ERIN BAKER’S MARKETING PLAN

PREPARING MARKETING PLAN FOR ERIN BAKER’S

Nathan Pic

▪ Zak Meyer

▪ Katheryn Conley

▪ Max Bohnson

▪ Nathan Wilson

▪ Mahmoud Alsaif

By

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ▪ Started in 1994 by Erin Baker alone

▪ Currently has about 50 employees

▪ Produces two main products: The Original Breakfast Cookie and granola▪ Produces 6,500 breakfast cookies per day

▪ Made with no preservatives and last 105 days

▪ Produces 1,500 bags of granola per shift

▪ Main distributors located in the northwest, southwest, and midwest

▪ Uses non-traditional advertising such as social media

▪ Competitors are bars such as clif, and baked goods

Erin Baker Owner• Started by renting a 4-H kitchen at Whidbey Island Fairgrounds in 1994

•Started distributing cookies using a blue Schwinn

•Her dream was to reduce child obesity by 50% in the U.S. by promoting wholesome, nutritious ingredients

•The face of the company

Meet Erin Baker’s crew

OBJECTIVE: PREPARING MARKETING PLAN FOR BREAKFAST COOKIE

▪ Step 1: Collecting Data by conducting surveys

▪ Step 2: Analyzing The Data we collected

▪ Step 3: presenting the results brief eloquent way

STEP 1: COLLECTING DATA BY CONDUCTING SURVEYS

Katheryn Conley’s interviewing a household in Dodge Valley Mount Vernon WA 2/13/16 at 12:30 pm

Nathan Wilson interviewing a household in N. Forest St. Bellingham, WA 2/21/16 at 6:00 pm

Max Bohnson interviewing a household on Blaine Ave in Blaine WA, 98230 on 2-20-2016 at 4 PM

Zak Meyer interviewing a household on 16th Ave in Seattle, WA 2/26/16 at 5:00 pm

Mahmoud Alsaif Interviewing a household in High St, Bellingham, WA 2/22/16 at 6:00 pm

STEP 2: ANALYZING THE DATA WE COLLECTED &STEP 3: PRESENTING THE RESULTS BRIEF ELOQUENT WAY

▪ Breakfast cookie wishlist obtained by target customers

• how can the packaging be improved?

• What do people think of Erin Baker’s cookie package?

▪ Where would you prefer to purchase this product?

▪ Where do you learn about new products?

▪ Would you be more willing to buy a breakfast cookie if the price was discounted?

▪ How much would you be willing to pay for a breakfast cookie?

Per Box Per Small Cookie

▪ Average National Prices            Price for 1 oz. energy barPrice for 1 oz. cookie

      $0.21                             $1.02

DATA ANALYSIS GRAPHS

HAVE YOU TRIED BREAKFAST COOKIE BEFORE?

Yes53%

No47%

TARGET MARKET

Yes No0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Respondents Who Tried Erin Baker’s Breakfast Cookies Segmented By Education

Level

college graduatesome collegeHigh School/ GED

Yes No0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Respondents Who Tried Erin Baker’s Breakfast Cookies Segmented By Avg. Yearly Income

$60,000-120000$30,000-60,000under $30,000

Yes No0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Respondents Who Tried Erin Baker’s Breakfast Cookies Segmented By Gender

FemaleMale

HOW MANY HAVE TRIED A BREAKFAST COOKIE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD ?

0 1 2 3 4 50

4

8

12

16

Series1

Number of household members

num

ber o

f hou

seho

lds

WHAT BRAND OF BREAKFAST COOKIE HAVE YOU TRIED?

Erin Bakers

Nature Valley

Barbara’s

Didn’t Know

0 3 6 9 12 15

HAVE YOU HEARD OF ERIN BAKER’S ?

