ooh I do love a hot drink before bed. As a child this was strictly forbidden. Something about sleeping on a full belly…? Nevertheless, I now bask in the luxury of having a hot drink not only before bedtime, but actually in bed with a good cookbook.
The choices in the UK are pretty dire, so most of my hot drinks are from Hong Kong, where my family are from. It might be a hot mandarin drink, or a light miso soup with little veggies in (wayyy better than the cuppasoup!) or it might be some malty soy drink that will soon send me off to la la land.
Old Packaging of Horlick. Lovely moon.
The UK offering is pretty simple – you’ve got Ovaltine, and Horlicks….hot chocolate..Anything else? I have recently noticed Horlicks re-branding, as an ‘Anytime’ drink. I am not sure how convinced I will be! Horlicks is just too heavy and creamy to have in the day, it makes you want to put your feet up and signals your body to start winding down. There is something wonderfully old-fashioned in the branding style that echoes Werther’s Originals or your grandparents old mugs.
The New Horlicks Packaging. No More Moon.
But as someone who works mainly from home, drinking horlicks would be an absolute disaster – productivity would take a skydive and it would be game over.
Malted hot drinks sales have apparently dropped by 2.6% year on year to £51.4 million (Kantar World Panel 12 June 2001) so I can understand why Horlicks want to encourage consumption outside of bedtime. When you are a brand as well-recognised as Horlicks, its strong identity of being a night-time drink is both a blessing and a curse. The brand scores highly on Brand Recognition – everyone has heard of Horlicks – and can visualise the friendly logo, navy blue sky and moon, but consumption rate is slow per unit and is on the decline.
But rather than trying to change drinkers from thinking of it as a night-time drink (a terribly difficult thing to change), why not diversify your offering and use the malt in other comforting food products like malted milk cookies or to develop a children’s version for a before-bedtime hearty treat? Better to innovate outside of the category and widen the market, rather than trying the impossible task of increasing the consumption of the existing, small market.
Bonnie Bites 