customer experience != maximizing value to shareholders
I wish it were. I really do. But it isn't.
That is a clear case of people wanting crap... in fact demanding it instead of the better quality product.
Note: Sorry for being vague about the brand but he is still there and might not want the full story public.
If people were satisfied with the product, changing the ingredients is definitely going to add risk. I worked for a food manufacturer, once upon a time, and we did extensive triangle testing even when sourcing ingredients from a new vendor.
People want quality. That doesn't mean their taste is the same as yours...
How did they brand the change?
Did they reposition the food items in the store?
Did they redesign the packaging?
Did they market the better food in the same way as the crappy old food?
How long did they give it the stuff to see if it would sell?
If you've been previously selling to misers with no taste, and you want to expand (misers with no taste are not loyal but they are loud), you have to not just change the product but the ecosystem.
Of course people bitch. People will bitch your ear off for any change. Every good manager knows this.
The question is: does it sell? And if it doesn't, are you doing all you can do to help it sell?
Just adding more is a local optimization. If you want to change the bigger picture, in a situation like that, you have to upgrade your customers... to people who will pay more. Which means your existing customers are likely, yes, to bitch. But, as you said, the brand was already dying so maybe its current customers aren't the right ones.
You can't switch Alpo with Finest Steak and expect to charge dog owners more money. Doesn't work.
A product / service can create value in all of those areas.. some are either mutually exclusive or at least practically so.
To even use Apple as an example.. Great Operating system - unless you want a netbook. Or want to play games. Or create blu-ray disks.
Put it this way - I'm sure you can make a better hamburger than mcdonalds. But I'm sure Ray Croc made a whole lot more money than most of the people on HN ever will.
McDonalds hamburgers.
They have arguably the worst tasting hamburger of any restaurant chain and yet they sell more than anyone else.
