Haagen-Dazs Light

Häagen-Dazs, whose great taste and texture comes from its 10% plus butter fat, had a challenge. The butter fat is growing unpopular as diet debates grew, but the butter fat is what differentiates it and justifies  its premium pricing. It  is finally rolling out a low-fat product version this summer using as its site states "an exclusive European process of slow, low-temperature blending, Häagen-Dazs Light ice cream is crafted from only the world's finest ingredients without any artificial sweeteners or fat substitutes."

Analyst firms have over the last few years lost much of their own "butter fat". I know so many excellent analysts who run their own business or have moved on to vendors (Erik Keller, Bill McNee, Bill Hopkins, Art Mesher, Carter Lusher - ex Gartner; Brian Sommer, Peter Kastner, Chris Selland - ex Aberdeen; Stan Lepeak - ex Meta; Gopi Bala - ex Yankee and many, many more). Analyst firms, though never really acknowledged they had lost their "butter fat" and they continued to expect premium pricing.

In the meantime, alternative, offshore market research options have started to sprout. I have partnered with a firm in India called Value Notes on a variety of projects. Inexpensive and responsive.

Vendors still continue to patronize analyst firms. But as they realize that analyst firms have diminishing influence with buyers, this market will also gradually move away.

Time for analyst firms to do some serious re-engineering - either add back the "butter fat" and justify the price premium or innovate their own version of "European, low fat processes" a la Häagen-Dazs