MARKETING PLANFROSTY TREATS
MANAGEMENT TEAM: ALLISON HANSON, TINA FRANCIS, RUTH NAKAWUNGU, ANGELA CANT
FROSTY TREATS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Executive Summary 4
2 Company Description
5
3 Strategic Focus
3.1 Mission Statement 5
3.2 Our Vision 5
3.3 Our Slogan 5
3.4 Strategic Goals 6
3.5 Marketing Objectives 6
4 Situation Analysis
4.1 SWOT Analysis 7
4.2 Industry Analysis 8
4.3 Market Analysis 9
4.4 Competitive Analysis 9
5 Marketing Strategies
5.1 Target Market Strategy 15
5.2 Estimated Market Size 18
5.3 Customer Needs Analysis 18
5.4 Value Proposition and Positioning Strategy
5.41 Competitive Position Analysis 21
5.42 Points of Difference 22
5.43 Positioning Strategy 22
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5.44 Positioning Statement & Supportive Pillars
23
5.45 Brand Personality 24
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6 Marketing Mix Strategy
6.1 Product Strategy
6.11 Competitive Advantage 25
6.12 Product Concept 25
6.13 Product Features 25
6.14 Service 26
6.15 Brand Strategy 27
6.16 Packaging 27
6.2 Promotion Mix
6.21 IMC Key Goals & Objectives 29
6.22 Communication Plan 29
6.3 Distribution 35
6.4 Pricing
6.41 Pricing Objectives 36
6.42 Pricing Research 36
6.43 Pricing Strategy 37
7 Appendices
7.1 Press Release – Product Launch 39
7.2 Press Release – Family Day Sponsorship 40
7.3 Sales Coupon 41
7.4 Point of Purchase Display 42
7.5 Print Advertisement 43
8 References 44
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1.
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1. Executive Summary
At Frosty Treats we have developed an exciting new ice cream product, Frosty Cakes, that marries together two iconic sweet treats – the cupcake and ice cream. By combining these two products we aim to capture the celebratory nature of cupcakes with the everyday comfort of ice cream. Whilst home cooks and ice cream stores have enjoyed experimenting with cupcake ice cream treats this product is a new innovation to grocery store shelves.
Ice cream is a staple in most American households and the industry experiences consistent growth and even stronger growth prospects internationally particularly in emergent markets such as China. Due to the affordability of ice cream products they have also proven to be recession resistant.
We acknowledge that competition in the ice cream industry is fierce. The competitive landscape is dominated by large multinationals and private label supermarket brands. As such we have worked hard to develop a product and brand personality that is unique in the market. Furthermore supermarkets are the major distribution channel and their strong buying power keep prices low. This drives us to be aggressive at managing costs to ensure success in this low margin sector.
Ultimately the ice cream industry is vast and therefore securing only a small percentage of the market in the short term will enable Frosty Treats to be profitable and support future growth and the expansion of our product range.
Our research has indicated that the largest consumers of ice cream products are families with children 6-18 years old and therefore we have developed our initial product and promotion campaigns to target this market. With our initial product offering, Frosty Cakes, we deliver a fun, family treat that
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makes dessert time a celebration of family and all the many milestones we share.
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2. Company Description
Frosty Treats produce unique, affordable, single serve ice cream treats. Designed for families with children our fun treats aim to make everyone smile and make any occasion special. Delicious, indulgent, convenient, our ice cream treats are the perfect way to celebrate all of the milestones of life no matter how small.
3. Strategic Focus
3.1 Mission Statement
At Frosty Treats we know your life is full of moments worth celebrating. Our delicious, fun, convenient ice cream treats bring families together to celebrate the big and small milestones of life.
3.2 Our Vision
At Frosty Treats our vision is to become synonymous with the many occasions families celebrate. We aim to develop single serve ice cream treats that appeal to every member of the family and that can be conveniently sold in supermarkets across the United States. As our company grows we hope to expand our product range to more specifically cater for different age groups, develop seasonal products for major holidays, cater for special dietary needs and create a range of lower fat portion controlled mini treats.
3.3 Our Slogan
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LET’S CELEBRATE
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3.4 Strategic Goals
3.5 Marketing objectives
ProductDevelop a range of products that appeal to families and particularly children 6-18 years of age.
Develop packaging that reflects our standards of environmental sustainability.
PriceDevelop a pricing strategy that competes with current multi pack single serve novelty products
PlaceDevelop strategic partnerships with the major supermarket chains to ensure penetration in markets across the country.
PromotionDevelop a media advertising campaign to target married consumers with children (particularly aged 6-18).
Secure 0.10% of the US market by Year 1 (equivalent to $2, 101, 780 in sales) by Year 5 achieve 0.50% (equivalent to $17,500,000 in sales).
Achieve financial sustainability and create
wealth for our shareholders.
minimizing our environmental footprint along the value chains in which we operate.protecting our consumers from food-borne illness though strict adherence to food safety regulations.contributing to the communities in which we operate through our corporate giving program
Achieve positive name recognition whilst
contributing to healthier, more livable and
economically stronger communities by:
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Develop an in-store promotion campaign to facilitate product launch.
4. Situation Analysis
4.1 SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses Products are available at
reasonable prices. High product quality. Recession proof product.
Non- durable product High transportation costs due
to need for refrigeration.
Opportunities Threats Wide variety of unique ice
cream flavors. Large market - $9.7 billion Growing market. Low levels of brand loyalty. Strong growth in international
markets. Companies shifting their focus
to develop health conscious and premium products.
