First in Show Pet Foods

The product will be sold at the store in Little Rock, Arkansas, focusing on the zip code 72212. Considering the small size of my city, the geographic segment will focus on those individuals that live in the suburban neighborhoods in the area. Most of the people in this area are millionaires in their mid-50s without children so they treat their pets like they would their children because they consider them an extension of their family. Since these individuals love their pets much like they would their family members they will spend a great deal of money on them to ensure they have the proper care and treatment. This will hold especially true when it comes to their pet food. From my personal experiences, wealthy individuals have a tendency to purchase the most expensive items on the shelves for the simple fact they think it is better than all the rest. Needless to say, they will not have an issue paying expensive prices for an all-natural pet

5.The industry is yet to reach its full potential, since less than half of U.S. dogs are regularly fed prepared dog foods.

The Smackey Dog Food, Inc. is a family owned business. It was started by three sisters, Sarah, Kim and Jillian, in the kitchen of their home. They lived in a suburban area of Chicago, Illinois. Their business is making all natural dog food. After using their own dogs and the neighbor’s dogs as test subjects, it was discovered by local vets, pet stores and grocery stores. These local places began to distribute the dog food. The demand for their food began to increase and they moved their business to a larger facility and hired additional workers. As compared to competitors, Smackey Dog Food, Inc., began to rise

ALTERNATIVE 1: _Eliminate poor performing hot dog brands and re-allocate the funds associated with them to existing brands that are doing well in order to increase their sales._

As this was Keller’s first audit on a dog Foods company, additional research was conducted to gain insight on some the most common risks that occur in the dog Foods industry. The audit team also went to visit the client prior to the audit to gain a clear understanding on how their business works. The audit team consisted of the audit manager Pete, and two audit staffers Maureen and Ben.

Breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc is a major producer of dog food for show-dog kennels in the United States. Their executives viewed the retail dog food market as a growth opportunity and would like to begin by introducing their product; Breeder’s Mix dog food into the Boston area in 2011. Breeder’s Mix dog food is a nutritionally balanced, frozen dog food that is among the costliest to produce. Their product has no additives or preservatives and is made up of 85% fresh meat and 15% of the highest quality fortified cereal. It is the finest quality and has been used and recommended by professional show-dog owners for years. Breeder’s Mix has a long

Representatives have approached breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc. from Marketing Momentum Unlimited, a marketing and advertising consulting firm. The reason for the meeting was to discuss the company’s possible entry into the retail branded dog food market in the Boston market.

The company needs to evaluate who comprises its target market. Is the market the entire dog food market? The 10 percent that is currently purchasing frozen food or the 15% that would purchase if it were more convenient to do so? Currently consumers do not associate dog food with frozen food; but even if they did, the product may still not appeal to the average consumer due to time requirements for its preparation and thawing.

There are three main categories of dog food: dry, canned and treats. In 2011 the sales of dog food totaled somewhere in the arena of 14 billion dollars. Endeavoring to bring new dog food to an already established market can be a “daunting” task, especially when that particular dog food is frozen. Breeder’s Own Pet Foods as a whole has realized how diverse the dog food market is; however, brokers within this conglomerate believe that the true organic potential of this marketplace has yet to be “tapped” into effectively. With an ever-changing push toward becoming

Caninantics’s mission is to be the leader in introducing innovative, dog food dispensing product to the market. Through close customer contact and excellent relationships, Caninantics, will meet the needs of the customers. Caninantics, LLC, is a privately-held corporation and maintains an office and a small warehouse in a mixed-use area of North Beach. Three of the four investors in the company have full operational responsibility, the co-founders, have both entrepreneurial and industry experience to brings operational management, marketing, and financial skills

