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If you like the idea of turning your teeth black, freezing your brain or drinking a concoction that looks like windshield washer and has no nutritional value, there's a good chance you haven't yet seen your 18th birthday. What's more, you're a prime target for the marketing people at Couche-Tard, a chain of 511 convenience stores across Quebec.
A year ago, Couche-Tard launched its own off-the-wall brand of a slush drink, aimed at the so-called Generation Next market of kids ages 12 to 18. Called "Sloche," a word that sounds like "sluch" when spoken by francophones, it has replaced the ubiquitous Slush Puppie that the chain had sold for 19 years.
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For the uninitiated, a slush drink is a combination of finely crushed ice infused with fruit flavouring. Slush Puppie Canada sells it in thousands of independent retail outlets in all 10 provinces.
But Couche-Tard wanted something a little edgier than the cute little dog image that graces Slush Puppie products and speaks to the hearts and taste buds of young children. "We decided to create our own brand because Slush Puppie didn't address the right demographic," says Michel Bernard, Couche-Tard's senior director for marketing and merchandising in Laval, Que. "The demographic that drinks Slush Puppie is the seven to nine to 12 crowd. But they're not the ones who frequent depanneurs (the Quebec term for convenience stores)."
In the belief that adolescents, rather than their younger siblings, are more frequent depanneur customers, Couche-Tard is targeting teens with its version of slush. The company engaged in several months of market research to find out exactly what adolescents want. "The young people we surveyed complained that the Slush Puppie flavour disappears after awhile," says Bernard. "So our product has a...