Consumers are aware of benefits of probiotics and are looking for ways to incorporate them into their diets.
Consumer trend towards super premium products.
Aging population demanding high quality, indulgent, portion
The U.S market is mature and experiencing only steady growth.
Industry is dominated by large multi-national food giants such as Nestle and Unilever.
Majority of market served by private supermarket labels.
Due to threat of Obesity/diabetes consumers are being encouraged to eat healthier food.
Competition with ice cream parlors such as Cold Stone, Kitts, Dairy Queen etc.
Sales are determined by distribution in supermarkets and shelf space limits making it
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controlled treats hard for market to grow. There are number of
substitutes within the market such as yogurt or baked dessert goods.
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4.2 Industry analysis
The U.S ice cream market grew by 1.7 % in 2008 to reach a volume of 3.5 billion liters (Datamonitor, 2009). Ice cream and frozen desserts are consumed by 93% of US households. Households with children are the lead consumers of ice cream (Mintel International cited by Rea 2004). Take home ice cream sales represents 67.2% of the ice cream market (Datamonitor, 2009).
People are eating more at home helping to increase ice cream sales. Recent health and wellness trends have impacted the ice cream and frozen markets. The latest trends are are healthier than traditional ice cream (Dudlicek, J, 2009). Many manufacturers are keeping up with consumers’ taste and are launching lighter alternatives to ice cream (Poet, J 2008). Items with a health claim seem to be outperforming those full flavor items. There are products offering healthier benefits simply by removing fat, sugar, or calories instead enhancing them with fiber, vitamins, protein, or probiotics.
Many brands are developing snack size, individual servings of products or mini versions that are 100 calories (Mayer, M, 2010). Consumers are interested in portable ice cream products. Novelty ice cream products are most popular with 16-24 year olds but industry forecast that aging baby boomers are demanding high quality, indulgent, portion controlled treats, and this demographic is expected to yield high growth.
Manufacturers have been launching new products that coincide with the launch of organic ice cream. U.S organic ice cream has
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increased significantly and manufacturers have launched 56 new organic products (Mayer, M, 2010).
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4.3 Market Sizing
Global Market Size (2009)
U.S Market Size (2009)
CAGR (2004-2008)
Predicted Growth by from 2008-13
$44.9 billion
$9.7 billion
1.8%
9.3%
- The United States Ice Cream market has witnessed slow rates of growth
- Growth in the US market is expected to follow a similar trend in the next five years
- The global ice cream industry is growing at a faster rate than the U.S ice cream industry. - European and Asia Pacific markets experienced CAGR’s respectively of 2.6% and 5% over the same period (Datamonitor, 2009).
4.4 Competitive analysis
Market Share Analysis of the Ice Cream Industry
20.70%
19.10%
4.80%
55.40%
Nestle
Unilever
Blue Bell
Other
Source: Ice Cream Industry Profile: United States, Dec 2009, p1, 32p, 16 Charts, 10 Graphs; (AN47196192)
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Private Label33%
Breyers15%
Dreyers/Edy's Slow Churned10%
Blue Bell9%
Haagen Daz8%
Ben and Jerry's7%
Dreyers/Edy's Grand6%
Turkey Hill4%
Well's Blue Bunny4%
Dreyers/Edy's Fun Flavors3%
Market Share by Brand
Source: Information Resources Inc. cited in Dudlicek 2009
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Brand Name: Ben & Jerry’s (owned by Unilever).
Mission Statement: Ben & Jerry’s is founded on and dedicated to a sustainable corporate concept of linked prosperity.Their mission consists of 3 interrelated parts:Product Mission: To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment.
Economic Mission: To operate the Company on a sustainable financial basis of profitable growth, increasing value for our stakeholders & expanding opportunities for development and career growth for our employees.
Social Mission: To operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally & internationally.Central To The Mission Of Ben & Jerry’s is the belief that all three parts must thrive equally in a manner that commands deep respect for individuals in and outside the company and supports the communities of which they are a part.
Strengths: Prestigious, established, successful, global operation, with sales in USA, Europe and Asia, which is synonymous with social responsibility and environmentalism. For example, its products are packed in unbleached cardboard containers. The company sells its colorfully named ice cream, ice-cream novelties, and frozen yogurt under brand names such as Chunky Monkey, Phish Food, and Cherry Garcia. It also franchises some 750 Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops worldwide. Ben and Jerry's were bought by consumer products manufacturer Unilever in 2000, but were still able to retain their social responsibility platform and kept both co-founders closely involved with product development. Their brands complement Unilever's existing ice cream brands. They achieve strong market share in spite of a premium price point. The premium price of the
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product was supported by a high quality image, and high quality products.
Weaknesses: In 2006, former CFO Stuart Wiles was convicted of embezzling some $300,000 from the company during his tenure at Ben & Jerry's, which ran from 2000 to 2004. In 2006 they had to stop using Michael Foods as their egg supplier, due to bad PR from the Humane Society, which alleged that Michael Foods treated chickens inhumanely. Several corporate weaknesses were identified including a lack of professionalism in its management, and no clear mission statement (which they have amended). Their clear focus on multiple social responsibility issues could also hurt the company by shifting the focus away from important business matters, and adding unnecessary costs. They need more experienced management to fuel aggressive growth in a downturned economy and change flat sales in their premium product lines.
