Panama Choco-Berry Desert Marketing Essay

Product Specification

Discuss about the Food Marketing Plan Advertisement.

There is no such desert in the market that appeals to the adult. Whenever, someone thinks of deserts, it is considered to be for the children. However, the adults do also love to eat deserts. To meet the expectation of the adult and to offer them the kind of desert that the adults would love to eat, a new desert has been launched. The desert is named Panama Choco-Berry Desert. This is a hand-made chocolate that has a special flavor of berry that can be customized as per the choice of the customers. The customers can choose different variety of berries such as black berry, blue berry or strawberry depending upon the taste and preference.

In this report, the complete marketing strategy of the product launch has been discussed and further, it has also been mention how this desert is different from the others that are available in the market. Distribution for the product launch has been given to best retail companies such as Woolworths and Coles.

The report has been based on the consumer behavior and the market mix. The report presents the specification about the products and the targeted market. Further it highlights the packaging and labelling of the product and the POP strategy adopted for the product launch.

The product is a hand-made desert made by keeping in mind the taste and preferences of the adult people. Panama Choco-Berry Desert is a special desert as it is made instantly after the order is placed by the customer in less than 5 minutes and customized as per the requirement of the customers. The berry flavor can be modified by choosing the preferred berry and also the desert can be eaten hot or cold. This special customization makes it a special desert that can easily be loved by any adult,

It is evident that while preparing the desert, people keep in mind the preferences of children as they are the ones that are fonder of deserts and chocolates. There are no such deserts available for the adults in the market and thus the product would mainly attract and target the adults as the concept of the product has been developed based on their preferences and taste of. The product distribution has been given to big retail companies such as Woolworths and Coles as the aim is to reach the maximum adults in all the places especially in Australia.

Target Market

The four P’s of marketing mix plan of the product has been explained below:

The intangible attributes of the product is its ability to meet the customers need and expectation. The product gives satisfaction to the adult of enjoying the type of desert that is made to fulfill their needs. The special feature of the product is the concept of live desert making with customized flavor that would make the people happier.

Price

The product is premium in quality as it has premium features like customized flavors and live baking, and also, the product has been launched in the market through the leading retailers in Australia such as Woolworths and Coles. This is reflected in the price of the product as the price is a premium price since it is the only desert that are meant for the adult.

The product distribution is given to Woolworths and Coles. Each of them have been provided with the ready to make packages of the desert that takes less than 5 minutes and can easily be combined with the desired berry flavor. Woolworths and Coles, being the leading retailers would definitely be an easy place for the customers to reach the product.

There were deserts but they were for the children but this one is for the adults. Promotion is done extensively so that it could reach the people that this product, unlike other deserts, is meant especially for the adults. The promotion is done through advertisement in newspapers, televisions, big hoarding, and banners in retail shops.

When a new product launches the main problem it faces is consumer behaviour. The main task of marketing lies here. Since the consumers are habituated of earlier available deserts as well as in a view that desserts are not for adults, it will be really difficult to change the way they perceive things (Solomon 2014).

The first step shall be to know how and on what basis shall consumers make decision to get a dessert or not, A group shall be formed to study those decision making process so as to focus on touch points. Tools both web based and over the phone shall be developed to record feedbacks of customers. Social media chatter will also be continuously monitored as they have become an integral part of human life. All the reviews and recommendation gained will be studied extensively to understand consumers and the market. Also all reviews shall be replied by the proper team. PR and Loyalty programmes will be introduced to influence consumer decision making.

Marketing Mix

Positioning a brand with the changing tastes and preferences of customers is crucial for sustainability and long lasting impact on the truest factor of any product (Govers and Go 2016). A chocolate company needs to develop newer flavours with lower calorie levels in order to keep its loyal clientele base intact and also for spreading its business in new territories and target new customers. In view of emergence of different companies with their innovative products, established brands have their task cut out to produce better quality and attractive flavours to entice customers (Rosenbaum-Elliott et al. 2015). Development of an effective branding strategy calls for several factors to be implemented by a company in order to realize its goals and objectives in an effective manner. These factors are:

Innovative flavoured chocolates drive the growth quotient of the company, which are mainly targeted towards a new clientele base, especially the adult market portfolio. Ever since chocolate companies started developing their products for commercial purposes, they did not use to distinguish between youth and adult segments as separate target segments as chocolate was liked by everybody, irrespective of diversity in terms of age, profile, race or religion (Park, MacInnis and Eisingerich 2016). Now-a-days, companies are more focused on producing flavours which has an adult flair in it like alcohol, bacon or cookie dough.

Considering the fact that these days consumers are becoming more and more health conscious, chocolate companies are cashing in on the health benefits of its customers by producing dark chocolates which have high levels of flavonoids which is considered good for the heart. These chocolates have anti-inflammatory properties which augur well for its targeted customers and thus they position their branding strategy accordingly.

