M&M Analysis

Since 1928, the H. B. Reese company's been making the irresistible combination of chocolate and peanut butter known as the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The significance of this artifact in the american culture and history is, without a doubt, vastly significant. As a confection, both peanut butter and chocolate pack a strong punch in their own right. They are often main ingredients in cookies, cakes, ice creams, and other desserts and treats.They're familiar… there’s something instinctively American and close to home about them both. It is no wonder they need very little persuasion of the American people to become the number one most popular candy in the United States by a wide margin.

Chocolate was previously considered a “delectable symbol of luxury, wealth, and power” (Klein) in the 1500s. Using modern technology, it is now easily produced. While

The purpose of this report is to report the findings from statistical analysis on the claims M&M has made concerning proportions, the number of each color of M&M candies in each 1.69 oz. bag of candies and a claim for quality control.

Headquartered in Mount Olive, New Jersey, U.S., Mars Chocolate is one of the world’s leading chocolate manufacturers and employs more than 15,000 Associates across 19 countries. They have thirty-four brands in total, including five billion-dollar global brands - M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®/GALAXY®, MARS®/MILKY WAY® and TWIX®. Other leading brands include: 3 MUSKETEERS®, BALISTO®, BOUNTY®, MALTESERS® and REVELS® .

Selective distribution, however, should never be abandoned because that is what keeps the price of their product from falling below a set value.

Most buyers do not share the same palate, purchase the same quantities, or respond in the same manner to marketing efforts. Therefore, a concentrated Niche Marketing approach will work best to target our selected segment. Instead of pursuing a smaller share of a large market, Exotic Fruit Bars will target a large share of one focused niche. Through niche marketing, Exotic Fruit Bars can achieve strong market positioning by gathering thorough and detailed knowledge of the consumer needs in the niches it serves, and by acquiring a distinct reputation to differentiate Exotic Fruit Bars from it’s competitors.

Imagine being a young child walking into a chocolate museum where chocolate lines the walls, you can create your own one of a kind candy bar, thousands of different types of chocolates, and chocolate bars line the walls.

Retailers are highly selective as to the products they carry and consumers have many choices in the candy isle. We find that emphasizing high sell-through and attractive profit margins to the trade and high quality at an attractive value to the consumer is a winning strategy. Our diverse and highly recognizable brand portfolio remains popular across all trade channels. We have a range of offerings suitable for virtually every major consumer group. Our product line undergoes continual refinement in order to retain its appeal to ever-evolving preferences and life styles. The candy marketplace is highly competitive and we are vigilant in keeping our products contemporary even as they remain iconic. Halloween has long been our largest selling period with third quarter sales nearly double those of any other quarter in the year. We posted strong results in all major trade classes including grocery, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, dollar stores and drug chains. Especially popular at Halloween are our large bags of Child’s Play and other mixed candy assortments, which are offered in a variety of merchandising presentations. Our bagged goods have traditionally been limited to “lay down” format that is commonly found on retailer’s shelves. In addition to “lay down” bags, in 2009 we introduced a number of packs in a “vertical” format. These gusseted bags really

Candy is not yet a “mature” industry in the United States. The compound annual growth rate for candy in the past ten years has been close to 6% a year, a very solid gain in an industry that is supposedly mature. In fact, within the chocolate confectionery subcategory, the United States ranks 11th in the world in per capita consumption and fifth in the world in growth since 1980. Based on current demographics, many analysts believe that there will be further growth for confectioneries. A “baby-boomlet” is on the way, significantly increasing the teenage population. By the time the population bulge peaks in the year 2010, it will top the baby boom in the 1960s in both size and duration. According to government statistics, the percentage of children between the age of 5 and 14 will rise during the 1990s, increasing from 14.2 percent of the population in the 1990 to 14.5 percent in the year 2000. This trend will serve as a strong foundation for increasing consumption of confectionery products through the end of the century. Nevertheless, spending for food and drink as a percentage of all personal consumption is declining in the United States, and most manufacturers recognize that future opportunities lie in using profits from domestic

Weak online shopping facility: The Company is relatively new in online selling and need improvement in this regards.

The global segment of the general environment is that McDonald’s has Internationally and successfully expanded into foreign markets around the world. The first country that McDonald’s expanded to was Canada. Today, McDonald’s successfully operates in more than 100 countries and has over 34,400 locations. According to the McSpotlight.org, “on average, McDonald’s opens a new restaurant every three hours”. The world recognizes McDonald’s as a truly successful American company with tasty and affordable food items.

With the increasing trend in healthy diet preference, the underlying drivers of change of competition in premium chocolate industry at the strongest level are the buyers’ preferences for differentiated, refined products, instead of standardized ordinary products that are no longer demanded. In addition, baby boomers - generation with their disposable income are spending a lot on high quality premium chocolates.

The possibilities for product differentiation are numerous in that there are many different ways to make chocolate, many different items to add to chocolate, and many different ways to use chocolate. Having so many different options to market chocolate could present an open door for competitors, creating their own niche to draw customers. A large number of products to choose from could also make it difficult for Roger’s to draw customers to its own products, decreasing their profit potentials.

Skittles is a well-known, long-standing brand that has pleased consumers for generations. However, it is our contention that the name’s growth is stagnating, and needs to be revitalized based upon a core marketing goal: bring Skittles from simply a candy – something one consumes on a whim and forgets about – to a brand that engenders both value and feeling for consumers. With such a focus, the objective is to influence the seemingly minor consumer choice between confections in vending machines and on store shelves by linking a positive and pleasing emotion to the image of the brand. The intention is to achieve realistic, long-term financial goals, which will be controlled through measuring actual results against initial projections. The

Hershey chocolate is known as one of the world’s most popular chocolate brands. For 118 years, the Hershey brand remains a favorite chocolate treat in over 90 different countries. Beginning only manufacturing milk chocolate, the company today manufacturers over 100 different varieties of candy. Many people are familiar with the traditional Hershey milk chocolate bar, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and bite sized Hershey kisses. The process behind producing these famed treats is a fascinating process. By evaluating the company’s manufacturing process and business dynamics, consumers can gain a better perspective of the science behind the candy the enjoy most.