Market Share: 8%
Source: www. benjerry .com/ swot / ben-and-jerrys - swot .html , www. benjerry .com/activism/ mission - statement
Company Name: Unilever
Brand Names: Breyers
Mission Statement: Unilever, operates its business on a three-part mission statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community
Strengths: Unilever’s ice cream division forms 19% of their total revenues. Unilever is a global company with a strong brand portfolio and is a global leader in the ice cream industry. Klondike and Breyers are in the top ten brands for ice cream. Unilever offer an extensive product range that are competitively priced. They have successfully targeted the market for healthier alternatives with brands such as Carb Smart.
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Weaknesses: Unilever is in strong competition with Nestle who falls second in overall market share. The ice cream division must compete for resources with others brands in the company’s portfolio. A large portion of their sales determined by distribution in supermarkets and available shelf space fixed to the size of the freezer cases. They face extreme pressure on price from the private label supermarket brands.
Market Share: 15%
Source: www.unileverusa.com
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Company Name: Nestle Brand Names: Dreyers, Edy’s
Mission Statement: Being a company dedicated to food from the beginning, Nestle remains sensitive to culinary and eating habits and responds to specific nutritional problems, whilst also setting and matching new trends such as growing out-of-home consumption and caring about the well being of its consumers
Strengths: Global food producer, located in over 100 countries. Consistently one of the world's largest producers of food products, with sales in the USA in 2008 of $10 billion; sales and earnings in 2008 were better than expected, even in a downturned economy. Global sales in 2008 topped $101 billion. In 2008, Nestlé was named one of "America's Most Admired Food Companies" in Fortune magazine for the twelfth consecutive year. Nestlé provides quality brands and products and line extensions that are well-known, top-selling brands such as Haagen Dazs, Breyers, and Edy’s. Successful due in part to their unquestionable ability to keep major brands consistently in the forefront of consumer's minds (and in their shopping carts) by renovating existing product lines, keeping major brands from slipping into saturation/decline and having superior access to distribution channels
Weaknesses: 36% drop in sales for Dreyers and Edy’s. In 2008, although their products did not carry the recalled pistachios, several of their ice cream brands including Dreyer's and Edy's were still plagued with bad PR and loss of sales. With a large portion of their sales determined by distribution in supermarkets and available shelf space fixed to the size of the freezer cases, the market has little room to grow.
Market Share: Slow Churned (10%), Grand (6%) and Fun Flavors (3%).
Source: www.nestle.com / swot / nestle - swot
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Brand Name: Häagen- Dazs (owned by Nestle)
Mission Statement: To provide every customer with the highest quality dessert eating experience
Strengths: A new age of exclusive, prestigious, and sophisticated ice cream. Best selling brand in the super premium segment despite the competition of Ben&Jerry’s. Their brand is available in around 80 countries. Häagen-Dazs is profitable globally, with total sales of more than $900 million. The company saw its sales grow rapidly during the 1990s
Weaknesses: High end quality compared to competition that is cheaper and targets a wider audience for their ice cream. Target only a small segment of consumers.
Market Share: 8%
Source: www. haagendazs .com/
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5. Marketing Strategies
5.1 Target market strategy
Target marketWe have identified the best target market for our organization to be married couples with children, specifically children aged 6-18 and older. Households with children spend the most on ice cream, with the average spending for married couples with children being $82.13 (New Strategist, 2009a). Married couples with children represent 35.7% of the market, which is the largest single section of the ice cream market (New Strategist, 2009a). We feel we can win over our competitors in this segment, because it is a growing part of the segment and consumers do not have much brand loyalty when it comes to ice cream brands.
Demographics
Families by Location
Households with own Children under 18 years (US Census Bureau, 2000)Total 24,835,505Inside Metropolitan Areas
19,912,013
Inside Central Cities
6,097,762
Outside Central
13,814,251
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CitiesOutside Metropolitan Areas
4,923,492
Families by Race
Married couple families with children under the age of 18 (US Census Bureau, 2008)Total 25,173,000White Families
21,165,000
Black Families
1,990,000
Asian families
1,413,000
Hispanic Families
4,424,000
Non-Hispanic White Families
16,998,000
Married couples living with their own children younger than 18 are twice as likely to be in the top 20% of income (Harden, 2007).
Psychographics Attitudes and values of the youngest generation (the
iGeneration, everyone under the age of 16 in the United States) are still forming (American Generations: Who they are and how they live, 2010)
Put high importance on family relationships (McClellan, 2010) Families with young children are more likely to have
experienced a negative change in their financial situation therefore affordability is a priority (McClellan, 2010)
Young married couples with children: o Expenditure is children-orientated, with little surplus cash
for luxury items. o See the economy as being the over-riding factor when
making purchases, but they are still interested in new product ideas (Lancaster)
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Older married couples with children at home: o Have an increased disposable income, often with both
parents working and children being relatively independent. o In some cases children may be working and the parents
are able to engage increasingly in leisure activities. o Consumer durables, including major items of furniture, are
often replaced at this stage. These purchases are often made with different
motivations to the original motivations of strict functionality and economy that was necessary at an earlier life cycle stage. (Lancaster)
Media habits The Children
(Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010):o Young people
spend an average of 7:38 hours consuming media, an increase by an hour and seventeen minutes from five years ago
o They have a tendency to be using multiple media sources at the same time
o Driving the increase in media use among young people is the expansive growth in mobile and online media
o Children consume television content in many ways other than just sitting in front of a TV, such as using computers, cell phones and iPods® There has been a decrease in the amount of time that
they spend watching regularly scheduled programming on a television set
o 20% of the media consumption of children occurs on mobile devices—cell phones, iPods or handheld video game players
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o Many children now own their own iPod® or other MP3 player and cell phone These account for a good portion of young people’s
increased media consumptiono Today’s 8- to 18-year olds spend an average of an hour
and a half daily using the computer outside of school worko Social networking sites and You Tube are very popular
The Parents:o Daily Newspapers have lost the youngest generation
(American Generations: Who they are and how they live, 2010)
o New nesters (individuals aged 25-34 with children) highly value television, and have a lot of TV content coming into the home (McClellan, 2010) Use digital/satellite channels, and place high value on
devices that filter video content such as DVRs, video-on-demand services and DVD players (McClellan, 2010)
o Highly satisfied with social networking sites, and use them as a tool to stay in touch with friends and family
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5.2 Estimated market size
Estimated
market size for product category in the
USA
Number of
households in your
target market
Average spending
per househol
d in product category
Target market size estimates
% of the target market you can
capture in first year
of business
Potential revenue (Year 1)
Estimated market share in
%(Year 1)
$9.6 billion
24,119,000
$87.14 $2,101,729,660
.10% $2,101,780
.02%
5.3 Customer need analysis Our target market cherishes individuality while maintaining their self-expression. They are informed through a lot of reading especially magazines. Also many of them are faced with several allergy worries. The people in the younger range are the most influential in decision making concerning ice cream so emphasis is made about their needs most.
