Background
Increasing public health awareness has significantly influenced consumers’ choices, especially on the kind of food and snacks that they eat. Unlike in previous years when people had limited information as to what accounts for healthy meals and the health impacts of some foods, snacks, and drinks on the shelves, today most people are aware of healthy diets prompted by increased health awareness and education in mainstream and digital media (Jocevski et al., 2019). Health problems like obesity and hypertension, which were previously common, especially in developed nations, have significantly reduced due to proper meal plans and intentional choices for healthier foods and snacks (Verhoef & Bijmolt, 2019). Thus, this shopper marketing plan helps in pushing the Love Corn product as one of the healthy snacks in the healthier snacking category in retail stores.
Key Shopper Segments to be Targeted for Sales Growth
Healthier snacking should generally be practiced by all age groups to enhance healthy living, preventing the occurrence of lifestyle conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Nonetheless, healthier snacking is more important for pre-school wicks, retired carols, and retired dawns due to their inactive lifestyles, which increases the risk for lifestyle diseases. According to the National Health Service (NHS) England, 1 in every 10 children becomes obese by age five, which indicates the high risk of weight problems for preschool wicks (Wright et al., 2022). Besides, retired carols and dawns are at high risk of developing lifestyle conditions caused by their diet due to factors such as slow metabolism, meaning that they are less able to process food and exercise properly. Additionally, many people in their retirement years are less active than they were in their younger years, leading to a decrease in muscle mass and an increase in fat accumulation. This increase in fat can lead to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes (Verhoef & Bijmolt, 2019). Thus, these three groups are important customer segments that can be targeted for the general sale of healthier snacks, which contribute for sale growth for such products.
Concerning Love Corn brand, the company can target all customer segments ranging from single Roshni to retried dawns, especially for families that value proper nutrition. Love Corn brands are made of simple ingredients and have high fiber content with low sugar and are gluten free, which makes them healthy for consumption across all age groups. The snacks also contain sea salt, which is critical in enhancing digestion, regulating blood pressure, and boosting immunity. Therefore, the snack brand should target all age groups since the products are highly nutritious and important for healthy snacking for all age groups, including people with preexisting conditions like diabetes.
Core Stores to be Targeted for Sales Growth
With the increasing demand for healthier foods, drinks, and snacks, most people now prefer purchasing their food products in big retailers where they can be certain that the food items they buy are genuinely healthier as indicated in the packaging due to the quality assurance processes that usually take place in such big chains. Therefore, some of the core stores to be target for the sales growth in the healthier snacking category includes Walmart, which is the world’s largest retailer, with over 11,000 stores in 27 countries (Verhoef & Bijmolt, 2019). It is known for its low prices and wide selection of products, making it an ideal target for healthier snacking.
Another store that would be targeted for sales growth for healthier snaking category as a whole is the Tesco, which is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer with over 3,400 stores in 11 countries. The store has a strong presence in the UK and Asia, and is a great target for healthier snacking. Carrefour, which is a French multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer with over 12,000 stores in 33 countries, is also a popular supermarket chain in Europe, making it one of the most viable targets for healthier snacking.
For the Love Con brand, the marketing team can target the mentioned big global retailers to promote sales growth in the respective countries in which they are located. Nonetheless, the brand can also promote sales growth by targeting stores with e-commerce options, which help in enhancing ordering and delivery processes (Wright et al., 2022). Amazon is one of the most well-known e-commerce stores and is a great platform for Love Con to promote its brand and products. Amazon allows sellers to create their own product page and allows them to list their products on the platform (Tarasi, 2021). This gives Love Con access to a wide audience and drives sales growth. Another e-commerce store that could be used to promote sales growth is Shopify, an e-commerce platform with the same business model as Amazon. However, unlike Amazon, the Shopify platform is easy to use and has features, which would allow Love Con to create a professional-looking store with the features they need to promote their brand.
Promotional Plan to Support Growth in Distribution of Love Corn Brand
Product marketing and promotion play a fundamental role in enabling consumers to be aware of a product and its benefits. Promotion particularly helps businesses to create a strong brand identity, which generates leads and sales through a loyal customer base (Tarasi, 2021). One of the ways to promote growth in the distribution of Love Corn brand would be through increasing media visibility through targeted advertising. The company can utilize targeted digital advertising campaigns to increase brand awareness among potential customers through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Love Corn brand can also promote distribution through host promotional events such as in-store tastings and giveaways, as well as special discounts and coupons. These events can be used to drive sales and create buzz around the brand as they specifically target walk-in customers.
