“50 Slim Donuts” is a made-up company name my instructor assigned to me for my Marketing Class. The due date for the project is May 14th 2021. Written or by Power Point is your choice. My marketing idea is a 50 calorie donut for dieters. “Low fat and tasty. Satisfied and Slim” is the goal. In addition to what is listed in the description of the contents of a Marketing, I will also need included: Marketing Implementation with a focus on Marketing Organization.Performance Evaluation with a focus on Performance Standards/Actual Performance. Since this is a make believe company be creative as you please, just adhere to each topic for me.
Evaluation of 50 Slim Donuts Company
Executive Summary
The movement towards eating healthy is prevalent worldwide. Individuals are slowly progressing to consuming food that they believe would aid them to stay fit. The movement is inspired by the social pressure to have a desirable body and the need to avoid weight gain. 50 Slim Donut company is one of the start-ups that aim at providing healthy food to individuals. The corporation provides tasty and low-calorie donuts that enable individuals to satisfy their cravings while staying fit.
The need for healthy yet savoury food makes it feasible to establish the corporation. However, other factors come into play. It necessitates the need to conduct a Strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. The evaluation determines whether the implementation of the company will be a success or not. The finding of the analysis will aid in providing the prospective position of the firm in the USA’s food industry.
SWOT analysis provides the basis for formulating strategies that aid in the marketing of the company. The strategy focuses on target market segments; demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioural. With information on the target markets, it is simpler to conduct positioning strategies. The action plan encompasses the four marketing factors; product, price, position, and promotion. With the strategies, it is important to conduct a performance evaluation of the company. It provides the standards that pinpoint the success of the company. Performance evaluation facilitates the company to gauge its progress in the food industry.
Introduction
Given the high obesity rates in the USA, there is a need for low-calorie meals. Individuals need products that satiate their taste buds while enabling them to stay fit. These low-calorie products come in handy since they aid Americans to consume fast food without gaining weight. 50 Slim Donuts Company is one of the companies established to provide the alternative to the regular high-fat donuts to individuals. However, since it is a start-up, it is important to evaluate the possibility of it being successful in the USA food industry. Without this analysis, the implementation of the company might be a failure; therefore, it is essential to conduct an analysis and come up with strategies to aid in the successful establishment of 50 Slim Donuts Company.
Overview of the Company
50 Slim Donuts corporation is a potential startup that aims at providing low-calorie donuts in the American food industry. The company’s goal is “Low fat and tasty. Satisfied and Slim”. It implies that the product will be low fat and tasty to ensure that the consumers are satisfied and remain slim. The company aims at being operational from June 2021. It hopes to gain investment from high-end food corporations such as Nestle. With the investment, the company’s operations will be achievable.
The purpose of the Company
The corporation is established mainly to provide a healthy alternative to high-fat donuts. According to statistics, around 70% of the USA population suffers from both obesity and being overweight (Sun et al. 546). These high levels are linked to the food products that these individuals consume (Sun et al. 546). The more high-calorie they consume, the more cases of obesity and overweight. According to Sun et al. (547), these alarming rates of food-related ailments prompted Americans to be more conscious of what they consume. There was a need for low-calorie food that would enable them to satiate their cravings without gaining weight. The wholesome meals are healthy alternatives but do not have the flavoursome tastes associated with fast food. Therefore, there was a need for a low-calorie fast food alternative. The 50 Slim Donuts firm comes in handy as it provides low-calorie donuts for its prospective consumers. The donuts will have a similar flavour as the high-fat donuts but different calorie percentage. The company will aid the Americans to satisfy their craving for donuts while maintaining the BMI.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The corporation’s products are viable to the American market. The company aims at producing low-calorie donuts. The products would be a healthier alternative to high-fat donuts. Since they will have the same taste, Americans would prefer it. The establishment of the company is during a time where the demand for healthy meals is high (Sun et al. 557). Since its products meet the demands of the population, the corporation will be successful. Indeed, the company’s products offer the firm leverage in the food industry.
Weakness
The company lacks diversification. The production of the company is focused solely on the production of low-calorie donuts. Without diversification of its product line, the company may collapse. Focusing on a single product is harmful to the business. Without a plan to expand its product line, the company may become irrelevant.
Opportunities
The niche in the production of whole meals presents an opportunity for the company. As Americans are shifting towards healthy eating, the corporation can specialize its production to whole meals. It should produce both low-calorie fast food, beverages, and whole meals. Although most Americans prefer to eat low-fat meals at home, they might trust a corporation that leans towards the sole production of healthy food (Sun et al. 557). As a result, the company will optimize its profits through economies of scale. Certainly, the sole production of healthy meals presents a viable opportunity for the firm.
Threats
The firm’s production of donuts threatens the operations of the firm as it creates a negative perception of the consumers. The company’s profile indicates that it produces low-calorie donuts, however, consumers might not differentiate it from the normal high fat donuts. Individuals might not trust the firm due to the already existing negative perspective on fast foods (Min et al. 591). Per Min et al. (591), the marketing on fast food restaurants depicts that they only sell high-calorie products that are linked to obesity. The existing analogy thus creates a negative perception of the company and threatens its operations. It may take a large period before consumers believe that the donuts are different from the others offered in fast food joints.