Pain Sheet
Customer needs Describe current pain
How is this need addressed today?
Individuality Most of the ice cream companies have specific flavors packaged. People can only go to specific locations to get the several flavors to fit their individual needs.
Make products which have different toppings so that people can decide whichever they want to add to make their ice cream unique. This allows them to express their individual needs. Also making several layers of different flavors in
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the same package.
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Customer needs Describe current pain
How is this need addressed today?
Cheap yet quality Many people are now under financial strains. The most affordable ice cream is usually not the highest quality. In order to meet their ice cream needs and not go over the budget, they buy the cheap ice cream.
Make ice cream affordable without compromising taste. One way to achieve this is through making products locally and reducing the cost of transportation.
Convenience The ice cream packaging should have the ability to be taken on the go. Most packages do not allow for long periods outside the freezer.
Some companies have made packaging for the individual packs which keep the ice cream cold for a longer.
Availability Different genders have different locations where they mostly buy. Most ice cream is sold at the traditional locations and not at places convenient for individual genders.
Many ice cream companies now sell the ice cream at convenience stores to attract males who shop mostly at these locations apart from supermarkets.
Healthy The target group worries about weight and health issues especially for their children. They want natural food lower in sugar.
Many companies now emphasis the added health benefits like calcium in their products. The advantages of the added benefits
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Whilst healthier alternatives have been developed ice cream is generally a high sugar, high fat product.
help outweigh the calories. Some companies have also started adding functional foods which are the extra nutrients like probiotics. These are bacteria that help the immune system.
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Customer needs Describe current pain
How is this need addressed today?
Alternative for those with allergies
With rising levels of allergies and lactose intolerance amongst children parents are seeking safe dessert options that their children enjoy
Ice cream products that are lactose free and that don’t possess common allergens.
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5.4 Value proposition and positioning strategy
5.41 Competitive positioning analysis
Ben & Jerry’s
Positioning Strategy: Giving high quality super premium-gourmet ice cream to consumers. Focus is on socially responsible consumers who value the environment and support sustainable agriculture.
Haagen-Dazs
Positioning Strategy: Creating the finest ice cream made like no other. Luxury ice cream for adults. Häagen-Dazs remains committed to developing exceptional new super premium frozen dessert experiences.
Unilever (Breyers, Klondike)
Positioning Strategy: Unilever provides affordably priced, great tasting ice cream that is family friendly and suitable for every night of the week. They attempt to appeal to a broad audience with their range of products from indulgent to health conscious.
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Nestle (Dreyers, Edy’s)
Positioning Strategy: Nestle positions their Dreyer/Edy’s brand in direct competition with Breyers from Unilever. They both compete for the broadest segment of the market and position themselves as an affordable every day dessert option.
5.42 Points of differenceThe competitive advantage Frosty Treat offers is our unique, affordable single serve ice cream treat. We provide a delicious product that is appealing and specifically designed for families with children. We aim to produce a product that is not designed to be eaten everyday but used to celebrate events from birthday’s to a well deserved report card, a lost tooth or win on the soccer field. We offer a convenient time saving product that looks and taste great straight out of the package – no extra’s needed. Frosty Treats make family dessert time extra special when a bowl of ice cream just won’t do.
5.43 Positioning strategyThe positioning strategy for Frosty Treats is to provide an all natural, fun, convenient, single serve product for families and children aged 6 to 18, because these are the consumers that spend the most on ice cream. We believe there is a niche in this market to provide a fun frozen treat that families can use to celebrate life’s special moments. As of now, are competitors are undifferentiated and there is no brand loyalty within the market. Therefore, our
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company caters to this need by being highly specialized in our products and being customer centric.
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5.44 Positioning statement and supporting pillars
Positioning statement
Frosty Treats produces a unique single serve ice cream novelty that brings a smile to parents and children alike. Our ice cream treats are convenient, affordable and fun and are the perfect way for busy families to take the time to recognize the many reasons a family has to celebrate.
Pillar #1 Pillar #2 Pillar #3Pillar description (Key benefit)
Provide recognition and bring families together to
celebrate family events.
Makes people happy.
Save time.
Key features (Proofs)
Unique ice cream treat.
Festive design.Affordability- inexpensive enough to
celebrate the smallest
achievements.
Rich, indulgent treat.
Fun design.