Yes60%

No40%

HOW LONG ARE YOU WILLING TO WAIT UNTIL THE ORDER SHIPPED &HOW LONG WAIT TILL ORDER RECEIVED

0

1-2 days

3-7 days

7

1-2 weeks

0 4 8 12 16 20

How long wait till order receivedHow long wait till order shipped

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN RECEIVING UPDATES? IF SO ON WHICH PLATFORM?

no yes0

6

12

18

24

30

Interest in receiving updates

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

0 1 2 3 4 5

Yes, social media platform

ARE YOU WILLING TO CONTACT THE COMPANY IN CASE OF A PROBLEM? IF SO HOW?

Email Phone Social media In person0

2.25

4.5

6.75

9

11.25

Of the 19 respondents willing to contact the company. Preferred methode?

DEMOGRAPHICS

Gender Gender0

4.5

9

13.5

18

22.5Female Male

Under $30,000 $30,000-$60,000 $60,000-$120,0000

2.75

5.5

8.25

11

13.75Household Income

number of respondents

13%

57%

30%

Level of EducationHigh School/ GED Some College College Graduate

OUTREACH• Erin Baker’s donates 10,000 cookies per month to

children all over the United States who are in need of a healthier breakfast through the 1 million kids program.

• Social media

SUMMARY AND TARGET MARKET

PRODUCT

PROMOTION

PRICEPrice:Customers would be willing to pay as much as $1.50 per cookie and as much as $5.00 per box, with Erin Baker’s current prices at $0.73 to $0.97 per cookie and $5.75 per box they have already established very competitive prices in both the cookie, and energy bar markets. (We suggest that a price between $1 - $2)

DISTRIBUTION

TARGET MARKET▪ Based on our surveys, consumers would like to have a cookie that has the following

attributes:▪ Healthy and nutritious, low in sugar▪ Easy to grab-on-the-go▪ Readily available at retail outlets▪ Better taste or texture▪ Stronger retail presence

BRANDING

BRAND PRINCIPLE

“Erin Baker’s is dedicated to baking with simple, all natural, whole food ingredients for life on the go”(Erin Baker’s website)

BRAND RECOGNITION• According to the survey data, 60% said they recognized the Erin

Baker’s breakfast cookie brand.

• 40% did not recognize the Erin Baker’s brand.

yes no

BRAND PERSONALITY• Sincerity

• From humble beginnings• Wholesome• Community-oriented and giving

• Ruggedness• “For the athlete in all of us”(Erin Baker class)• Outdoorsy• For life on the go!

BRAND ASSOCIATION• Word of mouth publicity

• In-store advertisements

• Social media such as twitter, facebook

• High-quality, wholegrain, natural ingredients• Non-GMO commitment and no preservatives

• Expensive compared to competitor products, luxury good

• Local roots as small business in small city

BUDGET

During our visit to Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods on January 28th, 2016, we asked CEO Rob McCormack for details about the budget. Unfortunately he refused to share this with us, only stating it was “a lot”(Rob McCormack.

SWOT ANALYSIS

ERIN BAKER’S SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths Weaknesses

Unique product carrying a strong customer loyalty with a recognizable brand name in areas of distribution.

The small size of the company and a new cutting edge manufacturing facility allow for flexibility in how the product is made and internal focus.

Fast turnover of product means limited storage capital investments and higher sales.

Large growing market for on-the-go breakfast food.

Strong corporate brand and culture including charitable aspects.

Small distribution because of the logistical problem of short shelf life

Not able to work with large national retailers (Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.) combined with low national brand recognition constrains size.

Small budget to spend on national advertising An inelastic good with high cost to manufacture

cause small margins

Opportunities Threats Growth in millennial buying power Ingredients inline with millennial ideals Room to increase social media presence Become more transparent about ingredients and

all natural practices Partnership with a coffee distributor (Starbucks,

Tully’s, etc.)

Substitute products Price fluctuation from using higher quality

ingredients and Food safety and the threat of Recall

Cheaper generic or Imation products Decline in breakfast sales

STRENGTHSUnique product carrying a strong customer loyalty with a recognizable brand name in areas of distribution.

▪ The breakfast cookie is unique product with few direct matching competitors creating a niche market.

▪ Identifiable as health food brand▪ According to Mintel market research firm two thirds of survey respondents requested healthy breakfast items

(Russell, 2011).

