Business 2000

SIXTH edition

the launch of the bisc& brand of biscuits

Crunchy biscuits with the great taste of your favourite chocolate topping Introduction
This case study highlights the efforts by the company Masterfoods to step-change its presence in the biscuit category with the launch of a new biscuit brand called BISC& (pronounced bisc and). This case study examines the Irish biscuit market and the challenges faced by Masterfoods as it launches the BISC& brand. In todays fast paced modern world, the desire for quick and tasty foods is increasing. This has resulted in a market place with many different snack products competing for the consumers attention. The snackfood market includes products that seek to represent tasty fillers that are competitively priced. This includes biscuits, cakes, crisps, popcorn, nachos, bars, fruit, freshly baked products, fruit yoghurts, cereals, cheese and noodles. All of these product categories compete with each other.

Chocolate Biscuit Countlines These comprise of individually wrapped chocolate covered biscuits which can be sold in multipacks (e.g. TWIX). Childrens Biscuits are specifically targeted at the childrens market. Healthier Biscuits are low fat or low calorie products. Seasonal Packs are biscuit packs or selections introduced on a seasonal basis, such as Christmas selections. In general, biscuits are often regarded as a runner-up to, or substitute for Chocolate Biscuit Countlines (see above), especially by younger family members.The biscuit market is not perceived by consumers to be as exciting as the confectionery market.Taking this feedback from consumers on board, Masterfoods developed a strategy for the BISC& brand to succeed within the biscuit category. Any such new product introduction must: identify the key purchasing customer and how he/she will purchase the intended product, develop a key message around the brand that is meant to tell the customer what is being offered and inform and offer the customer the new brand through appropriate marketing efforts.This effort will also involve working with the important distributors, who in this case will be the supermarkets and other outlets.

Developing a Key Message

The market research conducted by Masterfoods in relation to biscuit purchasing and consumption found that Irish consumers want quality products that appeal to children, are value for money and add something different to the normal routines of the day. Each usage situation will also determine what type of price will be paid, with the more luxury items or "treats" priced higher than the traditional brands. As such, the competition for the attention of both mum and her children is intense and this has resulted in a supermarket biscuit aisle that is often cluttered with many different brands. Once the key customer had been identified and their purchasing habits studied, Masterfoods had to develop the key message around the BISC& brand of biscuits.This meant generating an easy and understandable identity that can be readily associated with the habits studied. Through market research, Masterfoods has determined that the biscuit aisle is often viewed as boring and in need of excitement. In order to generate this change in perception, the BISC& brand has to be perceived as exciting and tasty and suitable to be eaten at many different times of the day by adults and children alike. Some usage occasions include "at home", as a treat for parents after work or for children after school.The BISC& brand is also ideal for eating "on the go", either in a lunchbox or as a quick snack at work/in the car. Overall, the key message that Masterfoods want to communicate about the BISC& brand is that these biscuits are delicious combinations that bring together the traditional biscuit world with the exciting world of chocolate and which are suitable for both children and adults alike. As such, the central aim of the company was to introduce the BISC& brand as a new biscuit product that appeals to the key purchasers and consumers whilst leveraging the strength of existing established brands. So the traditional biscuit world is livened up by joining it up with exciting brands like M&M's, TWIX, MARS and BOUNTY.

The Biscuit Market

The Irish biscuit market is valued at approximately 177 million in annual retail sales and is relatively static with growth occurring as consumers purchase more expensive products rather than through purchasing more packs of biscuits. When the biscuit market is examined in more detail, most households have a very defined role for biscuits, with particular sub-categories of biscuits associated with certain situations.The sub-categories include: Everyday Biscuits these include sweet and semi-sweet biscuits which are not individually wrapped such as digestives, shortbread, wafers and cookies. Everyday Treats these include biscuits with added ingredients such as chocolate or jam. Half coated chocolate biscuits, cookies and the BISC& range would fit under this classification. Special Treats these are premium brands and ranges with quality added ingredients retailing at a higher price than everyday biscuits.

Identifying the Purchaser

The first step in introducing a new brand of biscuit is to identify the keypurchasing customer. This is done through market research with various groups of people. In the case of biscuits, market research performed by Masterfoods has identified the key purchaser of BISC& to be the modern mum with young children of school going age between the ages of 5-12. In most cases, the purchaser is also the key decision maker. The research also found that each visit to a supermarket resulted in substantial quantities of biscuits and chocolate biscuit countlines being purchased for all of the family. Indeed Ireland is famous for having the highest consumption per person of biscuits in the world! The main reason for repeat purchase of biscuits was found to be that children enjoyed the product.Thus while the mother was found to be the key purchaser, the children also had an important role in influencing the decision to purchase.
Roles of the consumption process Purchaser Decision Maker

Influencer

Another reason for the purchase of each pack was the need function. The purchaser anticipates occasions when they will need the product. For example, a biscuit could be used as a special treat, as a lunchbox snack at school or indeed as a filler to keep kids happy until dinner is ready!

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sixth edition

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Manufacturer

Wholesaler/ Retailer

Consumption

This theme underlies all marketing efforts. The BISC& range is also highlighted: BISC&TWIX BISC&M&Ms BISC&MARS and finally BISC&BOUNTY.

Some of the in-store innovations planned for the BISC& brand include practical on-shelf trays and bay dressings as well as pre-packed displays and floor stands for secondary sitting. The packaging and marketing of the product along with the price and where the brand is positioned in the biscuit aisle, will be crucial to the products success.

