Two of the most important parts of launching a product are investing and marketing, and if even one of these isn’t looked after properly, then problems are bound to arise. Besides this, being able to identify the correct target market is also of immense importance for a product to gain attention.
For instance, if the company or brand is unable to identify consumer needs or if the quality of the product is not up to the mark or of any such incapability, the product is most likely to fail. In some instances, if the company is a brand new one, it might go in loss.
Imagine buying a tablet of a mediocre computer brand that costs the same as the Apple iPad and does not even function properly or efficiently. That is right; you cannot imagine buying that because you would not.
Here are 15 products from big brands which failed miserably, making not only those who bought them but the companies which launched them regret their decision. These also teach us an important lesson of always being cautious and prepared.
CRYSTAL PEPSI
Launched: 1992
Pepsi and Coca-Cola have always been in a tough competition, and by releasing this product, Pepsi just dug their own grave further.
Pepsi trying to weasel their way into the world of clear sodas was nothing but a massive flop. Even the now-retired creator of the product admitted it himself and said that it might have been on the shelf if he would have just listened to his staff.
From the flavour being weird to people doubting its effect on their bodies and mind, the era of Crystal Pepsi will always be a boring reminder of a huge fiasco.
GOOGLE GLASS
Launched: 2013
Google Glass, as represented by Google, was supposed to be “a hands-free device to help you focus better without any fuss.” It had a head-mounted display in the form of eyeglasses. It is a wearable computer; only it did not reach the public the way the company would have expected.
This product was a classic example of “not worth the cost.” One of the significant reasons for the failure of the product was its overestimation by the company because they thought that it would sell itself, which it did not.
EZ SQUIRT
Launched: 2000
This product proved that ketchup is supposed to be red. In the hopes of attracting more consumers, kids, because they happen to be the largest consumers of ketchup, Heinz launched this product, which initially was quite a success. But the hype eventually died down.
This was mainly coloured ketchup in matching vibrant bottles like blue, purple and green. But the company completely stopped its production and sale around January 2006 as the realisation hit them.
ZUNE
Launched: 2006
Microsoft probably got its hopes up way too high after launching Zune, an Mp3 player, with the hope of competing with and beating Apple’s iPod, one of the most used products, worldwide. Although this product might have been reasonable, there were many bugs and improvements needed. And mainly, it was unable to cater to people’s needs because Apple had already done that through the classic iPod.
LAY’S WOW CHIPS
Launched: 1998
Unlike the name, the chips came out to be the exact opposite! These were fat-free potato chips which contained Olestra, because of which the chips, if overeaten, started acting as a laxative. This is one of the primary reasons, along with other digestion problems that arrived along with these chips. Not only did these bring up severe health concerns but Frito-Lay, the company that produced these, lost all sense of consumer trust, thereby rendering the launch of this product, utterly useless.
BISLERI POP
Launched: 2016
When one of the most known and well-reputed brands of bottled water in India tried to introduce soft drinks in a variety of flavours like Pina Colada, Spyci, etc., the masses were not impressed.
This mineral water giant failed with their new launch not only because of little or no response from the public but also because of tougher competitions like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
CHEETOS LIP BALM
Launched: 2005
Yet another hit Frito Lay had to take due to their product’s major failure. The name itself makes it look like a big no, and that is not even the worst part! The part where it did not attract even an average amount of consumers was because it did not even taste like Cheetos in the first place.
This was one of the most significant faults in the product the idea behind launching it, because unlike the products of a massive brand like that of Chapstick, most products of this one, made little to no sense, thereby failing to attract the public.
COSMOPOLITAN YOGURT
Launched: 1999
It remains a mysterious question till date, as to what one of the best magazine brands was thinking when they launched this product. The shelf life of cosmopolitan yogurt was so low that it only lasted in the market for a mere span of 18 months. They had to stop its production because of its rapidly falling sales, and it was quite evident that the audience was not pleased.
NEWTON
Launched: 1993
Apple, a brand that has taken over today’s market and is thriving, launched one of the most futile products back in the ’90s, which failed to meet people’s expectations. The company claimed that this PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) would save time and was the best way to take down notes. But the main problem lied in the main feature itself, for the handwriting recognition feature did not work properly, which lead to a mix of words that created a lot of confusion.
Not only that, the product cost was way too much for an unsatisfactory functioning and an inefficient system.
GALAXY NOTE 7
Launched: 2016
Most of the stories behind a failed product are often based on one company trying to outdo its competition but is unable to do so. The story of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is another such example. In the greed of surpassing Apple’s much attractive mobile phones, Samsung launched Note 7 with the hope of winning over the market. But soon news started to chime in about these phones catching fire because of their all too powerful and boosted up hardware systems, due to which, the company had to stop the phone’s production altogether.
KITCHEN ENTREES
Launched: 1982
Local wars were not the only bizarre event happening in the ‘80s. A well-reputed toothpaste brand launching frozen dinners also happened to be one of the strangest things to happen back then. The majority of the people was rejecting the product simply by the idea of it. And that was the worst part because people did not even think about trying it out, let alone paying for it.
MOBILE ESPN
Launched: 2006
It gave fans easy access to their favourite teams as well as exclusive content and video. But the product was an over-priced and outdated flip phone which failed to hold the public’s attention for long. Plus users had to spend extra every month to get access to the ESPN content, which further led to its product. Therefore, after spending large sums on a rather failure of a product, the company took down the product within a year.
WATERMELON OREOS
Launched: 2013
With the idea of a limited summer edition, the company at least made the right choice by keeping these for sale only for a constrained amount of time. The flavour being weirdly inculcated in cookies, straight up tasted bad, thereby failing to impress the audience. Even the usual Oreo-lovers, were not huge fans of this one.
SEGWAY
Launched: 2001
Not only was this product overhyped, but it was also over-priced and that too, for what looked like not much. The Segway was unable to take up the wear and tear of daily life and had a very less following from the very beginning of its launch.
Eventually, the somewhat hype it had, died down too.
SATISFRIES
Launched: 2013
Burger King’s Satisfries were not near to being satisfactory. On the contrary, they failed to convince the public about their motive, which was that of being a healthier choice than the regular fries.
There were also complaints regarding the taste and the texture of the fries, which further led to the product’s downfall.
Conclusion
The conclusion of this is not that of mockery in any way, it is of the fact that to succeed, one needs to take risks and that failure is only a part of reaching the ultimate objective and how it is utterly important to be careful and learn from mistakes.
Co-author: Khushi Shah
Khushi has just passed her school and is now studying at PDPU. Apart from writing, she likes to sketch and dance. She also has other blogs where she posts proses and poetry.