Convenience.Complete single serve
ice cream treatNo mess, no fuss.
All in one dessert, no assembly/additions, or baking required.
Available at supermarkets.
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5.45 Brand personality
Frosty Treats has a brand personality of the Johnson family. The Johnson family is a happy fun loving family with two children aged 7 and 9. The family is conscious about their health and the affect of their actions on the environment but they like to
have fun and celebrate life’s triumphs with a special treat. Their life is very busy and money is tight so they look for quality, affordability and convenience.
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6. Marketing Mix Strategy
6.1 Product Strategy
6.11 Competitive advantageWe believe that Frosty Treats: Frosty Cakes has a competitive advantage mainly because our company offers a unique single serve ice cream treat unlike anything currently offered in the supermarket arena. We designed our product to be liked by a wide variety of people, specifically families. Our convenient single serve treat allows families to easily celebrate life’s moments, both big and small. Our convenient packaging, with six individual cakes in a pack, allows families to keep a pack in their freezer and take out a Frosty Cake whenever there is a moment worth celebrating. Our packaging allows for easy stacking and storage in freezers in supermarkets. Our company website gives us another advantage over the competition. At www.frostycakes.com, families are able to communicate easily with the Frosty Treats staff for any questions they may have, they are also able to play fun interactive games. We place great importance on our customer service and we do everything we can to satisfy and keep our customers loyal.
6.12 Product conceptThe purpose of Frosty Cakes is to provide a festive, affordable, and unique way to celebrate life’s moments. Our product is an all-natural single serve ice cream cupcake. To start out with, we will offer two varieties of this cupcake, one chocolate based and one vanilla based, both with a chocolate outer shell.
The chocolate-based cupcake starts with a rich outer chocolate shell resembling the paper cupcake liner. Then there is a piece of chocolate cake placed on the bottom of the outer chocolate shell. The piece of chocolate cake is then topped off with a smooth
chocolate ice cream, a swirl of fluffy white frosting, and colorful, rainbow colored, sprinkles.
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The vanilla based cupcake starts with a decadent white chocolate shell resembling the paper cupcake liner. Then there is a piece of yellow cake sitting on the bottom of the outer white chocolate shell; this is then topped with creamy vanilla ice cream, a swirl of fluffy white frosting, and bright, colorful sprinkles.
6.13 Product featuresFrosty Cakes is a unique ice cream treat. It has a festive and fun design drawing in people of all ages. It is a complete single serve ice cream treat, a self-contained sundae. It is an all in one dessert, no assembly, additions, or baking is required. Because there is no assembly, additions or baking required, less preparation time is needed. It just has to be taken out of the freezer and put it on a plate and you have a fun treat. Our product is also very appealing; you can see they look more appetizing than just ice cream in a carton. Because each ice cream cupcake is individually portioned, customers do not need to worry about over eating. Our ice cream cupcakes have a great taste and offer variety to cater to individual’s tastes. Each Frosty Cake has both cake and ice cream in it, allowing people to have both cake and ice cream and not have to choose between the two. Our product is also very versatile and can be used for a variety of occasions. Our product comes in biodegradable plastic containers, making customers feel like they are bettering the environment by choosing our product. It is also a very affordable product, inexpensive enough to celebrate the smallest achievements.
Frosty Cakes CompetitionUnique ice cream treat.
We are the only ice cream cupcake available for purchase in supermarkets and convenience stores.
Festive and fun design.
Some competitors offer fun and festive packaging, but very few actually have a product with a fun and festive design
Complete single serve ice cream treat.
Many of our competitors are starting to sell single serve ice cream containers.
No assembly required.
Many ice creams you have to at least scoop it into a bowl, which takes time. However
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there are many ice cream treats that also do not require any assembly.
Appealing product and packaging.
Many of our competitors have appealing packaging, however, you are not able to see the actual product, which may not always be appealing to the eye.
Both cake and ice cream.
Our competition does not offer a product with both cake and ice cream
Biodegradable plastic container.
Many competing products are in paper containers, which are biodegradable, however none of our competitors who use plastic containers offer biodegradable plastic containers.
Affordable product. Many of our competitors products are similarly priced with affordable prices.
6.14 ServicesOur augmented product includes our company website, www.frostycakes.com, which offers helpful hints, fun interactive kids games, and useful information to our loyal customers. We have a 24-hour hotline service, 1.800.FRO.CAKE, which features a staff of knowledgeable professionals ready to assist our customers with any questions they may have about our product. Because of our high level of confidence in our product, we provide a 100% money-back guarantee.
6.15 Brand strategyFrosty Cakes was chosen as our brand name because it portrays an image of what are product is. It gives our target market a good description and visual of our product. The word frosty brings up an image of something cold, and ice cream. The word cake brings about an image of a cake and a cupcake. By combining the two words, our target market will easily be able to imagine what our product is, without knowing much about it. We feel this name also fits very well with our company name, Frosty Treats. It is also a fun and upbeat name, working to attract not only kids to our product, but also their parents.
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Our goal with the logo was to portray our competitive advantage of being a fun, festive, unique single serve ice cream cupcake, and to communicate that our product can be an active part in celebrating life’s moments, both big and small. For our logo, we chose to use the bright and vibrant colors of orange and blue, portraying our product as a fun product and to appeal to children. We feel the color blue will also help customers connect our product with cool feelings, and bring to mind ice cream. The fireworks in the background of the circle depict the sense of celebration that we are going for. The feeling of celebration is also communicated by including our slogan “Let’s Celebrate!” The image of the cupcake gives a good visual description of our product. The logo is also pretty simple and straightforward illustrating that our product is easy to use, and is made with simple ingredients creating an amazing product.
