It’s Back! Hungry Jack’s Microwavable Bottle Returns

Regular readers will recall the rampant customer dissension that arose when J.M. Smucker Co., discontinued a key feature on the bottle of its Hungry Jack brand of syrup just one year ago. Since then, the outcry of the product’s fans paid off, and the microwavable bottles are expected to be back on store shelves this summer.

The original bottle featured a handle that did not heat up when the syrup was heated in a microwave oven. While seemingly a small convenience for consumers, J.M. Smucker found out—much to its chagrin—that this feature also drove purchase preference. And when you follow the money, it turns out that third quarter revenue at Smucker declined 2 percent year-over-year from 2014 to 2015. While this decline cannot directly be attributed to the change in syrup bottles, when combined with the customer uproar that stormed the Hungry Jack Facebook page, definitely got the brand’s attention.

This shows that at least some companies do listen to customers, and that understanding how a product is used—and the role packaging plays in that use—can be essential to success at retail.