Target Market Segment
Demographic
Demographics is the most viable market segment for the firm. The firm targets both children and adults. The strategy is motivated by the increased consumption of low-calorie food across all age groups. In the USA, the highest consumers of low-calorie food are children between 6-11 years and adults from 55 years and above (Sylvetsky et al. 448). The firm also targets females. Per Sylvetsky et al. (448), more females than males consumed low-calorie foods. Non-Hispanic white individuals are also the target market of the corporation due to their high consumption rate (Sylvetsky et al. 446). Equally, the firm targets consumers from high social-economical status. According to Sylvetsky et al. (446), these people consume more low-calorie sweeteners as they can afford them. They will provide a viable market for the firm. The company aims at taking advantage of these statistics to gain leverage in the food industry.
Behavioural
The segment depicts the characteristics of the people that the firm targets. The corporation aims at targeting individuals who are sensitive to weight-related factors. They aim at consuming low-calorie products that would help them manage their existing conditions or prevent obesity (Sylvetsky et al. 445). These are consumers with existing medical conditions such as diabetes and obesity. The firm targets them since it provides low-calorie donuts that would aid them in their journey to healthy living.
Geographic
Geographic segment depicts the positioning of the firm, The corporation targets consumers from urban and semi-urban areas. The company targets them since they have limited options for healthy food. Unlike their counterparts in reserves, the urban and semi-urban individuals rely on processed food. The company, therefore, aims at providing them with healthy alternatives.
Psychographic
Psychographics one of the vital market segments that the firms put into consideration. it depicts the general lifestyle of the consumers that the company targets. The firm focuses on individuals that are impulsive buyers and willing to try out new products. The donuts from the firm are relatively new to the market. It requires people that are not afraid on spending impulsively on new products.
Positioning Strategy and Recommendations
Product
The corporation should offer a wide product line to boost its sales. The company aims at the production of low-calorie donuts. The initiative is viable for the company’s general success. However, to optimize its profits, the firm needs to offer a variety of products to the consumers. The company needs to expand its product line to encompass whole low-fat meals. As a result, the expansion of the product line would maximize the firm’s production while ensuring customer gratification.
Price
The firm should offer its products at affordable. The firm should aim at producing high-quality products that offer a value proposition to its customers. Although the target market involves high-income individuals, the prices should be relatively affordable for the rest of the socio-economical status groups. By making its products affordable, the firm would ensure that it has a market for them.
Positioning
The positioning of the firm boosts its sales. The company is set to be located in New York. The existing strides towards a healthy population in the city make it easier for the firm to make an entry into the food industry. Individuals would be more receptive to healthy food offered by the corporation. The corporation needs to analyse the city and set up its physical location within proximity of offices and other industries. The proximity will make it accessible to the population; thus, increasing the probability of sales.
Promotion
Offering promotion on products will increase the firm’s sales. Since the corporation is relatively new, it needs to offer promotions on its products to make them favourable to consumers. It should offer discounts on purchases that exceed $40. However, it should be careful not to offer too many discounts as it might incur losses. Only standardized promotions would be beneficial to the company.
Performance Evaluation Standards
Consumer Retention
The company will base its performance on consumer retention. Consumer retention depicts the success of any corporation (Katsikeas et al. 18). The ability of the company to have a set number of consumers will depict that it is a successful venture. When consumers are satisfied with the firm’s products, they will keep returning with their friends and families. The 50 Slim Donuts company will use this standard to evaluate their performance in the food industry. A stable consumer base facilitates the longevity of the company in the food industry. Therefore, consumer retention is a viable standard to measure the performance of the firm.
Product-Market Share
The product’s market share in the food industry determines the general performance of the company. With the prevalence of many ventures in the food industry, it is vital to analyse the percentage of the market share that the product occupies. The method takes into consideration consumer retention and accounting to determine the market share of the product. The method reveals the marketing performance goal and measure of the company (Katsikeas et al. 18). A large market share depicts that the company is successful and vice versa. Consequently, a product-market share index is a viable means of measuring the company’s performance in the food industry.
Accounting
Accounting is a practical means of conducting a performance evaluation of the company. The method will involve analysing the company’s profits. The focus would be on the corporation’s ability to retain profits (Katsikeas et al. 19). It will depict the level at which the company can make profits instead of the summation of the profits achieved (Katsikeas et al. 19). With this method, the company will evaluate its profitability. The focus will be on the profits they make per day instead of the general profits made in a year. The performance index will indicate whether the business is profitable or not. Indeed, accounting is a viable means of performance evaluation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, 50 Slim Donuts firm is a practical venture that will aid in reducing the levels of obesity in America. The company will provide low-calorie donuts that would satisfy the consumers’ needs without them gaining weight. The SWOT analysis of the company reveals that the company will become a success if it mitigates the negative perceptions towards fast foods. The corporation targets individuals between 30-50 years individuals who are focused on maintaining a healthy BMI. The performance measurement index will be consumer retention, product-market share, and accounting. The company’s success is beneficial to all stakeholders as the owner gains profits while consumers remain healthy.
Works Cited
Katsikeas, Constantine S., et al. “Assessing performance outcomes in marketing.” Journal of Marketing 80.2 (2016): 1-20.
Min, Jungwon, et al. “Americans’ perceptions about fast food and how they associate with its consumption and obesity risk.” Advances in Nutrition 9.5 (2018): 590-601.
Sun, Xiaodi, et al. “Consumers’ perception of reduced-calorie meals: How low is “Low-Calorie”?.” Journal of Foodservice Business Research 23.6 (2020): 546-567.
Sylvetsky, Allison C., and Kristina I. Rother. “Trends in the consumption of low-calorie sweeteners.” Physiology & behavior 164 (2016): 446-450.
Sylvetsky, Allison C., et al. “Consumption of low-calorie sweeteners among children and adults in the United States.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 117.3 (2017): 441-448.