Rationale for the Marketing Campaign for Wholly Nutritious (June 2022)
(This is a sample rationale for the marketing campaign written for Wholly Nutritious (June 2022). This demonstrates a template or structure that can be followed and examples of what can be included in the main sections.)
Introduction
Wholly Nutritious is a food box business based on a farm in the UK. It was founded in 2000 selling boxes of fruit and vegetables locally but, by 2015, had expanded across the UK. Currently, its two main product lines are; food boxes containing fruit and vegetables and recipe boxes with ingredients and a recipe for a specific meal. The market is becoming increasingly competitive and the owners wish to focus on the quality of their service rather than increasing their sales further.
Market Research Data
The Market
The market size for food boxes in the UK is estimated to be £1.5 billion in 2022. The market growth rate has been reported as 48% (Statista) in the past year and is expected to rise to 55%. A growing market provides a range of opportunities to a business when devising a marketing campaign. More customers offer higher sales potential and opportunities to target different segments from competitors. The market data was gathered from a range of sources including Statista, The Guild of Fine Foods, The Financial Times, Delish.com and reports from rival food box brands; Hellofresh and Mindful Chef. Using a range of sources enhances the reliability of the data as findings can be cross-referenced.
However, some predictions are less positive (delish.com) seeing a high rate of food box subscription cancellation. It must also be noted that any market data on home delivery services may be skewed by the rapid surge in demand in 2020 caused by the Covid-19 lockdowns with an increase of 114% in April 2020 alone.
Target Market
Wholly Nutritious divides its target market into two groups;
Young professionals ages 21 - 45 who lead busy lives and want recipe kits to save time.
Households with at least one child. These families want good quality, fresh fruit and/or vegetables.
The primary research on the target market was collected at a food market in a city centre. This is targeting the psychographic segment of people who prefer fresh produce. This is in line with their target audience meaning that the responses they receive from this will likely represent the preferences of their whole target market, justifying a decision to set the price at £16 - £25 and increase the range of meal choices. However, collecting data at a busy food market likely overlooks some behavioural characteristics of the target market. Young professionals leading busy lives may be unlikely to spend Saturdays shopping at a food market when there are more convenient and efficient shopping options.
The primary research on trends used a quantitative questionnaire, which offers accurate findings due to the ability to validate responses. For instance, when asked about the key factor in choosing food boxes, only 5% (4 of 80) identified "the cooking experience," while 33.75% (27 of 80) preferred "the range of meal choices." This suggests that the latter is likely a more accurate reflection of broader market preferences, asking for enhancements to the product range. The majority of the responses (91.25%) are from the age range of 20 - 49 which should gather preferences on pricing and product features appropriate to both target market groups. However, the questionnaire design creates some limitations in understanding the specific segments. The demographic section of the questionnaire does not ask about their profession or if they have children. This creates challenges in creating differentiated marketing mixes that suit the specific target group’s needs. A concerning finding in the questionnaire is the low preference for online cooking demonstrations and celebrity recommendations. As social media demonstrations are one of the two options Wholly Nutritious is deciding between for its promotional mix, it is important to establish if these findings truly represent their target market as these findings would indicate that running food stalls would be a more effective promotional campaign.
Competitors
The market is very competitive with other food box providers capturing their local markets before expanding to other areas. The current market leader is HelloFresh providing over 250,000 food boxes each month. As the market is becoming more competitive, brands such as Oddbox, Riverford and Mindful Chef are focusing on differentiation strategies such as using rejected vegetables, seasonal products and gluten and dairy-free options. More recently major retail chains, such as Morrisons in 2020, have been entering the food box market. Marks and Spencer has been offering meal kit boxes which people can use to cook at home. Amazon Go is looking to enter the market with offerings across the UK.
Details about competitors' products, prices, promotions, and locations are gathered through secondary research. This information is crucial for Wholly Nutritious marketing decisions, as it reveals consumer preferences, such as the popularity of celebrity-shared recipes on Instagram stories from HelloFresh and the connection between food and music at Gousto. These insights inform effective marketing strategies and identify market gaps not addressed by competitors. However, the collection date of this data is unspecified making it vital for Wholly Nutritious to continue their own research in this fast-changing market.
Trends
Society has become more focused on cooking, reducing the popularity of takeaways and increasing the popularity of food boxes. Over the past 3 years, there has been an increase in the delivery of recipes and ingredients with 36% of consumers using the Internet to source ingredients, recipes and food boxes. It is estimated that 26% of households purchase food boxes weekly with the most popular consumer group being the 18 - 34 age group and only 3% of people over 55 using food boxes. The increase in shopping online during the COVID-19 lockdowns is thought to have triggered a long-term trend for shopping online including food. However, less than 20% of customers keep their subscriptions for a year, with the average consumer cancelling within 5 months. Customers and the government are also calling market leaders to review their waste through packaging and printed recipe cards. These trends support the decision by Wholly Nutritious to invest £150,000 into a marketing campaign but should consider adaptations to their product variety and environmental impact. However, the trend of increasing online grocery orders was heavily influenced by the Covid-19 lockdowns so ongoing research is recommended.
