Over and above the national identity that they share with the rest of the country, certain cities and regions have a distinctive character. Marketing experts are keenly aware of this when it comes to testing out new products. In the United States, the residents of Boston and Miami are known for their thirst for novelty. So Lassonde chose these two big cities for its first real venture across the border in 1997.

For several years prior, the company had tried to market its products to American consumers. But the use of distributors hadn’t yielded promising results. So Lassonde decided to dispense with intermediaries and negotiate agreements directly with grocery stores.

In the Boston area, the De Moulas, Shaw’s, and Stop ‘n Shop chains gave Lassonde access to 400 points of sale. In and around Miami, Lassonde sold its Rougemont apple juice line and its Fruité fruit drinks in a hundred Albertson’s stores.

Lassonde leveraged two competitive advantages to appeal to 18 million potential consumers. First, in addition to Fruité fruit drinks, the company had three different kinds of apple juice on offer: Granny Smith, McIntosh and Red Delicious. These sweeter varieties were better suited to the tastes of American consumers. Lassonde was the only manufacturer to package its products in 2-liter aseptic plastic bottles using technology that it was the first company in North America to adopt.

This first foray lasted a few years. Lassonde soon established solid business relationships with American entrepreneurs that allowed it to entertain a different strategy. We’ll talk more about that in a subsequent column.

Next column: Certification that carries weight…