Understanding Tween Ice-Pop Experiences

Challenge

Helping an iconic ice pop brand arm itself with insights around tween’s needs, wants, and expectations when it comes to afternoon snacks and ice pops, to drive future ideation within the category.

For a brand that has etched itself into summer pool-side moments for many generations, it can be difficult to push the boundaries and grow beyond what they’re already known for. Our client came to us to broaden and deepen their understanding of ice pop occasions (particularly the afternoon snacking moment!) amongst tweens, to explore how far the form and function of ice pops could stretch.

Approach

We tackled this challenge head on using a three-pronged approach. Firstly, we went into tween’s kitchens to see what snacks filled their fridges, freezers, and cabinets to get a baseline understanding of what they eat and why (… and, yes, you guessed it, we saw a lot of chips, crackers, granola bars, and even pizza rolls). Secondly, we had 1:1 conversations with tweens (without their parents around!) to get their unfiltered thoughts on snacking and where ice pops fit into the mix. Lastly, we wrapped up with short conversations with parents, to complete the picture of how snacking moments truly come to life in tween households. We even got a glimpse into the conflict management that occurs around snacking between parents and tweens! It was interesting to say the least.

Impact

Not only did we provide our client with three distinct tween afternoon snacking need states and how to fulfill them, but we also delivered insight into tweens and parents mental models regarding ice pops and how they differ from snacks. Thus, identifying clear paths for future ideation.