Justification of the Rationale
SWOT Analysis
A key strength of Wholly Nutritious is its focus on quality. The owners have made the decision, despite the growing market, not to expand further in the immediate term to avoid compromising the quality of its service. This means that they can invest more resources into establishing and meeting customer needs which can enhance customer loyalty. With estimates of less than 20% of customers keeping subscription services for more than a year, investment in customer satisfaction could lead to higher customer retention which supports the aim of maintaining sales.
A key weakness of Wholly Nutritious is its limited range of recipes. They currently offer 50 different recipe boxes compared to the 60 by Gousto and 37 per week by HelloFresh. Primary research findings clearly identified “the range of meal choices” as the most important factor when considering a food box and “new recipe” and “seasonal dishes” being important factors that would persuade them to maintain an ongoing food box subscription. This highlights a clear customer need for variety that should be addressed in the marketing campaign. The increase in choices offered by the influx of new competitors entering the market is going to put further pressure on existing brands to diversify their product range.
A key opportunity for Wholly Nutritious is the growing concern for the environment amongst food box consumers. Food box brands have been under scrutiny for the use of single-use plastics for packaging and recipe cards. The government has also started a consultation which will challenge food box businesses to consider their environmental impact. According to the data provided, it appears that two rival brands have already responded with adaptations to packaging and guides to recycling. This provides an opportunity for Wholly Nutritious to differentiate itself by adopting and promoting sustainable packaging solutions and other green initiatives.
A key threat is the entry of much larger competitors into the market, namely; Marks and Spencer, Morrisons and potentially Amazon Go. Larger organisations enjoy significant benefits from economies of scale reducing their cost per unit (food box). This removes the possibility of price competition meaning that Wholly Nutritious needs to focus on other elements of its marketing mix to ensure a profit margin. When considering place in the marketing mix, using the broad distribution network of these large retailers as an intermediary would be difficult or expensive now they are selling their own lines of food box alternatives. This supports the decision of the owners to focus on quality rather than expansion.
Product Life Cycle
Wholly Nutritious’ food boxes and recipe boxes appear to be in the maturity stage of the product life cycle. This is characterised by stable sales volume after a period of rapid growth and high competition in the market. During this stage, profit margins will likely decline due to competitive pressures.
A recommended marketing strategy for products in maturity is to implement customer retention strategies. As fewer customers are now entering the market, there is less opportunity to acquire new food box consumers. Retaining existing customers reduces the pressure to acquire customers from rival brands which would be a risky strategy due to the power of large supermarkets and retailers that have entered the market such as Morrisons and Amazon. Strategies to improve customer retention include customer loyalty schemes and differentiated products that meet specific needs.
Another recommended strategy for products in maturity is to differentiate the product features. As price competition in a saturated market can lead to price wars, Wholly Nutritious should focus on other elements of the marketing mix such as their products and promotion. Consumers have expressed concerns over the environmental impact of food box brands which could be addressed in the packaging strategies of their products. Consumers have also expressed a desire for more variety in their recipe choices and an interest in using social media to connect with food brands. Rival brand Gousto had to stop food box subscriptions for new customers after a successful social media campaign. The use of social media in promotion can be used to promote a wider range of recipes while reducing the need for printed recipe cards.
Marketing Aims and Objectives
Marketing Aim
The overall marketing aim for Wholly Nutritious for this marketing campaign is maintaining Revenue.
Marketing Objectives
The first marketing objective is to achieve a 50% repeat subscription rate within the next 12 months by launching seasonal product lines in addition to our core offerings. The primary research collected by Wholly Nutritious indicated that a variety of meals, new recipes and seasonal dishes were important factors in deciding to begin or renew a food box subscription. Wholly Nutritious currently offers 50 recipe boxes. Assuming that one customer would have a preference for a smaller selection of these recipes, they could find the subscription quite repetitive. However, as Wholly Nutrious has recently experienced significant growth, its product range is popular. They should gather sales data to establish the most popular recipes to retain as their core product line but change their seasonal product line every 12 weeks. This would have the added benefit of reducing the carbon footprint of importing non-seasonal produce.
The second marketing objective is to eliminate single-use plastics in food and recipe box packaging within 6 months. Customers have been calling market leaders to review their packaging to reduce the amount of waste and two rival brands have already implemented strategies to directly address these concerns. There are two clear options for Wholly Nutritious to consider; 1. To use biodegradable packaging, 2. Using reusable boxes that are collected by delivery drivers when they deliver the next box. Although both options would increase costs, they would enhance the quality of service as reducing the environmental impact is an expressed customer need. It is also not advisable for firms to compete on price during the maturity stage of the product life cycle so increased prices linked to packaging changes that directly address a consumer need are likely to be perceived as worth it.
The third marketing objective is to achieve a 5% conversion rate from targeted social media campaigns to food box subscriptions within 12 months by leveraging the platforms to share sustainability initiatives. Social media has proven to be an effective channel for reaching the target market, as evidenced by successful campaigns from market leaders like HelloFresh and rival brands such as Gousto. Despite this, primary market research indicates a lack of interest in traditional methods like cooking demonstrations and celebrity endorsements. Therefore, our approach will shift from merely showcasing recipes to fostering a community where Wholly Nutritious and its consumers collaborate on reducing environmental impacts. This will include sharing posts from food festivals, food shows and farmer’s markets where Wholly Nutritious chefs and customers discuss recipes and environmental solutions.
