response

Unit 3 - Discussion

Greg Roth

9/10/2014 3:31:05 PM

Prof. McDermott and class,

I found an interesting Japanese-made product available on the Cost Plus World Market site that could use some work (in my opinion).  It’s a Nishi Bontan Mochi Candy, a “chewy, rice-based treat that comes wrapped in edible, melt-in-your-mouth rice paper” (Cost Plus, n.d.).  The candy itself sounds like quite a treat and is popular in Japan. 

Target Market: From a demographics perspective, this candy crosses all the age groups, certainly within the Asian/Japanese culture.  Instead of trying to boil the ocean however, I would look at the tween and the Asian Gen Y age groups.  I chose the tweens because they have great influence over mom and dad at the grocery store.  Lamb, Hair & McDaniel (2014) noted that “Tweens directly spend about $50 billion per year, and the remainder is spent by parents and family members for them” (pg. 48).  I targeted the Asian Gen Y’s because it would be something they remember from their childhood, an emotional impulse buy, if you will.  I would look to expand the market after gaining inroads with these two demographics.

Product:  This is where the opportunity lies for marketing this product in the United States.  If you look at the packaging, more precisely, the picture, it perhaps shows a little too much of the Sumo wrestler’s backside .  I would clean that up a bit and go with picture that suggests a tasty treat, such as a child smiling, holding a piece of the candy, perhaps with the main island of Japan in the background.  I’d also have dual language writings on the packaging (English and Japanese) to demonstrate that the product is Japanese in its origin (the package currently only has Japanese writing).

Price:  Price is very competitive at $2.49.  It may actually be a price leader as other sites with comparable product (from what I could tell) priced between 40% and 50% higher.  If anything, it would be worthwhile to consider raising the price to $2.99 since the dual language may cause a slight increase to the cost of the packaging.  It could also help with the costs associated to re-launching the product to the US market.  It’s still a fair price for an imported candy.

Promotion: I would stick with television spots on Saturday morning children’s shows, as well as other food channel variety shows (especially ones that focus on Asian cooking).  

Place:  I would offer the product in-store and online.  For in-store, I would push for kick-off event of the newly packaged product with a promotional display and look for endcap support from the various food and grocery retailers that carry the product. 

Greg

Cost Plus, (n.d.), Retrieved on Sept. 10, 2014 from http://www.worldmarket.com/product/nishi+bontan+mochi+candy.do?page=2&from=fn

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2014). MKTG7. Mason, OH: Cengage.

Kinder Suprise

Katie Boykin

9/10/2014 3:20:56 PM

Professor and Class,    The Kinder Surprise is an egg shaped chocolate treat that contains a toy inside of it.  Kinder is owned by the Ferrero Company which is based out of Italy but has begun to produce its products in factories throughout the world.  The product itself is great and has a taste that stands apart from its American competition.  It is also unique in the fact that it contains a surprise toy.  The consumer does not know what they are going to get until they buy the product open the chocolate egg and see for themselves.  This novelty is an excellent feature for the product and makes for a second way to market the chocolate.  The packaging is also well done.  The wrapping is mostly white with brown and orange font displaying the product name in large lower case font, which I believe helps appeal to children; whom are the products target market.  The packaging also features images creamy chocolate and of the various toys that could be contained inside the candy, adding additional appeal.   The price for the product varies based on where and how it is purchased.  At The Cupboard in Fort Collins, a Kinder Surprise can be bought for $3.  It is more of a specialty candy so it is very rare to find one at the drug store or grocery store.  Specialty food stores with a chocolate department and candy shops do carry them.  However, due to their scarcity and popularity they can be bought online through Amazon or EBay in bulk.  The price point is a fair one since the consumer is also buying  a toy as well as the chocolate egg.     Since this is foreign product being marketed in the US, promoting Kinder Surprise may have to be approached differently than other countries because of our difference in culture (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2014).  Since children and parents of younger children would be the target market for this product, it would be important to increase advertising on the television, specifically during children's daytime and after school programs.  This would increase the exposure of the product to the target market.        In conclusion, the marketing mix for the Kinder Surprise is well done.  I would only change the way that the product is promoted in the United States by utilizing more television advertising and social media like YouTube.  By doing so, the product is seen by a larger audience within the target market.     Katie    Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2014). MKTG7. Mason, OH: Cengage.