Solution
The graveyard for all candy is the waiting room bowl.  
Methodology

Here's everything we did to find our sweet spot. 

Here's everything we did to find our sweet spot. 

Here's everything we did to find our sweet spot. 

Consumer interviews

We sat on a stoop passing out Jolly Ranchers on Halloween and conducted 10 interviews with people about why the Blue Raspberry flavor is the best.

If childhood had a taste, it would taste like the Blue Raspberry Jolly Rancher.

If childhood had a taste, it would taste like the Blue Raspberry Jolly Rancher.

If childhood had a taste, it would taste like the Blue Raspberry Jolly Rancher.

It was what we grew up eating, in between a balanced diet of pizza dippers and Kraft Mac & Cheese, in the place we spent the majority of our time as kids: school. 

And as kids, there were little things more effective in captivating our attention than candy - which more often than not, happened to be Jolly Ranchers.

They are :

They are :

They are :

  1. A treat for motivation. 

  1. A treat for motivation. 

“A Jolly Rancher is great for rewarding bravery at the start of the year. When I ask students to share work for class workshops or volunteer to give answers or work at the board I give out a Jolly Rancher.”

- Reddit, r/Teachers
“A Jolly Rancher is great for rewarding bravery at the start of the year. When I ask students to share work for class workshops or volunteer to give answers or work at the board I give out a Jolly Rancher.”

- Reddit, r/Teachers

  1. A conversation starter.

  1. A conversation starter.

“I used to trade them with my friends when I was younger. Blue Raspberry is the best” 

- A survey respondent

  1. A quick fix to stave off the hunger. 

  1. A quick fix to stave off the hunger. 

"As a kid, I ate them a lot because I always raised my hand when my teacher asked a question. It’s ironic now because I’m a teacher and I eat them sometimes between classes when I don’t have a lot of time for a full meal.”

- A teacher we interviewed on Halloween
The problem

But we stopped eating them

But we stopped eating them

But we stopped eating them

We graduated onto better treats, driven by our own personal tastes. Iced Matchas, a puff of a cheeky cigarette, late night DoorDash orders.  But that doesn’t mean we’ve given up on candy. In fact, we can’t get enough of a sweet treat.
We graduated onto better treats, driven by our own personal tastes. Iced Matchas, a puff of a cheeky cigarette, late night DoorDash orders.  But that doesn’t mean we’ve given up on candy. In fact, we can’t get enough of a sweet treat.

We just aren’t choosing Jolly Ranchers

We just aren’t choosing Jolly Ranchers

Not when we’re eating candy corn during Halloween, or candy canes on Christmas, or heart shaped chocolates on Valentine’s. 
INsight

Jolly Rancher has been relegated to the candy graveyard: the waiting room.

Jolly Rancher has been relegated to the candy graveyard: the waiting room.

Jolly Rancher has been relegated to the candy graveyard: the waiting room.

People may be eating Jolly Ranchers, but never on purpose. 

People may be eating Jolly Ranchers, but never on purpose. 

  • Over 50% of our survey respondents said the most recent place they got Jolly Ranchers was from a bowl. 

  • And only 16% of our respondents chose Jolly Rancher as their #1 candy. 

Meaning, that people don’t dislike Jolly Ranchers, they just don’t actively seek them out. 

Solution

So how do we get people to start choosing Jolly Rancher?

So how do we get people to start choosing Jolly Rancher?

By taking it back to where it all started. Instead of competing with chocolate in the Halloween Chaos, Jolly Rancher can show up where no other candy does: the start of the school year. 

The solution:

Create a candy calendar event for Jolly Rancher by positioning it as the Back-To-School candy.

The solution:

Create a candy calendar event for Jolly Rancher by positioning it as the Back-To-School candy.