Developing the Brand Factoring in Cultural Differences

An extremely important consideration behind developing any brand is that the message is easy to understand. However, due to cultural differences, a particular brand may have contrasting meanings to people in different countries. For example in the USA, the word "potato chips" is used instead of "crisps," while the word "fries" is used instead of "chips". A lack of understanding of cultural differences by a company can often result in the failure of a brand, as customers can become confused as to what is actually being sold. Any form of confusion will have an impact on product sales. In the case of the BISC& brand, it was identified that in the USA, the word "biscuit" is more associated with dog biscuits rather than those consumed by humans. As such, due to this possible association with pet food, it was decided not to launch the BISC& brand in the USA but to launch the range under the COOKIES& brand name. These examples highlight the need for companies to perform detailed research into cultural perceptions of words before they develop the key messages behind their new brands. Research is especially important if a company plans to launch a product in many countries at the same time using the same advertising campaign.

The Trade In order to ensure that the product launch is a success and visibility is obtained, Masterfoods worked closely with key distributors in the biscuit market. These are the supermarkets and other retailers and wholesalers. Once the key launch date was decided, the first step was to introduce the new brand to the trade. Masterfoods do a lot of behind-the-scenes work before presenting marketing support plans category manangement plans and pricing information to the trade. There is often much debate between both sides at this stage as pricing and shelf position are agreed. Marketing support plans include sampling, in-store promotions, equipment placement on the floor and on the shelves, advertising and PR. Category management looks beyond the individual brand and looks toward managing the aisle for a maximum return for retailer and manufacturer. The number of facings in the aisle for each product is assessed. Masterfoods have to prepare their justification for launching BISC& and have to prove why their range justifies the space on shelf. Often slower sellers are replaced or given less space on the plan-o-gram (which is the map which shows what products go where on the shelf) to allow for the space for new products.This is called delisting a product. Delisting is the term used when a product is removed from the plan-ogram and is no longer allowed space on-shelf. The next stage involves sending out the actual details of the new product to the trade. In the case of BISC&, this means sending out barcodes, dimensions of the products (so that they can be assigned their space on the plan-o-gram) and the pallets that carry them.These are extremely important considerations as many retailers have centralised distribution depots, which means that Masterfoods delivers the BISC& range to the central location and the retailer then sends them out to the individual supermarket or shop. Once the biscuits are in the marketplace and ready for sale, they must be marketed to the general public. For any marketing effort, Masterfoods would choose a specific advertising firm and work with them to develop a coordinated marketing campaign that is meant to back up the central message for the BISC& brand. In the case of BISC&, Masterfoods has chosen a variety of marketing efforts including advertising on the radio, on television, consumer and trade press, as well as a large sampling and PR campaign. One of the big features of the PR campaign is that BISC& will be a sponsor of the Irish Hospice Foundations Coffee Morning shortly after it is launched. The key slogan in the BISC& advertising campaign is "Youll love them together" reflecting the unique combination of biscuit and the great taste of your favourite chocolate topping.

Conclusion
In summary, this case study has outlined the various steps taken by Masterfoods to bring its new brand of biscuits - BISC& - to the Irish marketplace.This involves completing market research to determine the key purchaser and what they look for in any new product. This step is then followed by developing a central and easily understandable message around the brand. Once this goal has been achieved, then the packaging and marketing of the product through the trade or key distributors is implemented. It is the combination of all of these efforts that over time will determine the success of the BISC& brand in the Irish biscuit marketplace.

Each variant comes in a flow-wrapped pack of 6 individually wrapped biscuits. A "Better Value" 12 Pack is also available as value is a key driver in this category. Masterfoods decided to individually wrap each biscuit, as it wanted to ensure the freshness of each biscuit. This also ensures that BISC& is suitable for snacking on-the-go and for lunchboxes. As a result of its market research, Masterfoods has chosen to launch the BISC& brand in the "everyday treats" bay of the biscuit aisle and to promote it accordingly.This is a new departure for Masterfoods as prior to the launch of BISC&, it only competed in the chocolate biscuit countlines sub-segment with TWIX and TWIX TOP. BISC& now brings the packaging advantages associated with the chocolate biscuit countline sub-segment to the everyday treats sub-segment and thereby broadens the usage occasions of this sector. In addition to its packaging which ensures versatility of use, BISC& is expected to boost sales of this sub-segment because the range will appeal to adults and kids alike. Currently the products in the everyday treats sector would appeal to adults or children only.

tasks and activities

1. In your opinion why is it important to manage every aspect of a product launch? From the case study outline five key areas you would consider important. In the case of BISC& why was it important for management to understand the difference between the roles of the 'purchaser' and the 'consumer'? By failing to understand cultural differences, marketers can confuse consumers as to what is actually being sold. Explain why the BISC& brand had to be modified for the US market. Transition Year Question You are a marketing executive promoting a new brand. In your opinion, on what shelf and where on the shelf would you want your brand to be displayed?

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Appropriate Marketing Efforts

Once the key message for the BISC& brand was developed, the focus then shifted to how to convey this excitement to consumers. Innovative packaging of the products, working with the supermarket and other vendor s to secure the best possible space on the biscuit aisle and an impactful marketing programme would ensure that the new products were very visible to the key customers.

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www.mars.com

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this case study, no liability shall attach to either The Irish Times Ltd. or Woodgrange Technologies Ltd. for any errors or omissions in this case study.

Business 2000
sixth edition

www.business2000.ie