|Weaknesses: •   Lack of availability in all stores •   Lack of appeal to consumers due to thawing time / freezer space (convenience) •   Lack of appeal to supermarkets due freezer location •   Lack of brand equity in retail market •   Premium price | Threats: •   Store Location - Consumer must be educated to find product in different area of store •   Saturated market – sales top 14 million in 2011.   Dog food is also heavily advertised, so the challenge is to entice the consumer to buy Breeder’s Mix. •   Competition - 5 major brand name dog food companies dominate market with 75% of US dog food sales •   Challenge to get supermarkets to give up valuable freezer space for dog food |Evaluation of AlternativesBreeder’s Own Pet Foods product development strategy should be evaluated.   Currently only 1 out of 10 dog owners regularly buy frozen or refrigerated dog food and ¾ of those surveyed expressed no interest in purchasing frozen dog food (Kerin and Peterson, 2013).   This indicates that there is a limited market for dog owners who would be interested in a product such as Breeder’s Mix. Research does suggest however that frozen dog food dollar volume is increasing annually indicating there is a strong opportunity for Breeder’s Own to be the first to tap into the frozen dog food market in the Boston area.   Breeder’s Own Dog Foods needs a strong marketing campaign to convince consumers their brand is superior to

After careful review of each of the elements in launching this product, the following analysis can be determined. Zenith has to answer a specific series of questions in order to decide if their product of Show Circuit dog food will be a viable product. The market was in fact correctly segmented, although Zenith needs to see the shopping behavior of those willing to spend more on pet food. Marketing in a supermarket could inhibit the potential growth of the product. Because the market is already segmented and offered such a variety of dog foods, Zenith will have to market the product correctly and focus in on the benefits to be successful. Show Circuit needs to seek a position of a higher quality product in a different, more convenient location. It is important to play up how the location is a benefit rather than a detriment. This goes along with the sales program being successful. Show

Nearly 100 percent warehouse penetration should be achieved in 2004 in these markets. The goal for the category of salt substitutes for 2004 is 10 percent of the market share. This larger market share can be achieved since there are only a few competitors, Mrs. Dash, AMBI Inc. with Cordia Salt Alternative, and RCN with No Salt. The company’s product is superior in all respects and has a retail price advantage of 10 to 20 cents per can. In addition, the company’s product is much more versatile than competitors’ products. Aggressive marketing and advertising will emphasize the tremendous versatility of usage as well as the great taste and health benefits of the product. The informal consumer surveys at demonstrations indicated that consumers prefer Nature Bros. to competitors’ products by a wide margin. A new product, which is already developed, will be added during this time. Called “Enhance,” it too is a dry mixed, no cooked, low-overhead, high-profit food product. Its category of MSG products has a dollar volume of $1,957,090 in these markets. This category includes only one main competitor, Accent, made by Pet Inc. Accent has not been heavily advertised, and it is a one-line product with little initial name recognition. The company’s new product will have a 10- to 20-cent per can retail price advantage to help achieve a 5 percent share of this category. In summary, 2004 will be spent solidifying the company’s present market positions.

Companies need to be able to cross boundaries within and outside their country. Companies selling in global industries, however, have no choice but to internationalize their operations (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Eventually, Caninantics will provide this product on the global market. Marketing this product abroad will not come easily. Making the decision to go abroad requires the managers to define marketing objectives and policies. Additionally, Caninantics needs to determine which and how many global markets to enter. Caninantics will do this gradually with a waterfall approach. Since Caninantics is a start-up company, distributors need to be advised of this new product. An excellent venue to research the pros and cons of entering the global market is at the annual pet products trade show. This is the United States’s largest annual pet products trade show produced by the American Pet Products Association and the Pet Industry Distributors Association (American Pet Products Association, n.d.). A great way to do this is at the Global Pet Expo. The Global Pet Expo provides businesses with an opportunity to register their item the new products at the New Products Showcase for only $225. This gives exhibitors the opportunity to highlight their newest lines while getting additional exposure for their products at the Global Pet Expo (Global Pet Expo, n.d.). In addition, the World Pet Association hosts two annual shows in California and Michigan. This will provide

As a start-up company, Caninantics will largely benefit from conducting marketing research that will support its marketing strategy. The pet food industry has experienced tremendous growth and profitability in the recent past because of Americans constant love for animals and dogs. It is a competitive market that is characterized by numerous attempts by brands to differentiate themselves from other competitors. For individuals who own cats and dogs, the industry or market generates a staple product. Dog owners tend to prefer cheaper dry pet food because wet pet food is relatively expensive.