In this article, we analyze Le Creuset’s marketing strategy, particularly its diversification into items that are not, a priori, its core business.
Le Creuset is one of the most interesting brands from a marketing point of view. The guardian of a century-old tradition has capitalized on the COVID crisis and is now embarking on a diversification strategy. The coherence of the marketing actions and the recent diversification strategy led me to conduct an in-depth analysis.
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Founded almost a century ago, the Franco-Belgian Le Creuset brand has been revived recently. It has benefited from the Covid period and the “return to the oven.” Thanks to a marketing strategy that capitalizes on social networks, it has captured the new generation’s attention. The PFAS scandal will also have contributed to a return to cast iron and steel. In any case, that’s how I got back into Le Creuset a few months ago.
How Le Creuset boosted the desirability of its products
Le Creuset was a dormant brand until the Covid period. Unlike many parts of the economy that suffered during the confinement, Le Creuset could count on the forced return to the kitchen and the discovery of the “long-term.” The brand had an excellent idea of capitalizing on:
To increase the desirability of its products, which were propelled to iconic status on social networks. From a marketing point of view, it was perfect, for Le Creuset had not only become a useful object because of Covid (it had been so for the previous 95 years). Above all, Le Creuset had become a positional object, i.e., that sent a signal to its owner.
Le Creuset colors have evolved.
Until recently, the Le Creuset brand was associated in the collective imagination (especially in France) with its brown/reddish color or black cast iron. Color has enabled the brand to rejuvenate its image, thanks in particular to the acidic hues and gradations made possible by enameling. The Le Creuset cocotte is no longer just a cooking tool. It’s a decorative accessory.
Some colors are so beautiful that we’ve given them names. Here, for example, is the superb “artichaut” color.
Playing with colors is a particularly salespeople-friendly technique. It’s a little-known marketing technique that I’ve explored in this article. It increases impulse buying. Le Creuset’s new color range makes it possible to create visual effects in-store by juxtaposing products, increasing product desirability. This reinforces the Le Creuset brand’s transition from a kitchen icon to a decoration icon.
Co-branding and limited editions
Le Creuset’s marketing department also had the good sense to carry out co-branding operations, which led to the development of limited editions. The technique is well-known and effective.
In the video below, for example, Le Creuset launches a range bearing the effigy of American baseball clubs. Not only are the colors used (which makes for a nice mass effect), but you’ll also notice that the club emblems can be found on the casserole lid. I’m unsure what marketing convergence is between Le Creuset and the American Baseball League, but that’s another debate. Anything goes to attract new customers, especially in a country (the USA) where appearances are important. It’s unlikely that Le Creuset x MLB (Major League Baseball) casserole dishes will ever see the light of day.
There have been many others: Star Wars, Disney, …. and all these saucepans are more window-dressing than cooking instruments.
La cocotte Le Creuset n’est plus seulement un instrument de cuisine. C’est un accessoire de décoration.
Diversification strategy
The diversification strategy is a marketing classic. It consists of capitalizing on a brand’s success in one field to expand into related areas. While the strategy may seem logical, there are several pitfalls to watch out for:
- diversification into sectors too far removed from the initial activity
- loss of brand identity if diversification does not respect the brand’s DNA.
Le Creuset has, therefore, logically adopted this strategy to diversify its range into several ancillary areas:
- barbecue accessories
- tableware
- nomadic objects
Cast iron is Le Creuset’s know-how and DNA. Therefore, it is surprising that the brand should diversify into producing objects of different materials (ceramic, stainless steel, etc.). I suspect, moreover, that the production of these new ranges is outsourced. But from the consumer’s point of view, it makes sense. Indeed, the brand doesn’t stray far from the kitchen world. So there’s a marketing congruence that’s reinforced by several visual elements:
- the color (again), reminiscent of the original casserole dishes
- the embossed stripes, one of Le Creuset’s other “trademarks.”
“Derivative” items from the Le Creuset range bear distinctive visual elements that associate them with the brand’s DNA
This diversification makes a lot of sense from a marketing point of view but less so from an industrial one. Indeed, there are no economies of scale on the production side. However, the effect on the consumer is maximal. As Le Creuset has become a “love brand,” I bet customers won’t settle for just one piece. As the video below shows, some customers are buying entire collections.
Conclusion
Le Creuset’s marketing strategy is the right one. This brand has gone from utilitarian to positional. It has become a “love brand” thanks to an exceptional event: Covid. Its potential is enormous, but to conduct it, it will have to find a solution to an even greater challenge: American protectionism.
