Annie’s Target Market and Why
Annie’s should focus on its current core consumer segment because it has proved so successful. It is most likely to consist of well educated, younger mothers who understand the benefits of consuming healthy foods among children. This consumer segment believes in progressive, healthy living derived from healthy, safe foods. Moreover, they have a high tolerance for premium prices offered by Annie’s. The company should also target consumers who opt for fast foods.
In addition, Annie’s can still focus on a prime target market consisting of younger, well-educated mothers who prefer healthy foods, stringent on diets, and want positive living. In this segment, adults rather than kids would largely drive product consumption. It can fight for market shares from fast food outlets that are known for unhealthy diets.
Best New Product Strategy for Annie’s
Frozen food is a new market opportunity for Annie’s. Nevertheless, the company can present its frozen foods as high quality, specialty products, which are made with organic ingredients, such as cheese, crust, tomatoes, and others. As such, Annie’s will still appeal to consumers who believe that frozen foods are not healthy. Moreover, the use of organic products would still demonstrate consistency in product development and Annie’s brand. For segmentation, Annie would still target busy mothers who want frozen healthy foods while positioning the product as a better option with four different flavors, including Cheese, Supreme, Spinach and Mushroom, and Pepperoni.
Moving Forward on the Key Product Decision
Annie’s should move forward and launch the frozen foods into its target markets. The company has already identified multiple opportunities for the product. They make sense with regard to volumes and fit with Annie’s. For instance, Annie’s has noted potential success in cheese and macaroni associated with frozen entrees. Moreover, frozen pizza is equally lucrative. The company has noted that the products can be convenient for busy families, and they can offer great tastes and better ingredients for healthy living and comfort meals.
Moving Forward on Placement and Distribution
Annie’s should adopt diversified multi-channel placement and distribution. Natural foods have attracted solid growth in most developed channels, such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, and United. The company can still claim placement and distribution spaces in these retail stores.
Grocery stores, such as Safeway, Kroger, and Stop & Shop, are large distribution channels with a vital opportunity to grow. Moreover, they can provide opportunities for direct shipment of products to consumers (Kotler and Armstrong 209).
Finally, Annie’s can also place and distribute frozen products through mass retailers, which include Target, Costco, and Walmart. The mass approach will ensure strong overall performance while the new healthy products into these stores will be considered as additional strong gains for driving sales volumes and profitability.
Moving Forward on Promotion
The frozen pizza market is difficult and, therefore, Annie must change its promotional strategies. The company must now incorporate traditional media advertising in its promotions. Moreover, it must revamp current practices involving trade promotions and grassroots efforts, social media, and other areas, but at low costs.
Annie’s has noted heavy spending by leading competitors and, therefore, it cannot simply dismiss this fact. Further, it must revamp packaging for a frozen pizza to communicate vital ingredients and benefits to consumers.
Moving Forward on Pricing
The company must maintain its premium pricing strategy. Nevertheless, the pricing strategy should account for cost, product, promotion, and distribution factors. The prospective consumers will still pay a premium for organic, simple high quality frozen products.
Works Cited
Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong. Principles of Marketing 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.