6.16 PackagingWe will offer two different size packs for purchase. The primary package size we will sell will be in packs of six. Our six packs of cupcakes will come in clear biodegradable plastic containers, so that the cupcakes are visible, and so that we do not impact the environment as much. We will offer three different purchasing options in the six pack, one with all chocolate cakes, one with all vanilla cakes, and the third will be a variety pack, with three chocolate and three vanilla cakes. Our plastic containers will be easily stackable, allowing for efficient storage and space saving in supermarket’s freezer section.
To allow our product to be sold in convenience stores, we will also offer the cupcakes sold in individual biodegradable clear plastic container. These will allow our product to be sold in a wider variety of stores, while still maintaining
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environmentally sustainable concept. Our individual packaged cupcakes will be available in both the chocolate and vanilla varieties. This packaging will still be easily stackable, allowing for convenient storage in limited freezer space in convenience stores.
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6.2 Promotion mix
6.21 IMC Key goals and objectives
We have developed three messages we want to reinforce with the different aspects of our promotion activities.
1. Frosty Cakes are about family. We provide families a fun inexpensive way to celebrate what it means to be a family. We hope to tug on our audiences heart strings and remind them even when times are tough, especially then, we need to take the time to come together and have fun around the dinner table.
2. Cupcakes aren’t just for birthdays, they can be for everyday. Timmy wins his soccer game, Lily gets an A on her history test- all these events should be celebrated.
3. Be the parent you want to be. Moms (and sometimes Dad’s) would love to have more Martha Stewart moments but ‘who has the time’. Frosty Cakes take away the guilt and provide those moments with none of the work so you can be the parent you want to be.
6.22 Communication plan
Product Launch
We will launch Frosty Cakes at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco on January 16 – 18th 2011 at the Moscone Center. The Winter Fancy Food Show has the hottest food trends, newest products and best networking opportunities in the specialty food trade. Each year the 17,000+ Winter Fancy Food Show attendees discover more than 80,000 products featuring the world's finest foods and beverages from more than 1,300 exhibitors representing 35+ countries.
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Print Media CampaignIn conjunction with our product launch we will run a series of advertisements. Our target magazines will include:
Parenting
Parents Disney Family Fun
Kiwi
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Mothering Magazine
The concept of our print media ads will tug on the desire our target market has to feel like the love and success of being the ‘perfect family’ . Frosty Cakes met that need by being a wholesome, fun treat that brings families together in the sprirt of celebration. After all cupcakes are synonymous with special celebration but on the other hand ice cream is an everyday treat. By combining the two we are selling the idea that families should celebrate every day. See appendix 7.5 for an example of our advertisement.
TelevisionAt this point of our development we will not seek to promote our product directly with television commercials. However we will actively promote our product with television talk shows with the aim of securing a product endorsement. The TV shows appropriate for our demographic would be the morning network news programs such as Good Morning America who often run new product segments or programs such as The View or Rachel Ray. Whilst these opportunities would be difficult to achieve they would offer an enormous boost to our
promotion activity and therefore will be aggressively pursued.
Internet CampaignWebsites designed for Moms and parents in general are becoming increasingly popular and in particular parenting bloggers are playing an important role in product endorsement. With this in mind we will deliver product samples and our media kit to the bloggers at websites such as Babble, Design Mom, serious Eats and
Ziggity Zoom all nominated by Time magazine as the best Parenting Blogs in 2010 (Time, 2010) or the following sites nominated by About.com in their 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards:
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Black and Married with Kids Crunchy Domestic Goddess Aiming Low Parent Hacks
Included in the press release will be a reference to coupons available on our website so that they can post a link for their readers.
We will contract with an organization such as IceCreamSource.com who deliver ice cream products, frozen on dry ice to ensure the product reaches the bloggers in perfect condition.
For other parenting websites who may have received less notoriety at this point but may none the less offer a promotion opportunity we will email our press kits and links to coupons at our website.
Public Relations - Family Day Sponsorship
Family Day is an event developed by CASA, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
who promote the idea that daily activities such as sharing a meal, a conversation, or a book can have an enormous impact on the life of a child and can help keep America’s kids substance free. Family Day began as a grassroots initiative and has grown to become a nationwide celebration. In 2009 President Obama, all the Governors and more than 1,000 Mayors and County Executives proclaimed and supported Family Day.
The President called upon the people of the United States to join together in observing this day by engaging in appropriate ceremonies and activities to honor and strengthen our Nation's families (The White House, 2010). This embodies our product as Frosty Cakes
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hopes to become a vehicle to encourage more frequent family meals and to make those meals extra special. With this in mind we will build an annual advertising campaign sponsoring Family Day. http://casafamilyday.org/familyday/
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To coincide with Family Day each year Frosty Cakes will launch an advertising campaign promoting the event. The campaign will include sponsorship of a national advertisement, magazine ads and in store promotions. We not only wish to provide a public service by promoting this critical message but believe that creating a relationship between Frosty Cakes and Family Day perfectly reinforces our message of the importance of families coming together to celebrate.
In-store Promotions
Point of Purchase Displays – our point of purchase displays will include large transparent stickers to be placed on supermarket freezers as well as floor graphics in the ice cream section of supermarkets. The fridge graphic will be a semi-transparent image of a Frosty Cake with fireworks in the back ground. The floor graphic will include an image of a frosty cake and will read;
“Do you really need an excuse to make your family feel special?”
