Marketing Plan: Energy Drink For Women

This new energy drink aims to cater to the consumer’s demand for healthier options with less sugar and caffeine. Moreover, this beverage is manufactured in a local community, which is another selling point for conscious customers who want to support local brands. Some issues include intense competition in the market, with companies such as RedBull, VPX, and Monster Energy offering their products at a low cost and lack of financial support for the company. This paper details a marketing plan for an energy drink for women.

Environmental Analysis

The market of energy drinks in the United States is saturated with products and well-established players. For example, companies such as RedBull are well-established in this industry and have a substantial consumer base, and established relationships with suppliers and distributors. However, since this beverage aims to introduce a new approach to energy drinks and focuses exclusively on females, its differentiation will become a competitive advantage when compared to mainstream energy drinks.

The Marketing Environment

1. Competitive Forces. RedBull has 24% of the energy drink market in the state (“Market share,” 2020). Other competitors are Monster Energy with 15% of the market, VPX Bang with 6.6%, and Red Bull Sugar-Free with 5.9% (“Market share,” 2020). Other brands are substantially smaller and have a low presence and margin in the energy drink market.
2. Economic Forces. The average cost per can for a standard energy drink ranges from $2 to $4. However, a healthier energy drink option and local small community manufacturing can justify a premium price of this drink.
3. Political Forces. The only concern is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has taken some steps to protect consumers who purchase energy drinks and “dietary supplements containing pure or highly concentrated caffeine in powder or liquid forms are considered unlawful when sold in bulk quantities directly to consumers” (FDA, 2018, para. 2).
4. Legal and Regulatory Forces. Since this is an energy drink, the final product will have to go through the FDA’s approval, especially if it contains new types of additives.
5. Technological Forces. Technology plays an important role in engineering new types of energy drinks.
6. Sociocultural Forces. The consumer has begun to dedicate more attention to healthy foods and drinks, for example, those with less caffeine and sugar (Mordor Intellegence, 2020).

Target Markets

This energy drink will target females of ages 15-40, professional or amateur athletes and sports enthusiasts, as well as women interested in dietary supplements. According to the Mordor Intelligence Report (2020), the increased consumption of energy drinks is driven by demand from working professionals and health-conscious individuals. Additionally, the consistent demand for these drinks comes from athletes and people involved in physical activities. This new drink will be advertised to the local community of the Midwest, beginning with a promotion campaign in Wisconsin.

Current Marketing Objectives and Performance

The energy drink’s marketing strategy focuses primarily on using the Buy One Get One (BOGO) strategy to promote it to frequent buyers of energy drinks. The drink will be sold through vending machines, at gas stations, and grocery stores. BOGO refers to a promotion deal where a consumer can receive a second product for free when paying for the first one or have a substantial discount, for example, 50%. With this strategy, this drink will be promoted to athletes and health-conscious individuals who buy energy beverages regularly. They will receive two cans and will be able to try out the new item and get used to the taste of it. By working with a few suppliers, the manufacturer will be able to ensure that they receive all the raw materials needed for production.

SWOT

Table 1 shows the SWOT analysis for the new energy drink. When matching the opportunities with strengths, this product will offer clean-label beverages with minimal use of ingredients that may be perceived as harmful. When reviewing the weaknesses and threats, this product will be launched in Wisconsin first, which will allow minimizing the financial burden on the company. Moreover, although it is a new brand, the goal will be to offer the best ingredients combined specifically for women at a low price, which justifies the beverages’ higher price in comparison to the mainstream competition.

Table 1. SWOT analysis (created by the author).

Marketing Objectives

The main goal of the campaign is to introduce the new energy drink to the consumers. Since the market is mainly occupied by one major company—Red Bull, it is necessary to educate the consumer on the benefits and advantages of this product (Mordor Intellegence, 2020). Additionally, the promotion will help justify the premium price of this product, which is linked to it being produced locally with adherence to ethical work standards. Finally, the drink should appeal to health-conscious consumers and athletes due to its low sugar and low-caffeine contents. This is important because Red Bull has launched a separate brand for its sugar-free beverages, titled “Red Bull Sugar-Free” (“Market share,” 2020). Thus, the first objective is to introduce the benefits of this product, such as local manufacturing, ethical work practices, and healthier content when compared to the competition.

Since this is a new drink, the company will have to focus on introducing it to the consumers and ensuring that it becomes a regular purchase. The campaign will include both online and offline promotions. For the online promotion, targeted advertisements and social media campaigns in collaboration with local female influencers and athletes who will show the energy drink and explain its benefits. An essential factor of promotion is that this energy drink is designed and manufactured for females. Hence, it considers their nutritional needs and helps them maintain wellness.

Finally, the promotion and sales will focus on the Midwest region. The choice of a specific area for launch and advertising and the narrow consumer segment will allow addressing the issue of low budget and lack of financial assistance that this company currently has. The promotion materials, such as posters, should be placed at the points of sales, such as grocery shops, gas stations, and near the vending machines that will sell this energy drink.

Marketing Strategies

Target Markets

1. Target Market 1. Professional female athletes.
2. Target Market 2. Women of ages 15-45.
3. Target Market 3. Health-conscious women.
4. Target Market 4. Vending machine operators.
5. Target Market 5. Distributors of products to grocery stores and gas stations in the Midwest.

Marketing Mix

The company will offer one type of energy drink in two serving sizes in terms of product mix. The drink will be designed for women with low sugar and low caffeine. The price will be $3 for a small serving and $5, which is higher than the market average. The distribution channels will include vending machines, chain grocery stores, and gas stations. The promotion will consist of social media campaigns and in-store events, and posters.

Markeitng Implementation

Introducing the energy drink to the market.

1. R&D Stage 1. The marketing team will gather data by March 30th.
2. R&D Stage 2. The product designer and the technical specialists will create the test drink by April 30th.
3. Testing. The focus groups will participate in testing to evaluate the qualities of the energy drinks and their presentation by May 10th.
4. Launch. The marketing team and product design team will launch the product and the marketing campaign by June 1st.
5. Audit. The marking team will evaluate the sales figures and response to the product by September 30th.

Evaluation and Control

The primary strategy for evaluation and control will be consumer surveys. Through them, the management will assess the perception of these energy drinks by the target market and the appropriateness of the selected differentiation strategy. The performance in the form of sales will be evaluated in comparison to the marketing plan objectives. Finally, the response to social media posts and consumer feedback will be used for analysis by the marketing team as well.

References

Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2018). FDA takes step to protect consumers against dietary supplements containing dangerously high levels of extremely concentrated or pure caffeine.

Market share of the leading energy drink brands in the United States in 2020. (2020).

Mordor Intelligence. (2020). United States energy drink market.