Kopiko is an Indonesian brand of coffee candy. They are actually one of the largest coffee producers in South East Asia.
What’s great about the Kopiko brand is that they position themselves not in the candy or confectionary category, instead they choose one that they know they won’t have many competition with.
Kopiko position themselves as a coffee drink alternative. So they position themselves against coffee but they offer it in a completely new way which in a solid confectionary form.
Here are 4 lessons on positioning that you can learn from Kopiko,
Before we get into the lessons, we need to first understand what positioning is & how to use it.
Brand positioning is about establishing a unique & advantageous place inside the minds of your audience.
A commonly used framework used for positioning is the ones from Marty Neumeier.
“For [target customer], [brand] is the [frame of reference] that [point of difference] because [reason to believe].”
So Kopiko positioning could be something like,
“For people who feels sleepy in their daily lives, Kopiko is a coffee candy brand, an alternative to coffee drink. 3 pieces of our candy is equivalent to a cup of coffee.”
1/ Differentating from competitions
The coffee industry is a very competitive space. There’s a lot of brands already established & just starting out every week. What Kopiko has done great is deciding to differentiate themselves as not a candy brand but as a coffee brand but in a form of candy. Kopiko is a coffee drink alternative. As shown in their tagline, “Gantinya Ngopi” which means, instead of coffee drinking coffee. So compared to their competitors who sells coffee drink, they sells candy, but with a similar benefits.
2/ Connecting with your consumers
By having a concise & clear position for their brand, Kopiko ensure that their messaging resonates better with their consumers by addressing their needs & preferences. Kopiko understands that their consumers want a solution to their sleepy feeling but in an alternate form which is a candy. This also helps them to connect better by relating with their consumers on an emotional level, fostering trust, loyalty & long-term relationships.
3/ Having clear value proposition
Kopiko has a very clear value proposition. They helps people who feels sleepy feel less sleepy by consuming their candy instead of drinking coffee. It’s a very clear proposition delivering an arguably better solution to the same problem as their competitors. And by having a clear promise, they are able to deliver on it consistently thus building more trust & credibility with their consumers.
4/ Guidance for marketing efforts
Because they are clear with what they are & what they offer to their consumers, it won’t be much confusion for them to come up with a marketing campaign. Their positioning provides a framework for all their marketing communications, ensuring consistency across different channels & touchpoints. It also helps their internal team to be aligned when creating & delivering their marketing campaigns.
5/ Adaptating to change & growth
No matter how big a brand is, change is inevitable. Brand positioning not only provide clear direction but also helps the business to adapt without losing it’s core identity. Kopiko in the last few years has introduce other product like instant coffee. With a strong positioning, the introduction to new products or services under the same brand umbrella helps to extend existing trust & credibility towards the new offerings.
In essence, Kopiko has a very strong brand positioning helping them to differentiate themselves in the marketplace that they choose to play in, & it also helps them to manage & grow their brand even more.