Furthermore, the company can utilize influencers and celebrities to spread the word about the brand and create a positive buzz. This can be done through social media posts, interviews, and other forms of promotion, which target online consumers. Social media influencers have become a great promotional plan because they have the power to reach large audiences quickly and easily. They have a large following and are seen as trustworthy sources of information by their followers (Verhoef & Bijmolt, 2019). Influencers can be used to promote products or services by providing honest reviews, giving advice, and creating content that is relevant to their target audience. Influencers can also use their networks to spread the word about a product or service, helping to drive sales (Wright et al., 2022). Hence, to support growth in the distribution of Love Corn brand, the company can use various social media celebrities to influence products, which arouse demand for the snack to be distributed in major stores.
Love Corn can also create a loyalty program to reward customers for their repeated purchases and encourage them to buy more of the product. Loyalty programs are an effective way to promote a product or service by offering customers incentives in exchange for their loyalty. These incentives can be monetary, such as discounts, cash back, or points that can be redeemed for rewards (Tarasi, 2021). By offering incentives to loyal customers, businesses can increase customer retention, encourage repeat purchases, and generate brand recognition. Loyalty programs can also help businesses to better understand their customers, by tracking their purchases and preferences, and providing them with personalized offers (Wright et al., 2022). Thus, Love Corn can leverage on loyalty activities in increase brand awareness and presences, which helps in supporting the growth for distribution of the brand.
Identification of Potential Victim Lines
Based on the fifty-two weeks shelf performance evaluation of various frozen food products at Tesco, some of the underperforming products, which can be replaced by Love Corn include Cadbury 5 Milk Choc Mini Rolls 110g, Cadbury 5 Raspberry Mini Rolls 130g, and Cadbury Caramel Cake Bars 5 Pack 105g, which have nor realized any sales across all the shoppers’ segments. Other products which have not been performing well include the Goodlife Katsu Curry Burger 2 Pack 214g and 4 Beef Quarter Pounders 454g, which have only realized sales from one shoppers’ segment. For the stores, removing underperforming products and replacing them with others is important for two main reasons.
Firstly, it helps the retailers ensure that their inventory is up-to-date and relevant to current consumer needs and preferences. This action helps drive sales by ensuring that customers have access to the products they’re looking for and keeps them coming back to the store. Secondly, it allows retailers to focus their marketing and promotional efforts on higher-performing products, which can help increase overall sales and profits (Wright et al., 2022). Therefore, the identified items, which are currently non-performing on Tesco shelves, can be replaced with the Love Corn brand, which is likely to perform as a healthy snack. The increasing demand for organic and healthy food places Love Corn brand ahead of other competitors that offer processed food, which makes it to increase the likelihood of sales across all the shoppers’ segments.
References
Bolton, R. N., Gustafsson, A., Tarasi, C. O., & Witell, L. (2022). Managing a global retail brand in different markets: Meta-analyses of customer responses to service encounters. Journal of Retailing, 98(2), 294-314.
Jocevski, M., Arvidsson, N., Miragliotta, G., Ghezzi, A., & Mangiaracina, R. (2019). Transitions towards omni-channel retailing strategies: a business model perspective. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management.
Tarasi, C. (2021). Managing a Global Retail Brand in Different Markets: Meta-Analyses of Customer Responses to Service Encounters. Tarasi, Crina. O, Ruth N. Bolton, Anders Gustafsson, Lars Witell, Managing a Global Retail Brand in Different Markets: Meta-Analyses of Customer Responses To Service Encounters, Journal of Retailing, Forthcoming.
Verhoef, P. C., & Bijmolt, T. H. (2019). Marketing perspectives on digital business models: A framework and overview of the special issue. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 36(3), 341-349.
Wright, C. M., Cole, T. J., Fewtrell, M., Williams, J. E., Eaton, S., & Wells, J. C. (2022). Body composition data show that high BMI centiles overdiagnose obesity in children aged under 6 years. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 116(1), 122-131.
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