See appendix for design examples.
During our launch and subsequent promotions, particularly our Family Day event, we will negotiate storage space on the end cap freezers.
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The ice cream section of the supermarket is a crowded competitive market so we will also seek to add displays to the freezer to set our product apart. Ideas for this include hanging displays that arch over the top of the freezer, and/or hanging displays attached to the freezer doors.
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Digital point of purchase displays – Relatively new to the supermarket advertising arena is the use of LCD displays to show brief products ads. At Frosty Treats we wish to use these displays in the freezer section to get customers attention, particularly children who find it hard to walk past a TV without stopping to look. These units offer a 7 inch screen, play movies or photos, are sensor activated by approaching customers and have a preset off function for after hours.
Check-in Apps’ Within the advertising industry attention is being focused on the use of technology such as phone apps to deliver location based advertising which provides a targeted message to consumers at the actual time of purchase (Zmuda 2010). We will utilize this technology to drive in-store
purchases by providing the consumers the chance to scan our product to do one or all of the following”
Get a couponEnter into a sweepstakeMake a donation to a local Family Day event.
Promotion Competition
Each year as part of our sponsorship of Family Day we will operate a sweepstake competition. The prize will be a celebration for the winner’s
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family complete with fireworks. Customers will enter either using the check-in app discussed above or on-line.
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Facebook Campaign
To create an on line buzz we will develop a Facebook application to allows users to ‘send a Frosty Cake to a friend’. This will be a free service and attached to the message we will include a store
coupon for $1 off Frosty Cakes.
Guerilla Marketing
The final piece of our promotion puzzle will be both a form of guerilla marketing and an effort to create a viral buzz. We propose
staging a ‘flash mob’ in the refrigeration section of a large supermarket. A ‘flashmob’ is a process of assembling a large group of people together to sing and dance and then recording the event and posting it on youtube.com with the hope that it will go viral. The flashmob will begin with a dancer walking down the refrigeration aisle
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triggering the sensor on our point of purchase LCD display to beginning playing ‘Celebration’ by Kool & the Gang. In line with our demographic our dancers will be parents and children (ages 6-18).
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6.3 Distribution
Since Frosty Treats is new to the market, we plan to use indirect distribution channel. We will use wholesalers to take advantage of their existing distribution networks and to ensure a broad customer base.
Our strategy is to make our Frosty Cakes available through three different channels:
SupermarketsAs a new company it will be important for us to ensure the widest availability of our product whilst balancing our ability to meet demand. For this reason we will initially target Supervalu as our key wholesaler. Supervalu is based in Eden Prairie Minnesota and is the largest public company foods wholesaler in the USA. Supervalu has the advantage of providing wholesale services to 2200 stores plus owning a nationwide network of 2500 stores including Albertsons and Hornbachers. We envisage as our company grows that we will seek contracts with additional organizations such as Walmart, Costco.
Convenience StoresWe will sell our single service Frosty Cake treats in convenience stores. To enter this market we will work with Henry’s Foods based in
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Alexandria Minnesota. Henry’s Foods are a full line, food service provider and specialize in servicing the convenience store market.
RestaurantsWe believe our product can meet an important need in the restaurant industry for a pre-made, convenient dessert designed to treat customers, especially children, celebrating a birthday or just as an accompaniment to a child’s meal. With this in mind we will seek to partner with the company Sysco. Sysco is a global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants with distribution facilities throughout the US and Canada. Sysco already carry a wide assortment of dessert options as part of their product range.
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6.4 Pricing
6.41 Pricing objectivesOne of our primary goals for Frosty Treats is to achieve financial sustainability. But in order to achieve this later down the line as our company grows, our primary pricing objective should focus on our sales. As a new company coming into the market we are in our introduction stage where we are trying to get our product across to the consumers. We already have start up costs due to promotion campaigns and media advertising campaigns that targets our target market which is married consumers with children (particularly aged 6-18). Our main priority is to generate sales for these costs so that we can recover and eventually move on to having sales increasing as well as increase in maximizing profits. After we are more stable, we plan on creating profit for us as well creating wealth for our shareholders.
6.42 Pricing researchThe average price of multi pack single serving ice cream is $2.50-$5.00 for the competitive ice cream products. Based on our product, we will keep our prices similar of the competition while having a slightly higher cost to show the better/high end quality of our product.
Company Brand Name Key Competing Products
Average Price Per Unit Logos
Unilever Klondike Klondike Bar $2.50 (6 pack)
Nestle Haagen Daz
Drumstick
Snack Size Cups/Bars
Original Sundae Cone
Classic mini and king size
Specialty flavors
1.$2.50 (3 pack or 6 pack snack size)
$2.50 (4 pack)
$4.48 (10 pack)
$2.50 (4 pack)
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HP Hood LLC
Kemps Sundae ConesKempswich
$3.14 (6 pack)$3.74 (4 pack)
6.43 Pricing strategyFrosty Cakes is designed to be a special treat that is high product quality. Because of this we decided to set our price at $5.99 for our six-pack and $1.99 for the single serve.. We wanted a price that competes with current multi pack single serve novelty products but as well have a price that will show that our product is a higher end treat for
married couples
with children to consume.
We decided that our treats will come in a 6 pack
container. It is best as a new company to start with a price that is slightly higher but still can compete within the prices of other single serve novelties. Once we start to see the results of our sales and profits we can then decide if our product price needs to be adjusted within the market.
