Reliance Baking Soda Case Study

During the second half of our trading period we focussed massively on the private label market and found our niche there. We had realized that the minimum cost of the product wins the market share so we started experimenting with S/Q Ratings and percentage of superior materials to come up with the best product with the least cost price. Adding minimum profit margin to the cost price we were able to seize a massive chunk of the private label market. Attached are a few snapshot highlighting our success in that market.

profitability, slowing demand growth and a surge in private label sales threatened to undermine the

Bath & Body Works (BBW) enjoyed a successful decade after its inception in 1990. However, over time their limited offering of products was sending their customer base to other retail chains - either trading up to better brands or trading down to cheaper prices. As demand for their product seemed to dwindle, they needed a way to increase their customer base. An increase in

The company was recently presented an opportunity by its largest retail customer to significantly increase its share in their private label manufacturing. The prospect of growth was risky, since it

However, when Franklins unsuccessfully attempted to reconfigure their position in regards to their consumers, they lost their hold on the market (Armstrong et al. 2012). It is also outlined by Armstrong et al (2012) that the inexperience of Franklins in regards to market segmentation resulted in the loss of existing consumers as well as future consumers, and ultimately resulted in an uncontested response to ALDI. 4. ALDI’s Private label strategy Smith (2006, p. 39) implies that due to the nature of the supermarket industry, stores that offer a larger range of products are often more efficient than those that offer fewer items. ALDI however tests this notion, as they stock roughly 700 private label products - which is less than other retailers who stock 25000 to 30000 products (Bonn 2006, p. 1), yet they are still able to secure their market position and contend with rival retailers (Armstrong et al. 2012) 4.1 Perception of Private Label Within the last 20-30 years, private label brands were initially targeted towards the lower classes; therefore people’s adoptions of private label brands were not very common (Kumar & Steenkamp 2007, p. 12). However, in recent decades private label products have become more favorable to Australian consumers. This is evident in 2010 Nielson Global Survey (The Nielsen Company 2010) as the total percentage of sales of private label products have increased

While many consum¬ers will still pay for premium products, super¬markets have had to slash prices on many ordinary items. Part of the reason for this is the fierce competition they have been receiv¬ing from such outlets as warehouse clubs. Folgers is a very well-known brand, but not even the stron¬gest brands are safe from the necessity of price-cutting, to which they were formerly immune. In bygone days, owning a strong brand was a sure road to protected high margins. Low-cost generic products have improved in quality and their sales have skyrocketed, making such moves unavoidable.

The second force that I will use to analyze the Trader Joe’s company is the “the rivalry among established competitors”. Factors to consider when looking at the rivalries in the industry are industry demand, cost conditions, and exit barriers. Trader Joe’s competitors include The Kroger Co., Whole Foods Market, and Safewat Inc., and all super markets in general (Llopis, 2011). With that said, there seems to be a high demand for what Trader Joe’s offers, private labels. This means that the intensity in the industry is less compared to an industry with a flat demand. Trader Joe’s does not have to fight hard to sell their products because of the service they have created. Trader Joe’s brand can be considered “diversity on steroids” which has somewhat of a cult following among consumers (Llopis, 2011). Consumers that want unique experiences with their food are able to do exactly that at

These four retailers average private-label dollar share of 22%, well above the industry average of 16%. They have also seen higher levels of overall sales growth versus non-leaders – 5.3% versus 3.4% over the past 3 years. (Future of Food Retailing 2008, 136)

They have focused on building brand recognition and profitability by growing the business gaining assets to grow the company and products for greater customer satisfaction (About GMCR, 2004-2009). GMCR’s strategy to incorporate current large brands, such as Tully’s, Diedrich, and Keurig has helped to expand their customer base and satisfaction as well as the markets for their products (Phillips, 2011). Their focus on increasing their market shares in other companies will facilitate their expansion into new geographical markets and promote the brand. GMCR’s partnership with Keurig creates a larger consumer choice and the addition of agreements to create portion packs for the Keurig with companies such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Newman’s Own helps set them apart from the competition (Invest in the Markets, 2011).

marketing mix to use to increase Reliance Baking Soda’s (RBS) profit by 10% in 2008.

The Pillsbury Cookie Challenge is a case study written by Natalie Mauro under the supervision of Professor Allison Johnson. The case study creates an open discussion about what the marketing manager of the refrigerated baked goods category for Canada General Mills should do to revive his products. Ivan Guillen, the marketing manager, was faced with tough challenges. He was initially “…faced with the challenge of developing a strategy that would lead to improved business performance on his category” (Johnson and Mauro, p.1, 2011). To clarify, Guillen’s category is refrigerated baked goods (RBG), which means, this category is his marketing responsibility. The issue here is that “RBG was GMCC’s fourth largest category, and its performance over the past two years had been less than stellar” (Johnson and Mauro, p.1, 2011). It is important to note that GMCC stands for General Mills Canada Corporation. Pillsbury has enjoyed majority market share in the RBG category in Canada, however, recently, the market was experiencing only moderate growth. Guillen was disappointed that their goal of 5%-7% market growth was not being achieved mainly in the refrigerated cookie dough segment. To be exact, their volume growth for two years was flat and they were having difficulty reaching new households. There was a shift among consumer’s purchases, which Guillen was challenged to figure out why.

As marketing manager of the RBG business, Ivan Guillen must propose a solution to repair Pillsbury refrigerated baked goods (RGB)’s business performance. Since the refrigerated-cookie product line consisted of 62% of RBG’s unit sales and over 75% of the company’s profits, Guillen found it appropriate to alter this segment in the market. Proposing this idea to GMCC would require Guillen to consider all the challenges he faces. Guillen will have to discover a strategy to increase household penetration since it has fallen to 24% in the past few years. The lack in market penetration has

Despite the inconsistent changes in spending from year to year, P&G’s market share consistently increased between 1% and 2% every twelve months (see Figure 1). The question is, with Unilever’s actions in regards to marketing expenditures, is the 15% increase going to be enough to restart P&G’s upward growth of market share?

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Besides the problems listed in the above sections, Reliance Baking Soda is constrained and limited by the fact that baking soda is in the mature part of its life cycle. When a product reaches maturity, there is no room for traditional growth. The product must discover new uses. RBS is not a “wow” product that can be categorized as a necessity; therefore, it must be aggressive in its advertising in order to stimulate further purchase. The product was old-fashioned and needed some ‘refurbishment’ to make it attractive to the target market.