• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 8, 2017

Danone is investing in a multimillion-dollar campaign for So Delicious Dairy Free, one of the leading plant-based brands that it acquired from WhiteWave Foods in a $10-billion deal. 

Having completed the acquisition in April, Danone isn’t letting any proverbial grass grow under its feet.

The new branding campaign reflects Danone’s plan to build on the already robust momentum in the non-dairy category by wooing health-conscious consumers beyond those who eat non-dairy for dietary or allergy reasons.

So Delicious’s frozen desserts are a particular focus, with good reason. “Free from” products are driving most of the growth in the $28-billion ice cream market, per Packaged Facts. In fact, U.S. non-dairy ice cream sales in the grocery and supercenter sectors surged 46% in the 52 weeks ending April 29, according to Nielsen. 

So Delicious frozen dessert sales increased 15% in the same period, while the brand’s full portfolio — which also includes creamer and yogurt alternatives and almond milk beverages — saw sales jump 21%.

Taglined “Nothing Compares,” the new campaign’s creative, from the Duncan Channon agency, aims to correct the perception that choosing dairy-free requires sacrificing pleasure, by shifting the focus to the pure ingredients (also gluten-free and organic) and indulgent taste of the So Delicious products. The benefit of lower calories than dairy-based ice cream is also in the message mix. 

Fifteen-second videos for the Salted Caramel Cluster Cashew Milk frozen dessert variety (“Mouthful”) and the Cookie Dough Coconut Milk variety (below) use extreme close-ups to tempt viewers. Those ads began running this week on Facebook and in pre-roll and native video on June 5 and will continue to run through the rest of summer ice cream season.

Similarly taste-focused video ads for the brand’s creamer/yogurt alternative products will run from late summer through October.

The campaign also includes two radio ads for the frozen desserts (“Coconut” and “Ears”), airing on Pandora from May through October, and print ads running in national lifestyle magazines from June through October. 

Dairy-free “isn’t just a trend to respond to” for So Delicious, which has been “perfecting” dairy-free foods and beverages for more than 25 years, the brand’s VP of marketing, Andy Judd, tells Marketing Daily. “That’s why we’re excited to showcase the taste, purity and sensorial experience of So Delicious products in a way we’ve never done before.”

“’Nothing Compares’ is a bold declaration of confidence that decadence and wellness can absolutely go together,” adds Duncan Channon’s executive creative director, who says that tasting So Delicious products was “an ‘a-ha’ moment for our team.”