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7. List of Appendices
7.1 Press Release – Product Launch7.2 Press Release – Family Day Sponsorship7.3 Sales Coupon7.4 Point of Purchase Display7.5 Print Advertisement
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7.1 Press release – Product Launch
Frosty Treats Press Release Date: January 5th 2011Contact: Marketing Manager Tina FrancisCell Phone: 414-356-9898Email:[email protected]
Frosty Treats new product launch:
Frosty Cakes Ice Cream Treats
Frosty Treats will launch their new product Frosty Cakes Ice Cream at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco on January 16 – 18th 2011 at the Moscone Center.
Frosty Treats is a new innovative ice cream company that brings together two of America’s favorite treats – ice cream and cupcakes. At Frosty Treats we know your life is full of moments worth celebrating. Our delicious, fun convenient ice cream treats bring families together to celebrate the big and small milestones of life
We produce a unique, affordable, single serve ice cream treat that will bring a smile to everyone in the family. Our cupcake ice cream treat combines layers of indulgent ice cream with cake topped with creamy frosting all enclosed in a solid chocolate outer shell. A perfect way to satisfy that sweet tooth craving!
We are very excited to launch our product at a major national event. We believe that grocery industry professionals will see that our product offers and exciting new spin on traditional dessert and will be eager to bring Frosty Cakes to supermarkets across the country.
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“Let’s Celebrate”
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7.2 Press release – Family Day Sponsorship.
Frosty Treats Press Release Date: September 19th 2011Contact: Marketing Manager Tina FrancisCell Phone: 414-356-9898Email:[email protected]
Frosty Treats Celebrating Family DaySeptember 26 2011
Frosty Treats is excited to announce that they will be a major sponsor of national Family Day. Family Day is an event developed by CASA, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse who promote the idea that daily activities such as sharing a meal, a conversation, or a book can have an enormous impact on the life of a child and can help keep America’s kids substance free. Family Day began as a grassroots initiative and has grown to become a nationwide celebration. In 2009 President Obama, all the Governors and more than 1,000 Mayors and County Executives proclaimed and supported Family Day.
At Frosty Treats we care about families. We believe in the Family Day message and the important work conducted by CASA. We hope that our Frosty Cake products become a vehicle to encourage more frequent family meals and to make those meals extra special. We not only wish to provide a public service by promoting this critical message but believe Family Day perfectly reinforces our message of the importance of families coming together to celebrate.
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“Let’s Celebrate”
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7.3 Promotion Coupon
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7.4 Point of Purchase Display
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7.5 Print Media Advertisement
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8.0 References
About.com (2010) Reader’s Choice for Favorite Parenting Blog Awards 2010 retrieved from http://familyinternet.about.com/od/resources/ss/readerschoice10-winner_2.htm
Ben & Jerry's Solves a Cold Case Source Mater.Handl.Manage., 2008, 63, 6, 28-30, Penton Publishing
Cowlett, M. (2010). Don't blame it on the weather. Marketing (00253650), , 26-27.
Dudlicek, James. Dairy Foods, Nov2009, Vol. 110 Issue 11, p44-51, 5p, 2 Color Photographs, 2 Charts; (AN47967501)
Harden, B. (4 March 2007). Numbers drop for the married with children. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030300841.html
Ice Cream Industry Profile: United States, Dec 2009, p1, 32p, 16 Charts, 10 Graphs; (AN47196192)
Ice Cream Industry Profile: Global, Dec 2009, p1, 32p, 14 Charts, 11 Graphs; (AN47196189)
Lancaster, G. Buyer behaviour by geoff lancaster. Durham Associates. Retrieved October 30, 2010 from http://www.da-group.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16%3Abuyer-behaviour&catid=2%3Amarketing-lectures&Itemid=3
Mayer, Marina. Dairy Foods, MAr20110, Vol. 111 Issue 3, p32-40, 6p; (AN 48973836)
McClellan, S. (23 Febuary 2010). Are demographics dead? Study suggests looking at ‘life stages’ could yield greater insight. Adweek. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/e3ib50641aa28f3a460fba46e23d3c1bb41
New Strategist Publications (2010). American generations: Who they are and how they live. 7th ed. Ithaca, N.Y.
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Poet Joanna. (2008) Dairy Foods, Nov.2008, Vol. 109nIssue 11, p56-64, 4p, 5 Color Photographs, 6 Charts; (AN 35349341)
Rea, A. (2010). "Screaming for ice cream: a rapidly growing market, ice cream nevertheless faces its share of possible demons. What will be the effect of changing demographics on the frozen treat, and how will manufacturers respond?". Prepared Foods. FindArticles.com. 03 Oct, 2010.
Rideout, V.J., Foehr, U.G., & Roberts, D.F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
TIME magazine (2010) 50 Best Websites 2010 retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2012721,00.html on 21 November 2010.
The White House (2010) retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/27/presidential-proclamation-family-day.
US Census Bureau. (2000). Profiles of general demographic characteristics: 2000 census of population and housing. Retrieved October 28, 2010 from http://www2.census.gov/census_2000/datasets/demographic_profile/0_National_Summary/2khus.pdf
US Census Bureau. (2008).Families by number of own children under 18 years old. Retrieved October 29, 2010 from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/households_families_group_quarters.html
Zmuda, Natalia (2010) Check-in Apps’ Next Stop: Your Supermarket Aisles. Advertising Age retrieved from http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=147100 on 3 December 2010.
Competitor’s websites:
www. benjerry .com/activism/ mission - statement
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www. benjerry .com / swot / ben-and-jerrys - swot .html
www. haagendazs .com/
www.nestle.com / swot / nestle - swot
www.unileverusa.com
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