Increased accessibility is a critical factor while building a brand strategy targeted towards the adult segment. They try to position their products in such a manner that they are clearly and easily visible by the customers and entice them in purchasing the same (Hayran and Gürhan-Canli 2016). Since adult chocolates are mainly of premium variety, they are stocked at departmental stores and high end retail outlets, thereby tapping a niche segment of customers, who prefer to have these brands more compared to the regular ones, which also garner high volumes from regular customers.

Some makers of premium chocolate are driving the growth of their company by building certain brands which are smaller versions of their parent ones. The purpose of positioning these brands in this way is to generate the initial interest in it and gradually increase the size and price of these brands as more number of customers start purchasing the same with their increase in income factor (Young 2014).

Incorporation of appropriate strategies to interrupt routine behaviour at point of sale

This factor drives the growth potential of the companies through campaigns like chocolate is a gift for someone else including the person who gifts it. Resorting to this slogan increases its brand visibility in the minds of adult consumers, thereby doing away with the guilt quotient.

Incorporation of appropriate strategies with regard to packaging and labeling holds a significant role in realizing broader goals and objectives of a chocolate manufacturer. Successful implementation of the same is achieved through careful planning and analysis of the trends of consumers in terms of tastes and preferences, income level and health factor among others (Norton, Fryer and Parkinson 2013).

It is very important for the manufacturers of chocolates in both Australia and New Zealand to abide by the stricter rules and regulations pertaining to packaging and labeling of ingredients. According to the rule, the list of ingredients should be placed and marked in descending order, starting with the manufacturing stage and ending with the final packaging stage (Skaczkowski et al. 2016). The ingredient which constitutes the highest proportion among all shall be listed on the top of the pack, followed by those which have lesser proportions compared to the first one (Rundh and Rundh 2016).

There are certain exceptions with respect to certain ingredients like added water, which sometimes loses its volume due to evaporation. It can be discounted for listing on the product pack provided it constitutes less than 5% of the end product or if it is used for reconfiguration of ingredients which get dehydrated (Degenhardt 2015). Since chocolate is a compound ingredient, as most of the food products are, all the ingredients must be listed chronologically like the proportion of cocoa, sugar, water, color compounds, eggs and others.

Since most packaged foods have to adhere to the rules and obligations of proper labeling, comparison becomes easier for the consumers. For example, strawberries would be listed in percentage terms with regard to a compound like strawberry yoghurt. Similarly, for chocolates, percentage of cocoa is mentioned on the packaged food.

POP (point of purchase) strategy is all about product advertising in a unique way through displays and pop advertising, promotion of customer benefits to suit their preferences and assisting them while the same is being purchased (Hunt 2014).

It is represented by time and place of the elements of sale that are product, price, money and consumer. Varying diversity of communication vehicle boosts the competing factors of the manufacturing firms so that there remains no confusion and ambiguity (Norton, Fryer and Parkinson 2013).

Development of an effective branding strategy

Innovative methodologies have been incorporated in several products and chocolate industry is one, where its effectiveness is vast considering its instant gratification power. Positioning of gums and candies are crucial because they contribute a significant percentage to the overall sales of a firm. Similarly, medium priced and premium priced products are positioned differently with regard to its pop strategy. They need to be projected in a different manner so as to target its intended customers who are ready to pay the premium (Young 2014). Social media is a popular tool for promoting premium brands where consumers have the option of openly endorsing the brand and spread its popularity among their friends and communities.

Conclusion

The main aim of the report is to develop an effective marketing strategy for Panama Choco-Berry Desert. The promotion of a new product depends on the effective implementation of a well-constructed marketing strategy. Panama Choco-Berry Desert is superior quality of hand-made desert that is made and delivered as per the order. The price of the product is high as it is a premium quality of product for the adults. On the other hand, the responsibility for distributing the product is given to Woolworths and Coles as they are the leading supermarket chain. The promotional activity will be done effectively as it is a new product ands hence, it needs more awareness. Due to be a brand new product, an effective branding strategy is taken into consideration to make the people aware about the new product. To make the product popular, innovative taste is added with healthy features in the product. On the other hand, the labeling and packaging needs to be done in such a way that the product becomes attractive to the customer. Hence, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that the success of a new product in the market depends on the development and implementation of effective marketing strategy.

References:

Degenhardt, C., 2015. Serving size and packaging cues: Mixed messages?. Food Australia, 67(3), p.28.

Govers, R. and Go, F., 2016. Place branding: Glocal, virtual and physical identities, constructed, imagined and experienced. Springer.

Hayran, C. and Gürhan-Canli, Z., 2016. Brand extensions. The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Brand Management, p.136.

Hunt, S.D., 2014. Marketing Theory: Foundations, Controversy, Strategy, and Resource-advantage Theory. Routledge.

Norton, J.E., Fryer, P.J. and Parkinson, J.A., 2013. The effect of reduced-fat labelling on chocolate expectations. Food Quality and Preference, 28(1), pp.101-105.

Park, C.W., MacInnis, D.J. and Eisingerich, A.B., 2016. Brand architecture design and brand naming decisions. The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Brand Management, p.109.

Rosenbaum-Elliott, R., Elliott, R.H., Percy, L. and Pervan, S., 2015. Strategic brand management. Oxford University Press, USA.

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