Kitcatt Nohr Digitas

Supermarket Waitrose is launching its first ever crowd-sourced product, a dessert called Seriously Chocolatey Rose-Infused Chocolate Ganache, following an 8-month process which saw hundreds of customers submit their recipe ideas.

Waitrose launched the competition in August 2010, announcing it on the MyWaitrose website and with a direct mail piece created by Kitcatt Nohr Digitas. The direct mail piece, sent to MyWaitrose members, invited recipients to get creative and submit a recipe for a new chilled summer dessert for the Seriously From Waitrose range. The personalised pack featured an image of a Waitrose Seriously Dessert with the recipient’s name digitally printed on it.

Waitrose received hundreds of entries to the competition, which were then whittled down to 10 recipes. MyWaitrose members then voted in their thousands for three finalists. The three final desserts were tested and judged by the Waitrose tasting panel, made up of product developers, brand managers, chefs and MyWaitrose members.

The winning dessert, Seriously Chocolatey Rose-Infused Chocolate Ganache, was invented by mother-of-two Esther Blight, from London.

The product will be on shelves in Waitrose stores on May 16th, and the winner, Esther Blight, has also been awarded the top prize of £1,000.

The competition is part of a broader strategy to deepen customer engagement and involve Waitrose customers in product development. 

Courtney Freedman-Thompson, Editor, Digital at Waitrose commenting on the launch said; “MyWaitrose is the ultimate club for food lovers, so we knew that the winning dessert would be something really special. It’s the first time that we will be selling a product created and chosen by MyWaitrose members – and we can’t wait to see it on our shelves."