[oldE]

Mike,
Twenty years ago, the dairy I worked for decided to branch out and try to make milk a demand product rather than a commodity.
We had already tried flavored milk (with Warner Bros characters on the packaging, no less) but the marketing guys figured the market was ready for fortified milk, with added calcium and lower fat levels. (This in a market of <1 million people).
To differentiate the new product on the shelves, the packaging had to stand out (they felt) so a different color pallet was explored. Thus, at the sales managers/Depot Managers' meeting, they rolled out the Green cartons and the purple cartons. Green? Purple?
My comment, I'm afraid, was not constructive. The words that came out of my mouth were, "What were we thinking?"
I was later taken aside by my boss who said (in his Jimmy Stewart drawl), "Les, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
I knew my days with the dairy were on the downhill. The products bombed because
a/ they had no shelf appeal and
b/ not enough people in a small population were interested.
I was 'downsized' ten years later
The company was swallowed up last year.

You ignore what the customer wants at your peril.
Les