Difficult and yet great - three interviews

exclusive study examines. For this purpose, David Guggenbühl and Boris Lautenbach also spoke to three competitors of Maison Cailler and asked them four questions that were always the same.

Markus Wilda, Head of Marketing, Maestrani Swiss Chocolates

What are the important elements of a good gift?
The symbolism as well as the gesture is the most important thing, even more important than the actual gift. He has thought of me. And yet the gift must have value. Why else do private brands have a problem establishing themselves as gifts? Because they have a deeper value in the mind of the consumer. If I want to express full appreciation, then I do it with a noble brand such as Sprüngli and not with a private label. The recipient knows the approximate value of the gift and will then quickly say to himself; Ok, the value of this friendship is....

What is Maison Cailler?
Individual chocolate. Every taste is different. They promote that everyone can have their own taste. I have already done the Cailler test.

What do you think about it?
Exciting approach. It is very elaborate and very complex. It takes a lot of communication to make the concept understandable. This is always associated with a high financial outlay. The problem with the message is that it is extremely complex and requires explanation. The question is, how long does a consumer have to decode this message? What is understood are the simple messages to which we have affinity. The question is, how affine are people to the topic?

How will chocolate be given as a gift in the future?
In the future, appreciation will continue to be the central element of every gift. In this respect, it will be even more golden and high quality in the future. Packaging will become more and more elaborate.

Andreas Trümpler, Director Marketing & Development, Confiseur Läderach

What are the important elements of a good gift?
Several: if I know the recipient well, then a good gift is something I find for him. For example, if I know he likes dark chocolate, then I buy him a special dark chocolate product with a special designation of origin. And then it has to be packaged in a cool way. It has to be a little different than just zero eight fifteen. You have to see the love a little bit.

What is Maison Cailler?
The concept is exciting. You can put something together. The idea of the special compilation, the own mixture, I find this idea good.... But what is lived is too technical, i.e. functionally perfect boxes, immaculate packaging, but no emotions. Although Maison Cailler promises emotions, they deliver an "apothecary box", perfect but ice cold.

What do you think about it?
The idea is interesting and has potential. However, the origin and size of the company behind Maison Cailler is too obvious. Nestlé is strong in well thought-out technologies, i.e. the perfectly organized implementation by engineers and specialists. Unfortunately, the emotional component seems to be forgotten. The consumer wants to be surprised and feel personally addressed. I think the packaging is well designed, well thought out and functional; it is protected from throwing, it has a cool design and offers an experience when you open it, but the emotionality is still missing. In addition, the product lacks attention to detail; the contents of the packs seem very industrial, somewhat uncharitable and arbitrary. However, I believe that Maison Cailler will recognize these opportunities and continue to develop successfully. Nespresso is a good example from the same house, where the combination of a technically perfect product with the right emotions became a success.

How will chocolate be given as a gift in the future?
Gifting will always be an important part of the chocolate business.... At the same time, individuality will play an increasingly important role in the future. The consumer wants to be able to order his own personal mix. And from that, also to be able to put together something individual for someone, combined with the message "I have put together something personal for you. I think you'll like this." The chocolate business of the future will become even more individual and personal. The question here is whether a corporation that is successful in large quantities will be able to manage this complexity in detail, or whether this is and will remain more the territory of the many small suppliers.

Serge Doutaz, Head of Marketing & Sales, Chocolat Frey

What are the important elements of a good gift?
A gift should not be mass-produced, but something individual, personal. The gift should show the recipient that he is important to the giver. This importance can be expressed by the value of the gift, but also by a certain originality and by the "something special". And perhaps the gift should also contain a statement about the giver himself.

What is Maison Cailler?
Maison Cailler is multi-faceted. It offers consumers the opportunity to put together a personalized gift and then have it beautifully packaged and shipped.

What do you think about it?
A very exciting and also very entrepreneurial approach. I'm impressed that Nestlé is thinking about new consumer benefits and trying to satisfy them with this new type of product. But the people at Maison Cailler will certainly find that out for themselves relatively quickly. I am convinced of that.

How will chocolate be given as a gift in the future?
Especially for the younger generation, the old, traditional gift is becoming more and more boring. To make gifts more interesting in the future, I think you have to personalize them. However, gifts will not only be sold via the Internet in the future; the traditional sales channels will hold their own. So the real challenge is to be able to offer consumers a personalized gift in the future without an overly complex manufacturing process and without relying solely on the Internet as a distribution channel.

Click here for the article from the print edition: Difficult and still great.