MKT Research Final Paper PDF

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MKT Research Final Paper...

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1.

Discuss the key challenges and marketing issues Andrea Torres must address at this time. Why do you feel these issues and challenges are key to the success of the new product line?

I believe one of the biggest challenges that Andrea Torres addresses over the report is, the fact that a company expanding into a new market, like the U.S., will face set backs, due to the unfamiliarity of the people with the new product, its packaging, the price of the final product, also its distribution and how it is held by the company, and last but not least its formula and how the product it is made and what contains. There more credibility the company will have, the more customers will remember the product, and they will associate it with something special. Another big issue that Torres addresses is that, in the U.S. the chocolate market is segmented into several groups, with the top four or five, such as the packaging, the seasonal chocolate, the size of the chocolate, are having a very big impact on the market value. I personally agree, with the fact that, nowadays the size of the chocolate could be a key factor, as people may prefer small portion of it, instead of 3.5-ounce candy bar. Additionally, in the past three decades, the chocolate market had a turn, in terms of combining the enjoyable moment of eating chocolate with fitness and health, so companies nowadays have to consider the fact that people could buy more chocolate that has more health benefits instead of chocolate that has a better taste. Understanding consumers’ needs is very difficult, but at the same time is vital for a company that want to expand, be successful and lead the market, because competitors may take over and steal your spot on the market. However, these issues and challenges are the “key” to achieve important goals for the company and I would say for its consumers as well.

2.

Evaluate the achievability of the company objectives for Montreaux USA. Identify the most salient aspects of the chocolate confectionery industry, globally and domestically, that bear on a new product introduction. Provide support for your conclusions.

The goals set by David Raymond, as he took the place of marketing director, were: A national distribution of the new Montreaux product line; a $115 million in annual sales; be in the top 25 in revenue. I believe that these goals are easily achievable, as Apollo already reported a 2011 revenue of $54.4 billion with a net income of $3.5 billion. Also, under Apollo’s guide, twelve brands generated a revenue of over $1 billion annually. Since the goal that David established is of half a million dollars, I think that it is highly achievable. I believe that a salient aspect of the Chocolate, is the fact that it’s coming from a “healthy international place”. Europe is considered a healthy place, and were fast foods, and take away are mostly substituted by homemade foods. We believe that Italian Wine and pasta are high quality, that Switzerland Chocolate is premium, that Japanese cars are excellent. We have this idea that international products are better, because of where they came from and they patrimony behind it, so we are willing to welcome these products more than others.

3.

After analyzing consumer attitudes, usage, motivations, and benefits of chocolate products to consumers, how viable are the recommended new product concepts? Should others be explored? Please explain.

The data is very important in this case because it makes us aware of how the chocolate market really works. From what the data shows, in 2012, 92% of people consumed chocolate, with an average of 7.8 pieces per month. Women eat more chocolate than men, and I would say due to its ability to “lift up” the mood of a person or just for a personal prize, and lately due to the health benefits related to it.

Furthermore, let’s don’t forget that income was, and still is nowadays a key factor when it comes down to buy chocolate. I believe that the new product concepts, such as adding new healthy ingredients, focusing more on health and wellness, and of course adding more products in the dark chocolate category, could be some very successful ways to lead the market and have a big share. 4.

Using the forecast model for the healthy dark chocolate product with fruit tested in the BASES II test in August 2012, what is your forecast of the demand for the chocolate product?

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Hints:

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The necessary data is contained in Exhibit 5 .

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Conduct a sensitivity analysis by using the facts provided regarding consumer awareness, ACV and repeat rates for mediocre, average, and excellent products.

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The Excel supplement provided with the case should prove useful.

Torres first used the Second BASES concept test to address the issues arisen. 200 consumers are asked to review concepts online and give back some feedback. There were four refined 70% cocoa dark chocolate with fruit to be reviewed, with choices between healthy versus taste, and packaging and size. With the research, Torres found out that the 5-ounce stand up pouch with healthy positioning was the one that could offer more revenue. Torres then decided to move ahead and do a BASES II testing. This testing is done by contacting customers via the Internet, and if they were interested in buying the product, they would get a free sample shipped to them and they would give a feedback about the experience when the company will contact them in the future. This would help the team understand how ready the market was for the new dark chocolate, and also see where and how they could improve. The only downside of the BASES II testing is the fact that not only it costs more, but also the results are

usually back in about 8 weeks, so it costs money and time, so I would prefer the Second BASES concept test. o

Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the new product development process to this point. What, if anything would you change? Develop a comparative assessment of the research alternatives under consideration. Which one or which combination of research techniques would you recommend? Please explain

My forecast on the demand for the chocolate product is that it will decrease. We can see from Exhibit 5 that only 23% of the respondents said that they would buy, and only 40% said that they would probably buy. But on the student template we see that only 80% of the 23% that said they would definitely buy would actually buy the chocolate. This leaves us with only an 18% of respondents that would buy. Also, we see that only 12% of the 40% would probably buy the chocolate. These percentages are very low. By plugging in more data on the template, I came up with $55.8 millions of sales volume. This is very far from the $115 million goal made by David Raymond....