Large growing market for on-the-go breakfast food

▪ The breakfast cookie is part of a new trend of people eating more breakfast, 2.6% rise in 2011 (Russell, 2011), with less time.

▪ The breakfast bar industry is currently a $1.6 billion dollar industry (Reyes, 2003).

▪ Estimated in 2011 31 million American’s didn’t eat breakfast (“31 million,” 2011).▪ Reasons given weren’t hungry or didn’t feel like eating or drinking they didn’t have time and were too busy

(“31 million,” 2011).

OPPORTUNITIESPartnership with a coffee distributor (Starbucks, Tully’s, etc.)

▪ Coffee main component of breakfast menu (Russell, 2011)

▪ Customers come back later in the day to buy substantial foods (Russell, 2011)

▪ Easy distribution in small quantities over a region.

▪ Gain brand recognition

▪ Starbucks food revenue increased 20% over last year. (Kell, 2016)

Room to increase social media presence

▪ Currently operate a twitter, Instagram (recently added), Facebook, blog, and website

▪ According to Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, Lenhart, Madden (2015) In 2014 people 18-29, 87% on Facebook, 53% Instagram, Pinterest 34%, Twitter 37%

▪ “A successful social media campaign will increase the exposure and awareness of a brand and create more buzz on social media sites, which will lead to a greater probability of a product being chosen by consumers.” (Liu & Lopez, 2014)▪ “For example, after the Coca-Cola Company initiated its “Share A Coke” social media campaign on Facebook in 2011, which gave

people the chance to order personalized Coke bottles through a Facebook app, the traffic on the Coke Facebook site increased by 870 %. This noteworthy social media campaign earned a total of more than 18 million media impressions and led to a 7 % increase in sales” (Moth, 2013)

WEAKNESSESNot able to work with large national retailers (Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.) combined with low national brand recognition constrains size.

▪ Not working with major retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart

▪ Cannot achieve large-scale distribution that leads to nationwide brand recognition.

▪ Limits their growth and size.

Small budget to spend on national advertising

▪ Small marketing budget, less than a one million dollars (Reyes, 2003) a year limits their ability to do traditional national marketing plans.

▪ Unable to gain foothold in local and national retail stores. ▪ According to Grigsby-Toussaint, Moise, Greiger (2011) in a 2008 cross-sectional survey of 118 food stores

conducted in four Midwestern cities in the United States revealed 82% of food stores surveyed carried products marketed to kids via the internet or TV. 76.9% of those stores carried fruit and cereal bars marketed via the Internet and TV .

▪ Unable to build brand recognition and preference.

THREATSSubstitute products

▪ The breakfast bars easily substitute breakfast cookies.

▪ Cookies costing $1.67 are easily substitutes by cheaper brands with greater share of the breakfast bar market.

Price fluctuation from using higher quality ingredients and Food safety and the threat of Recall

▪ Using higher quality non-processed inputs causes prices to change depending on various environmental factors (weather, yield, production)▪ According to Boriss, Brunke and Kreith (2006) Plum production is highly variable…. Price fluctuation is

attributed to changed in production

▪ 2010 peanut recall saw Erin Baker’s lose $200,000 in 36 hours (Rubin, 2011)

▪ Average cost to recall for a food company is $10 million in direct cost (“Recall,” 2014)

▪ Brand damages and lost sales are the other costs of a recall (“Recall”, 2014)

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSIONWe recommend that Erin Baker…

Packaging: • Emphasize all of the healthy ingredients by clearly stating them on the package• Make compostable packages • Make Re-sealable package

Price:• Keep the price of the breakfast cookie in the $1 - $2 range• Bulk packages discounts

Promotion:• continue focusing on in-store advertising• Broad advertising campaign that is not directed towards one specific group

Target Market:• Focus Marketing effort towards…

• Males• College Graduates and people with a high school diploma or GED• People making and Average yearly income of over $30,000

Feedback:• Hotline for customer service • Quick response email service

RECOMMENDATION Distribution:

• Shorter time of delivery after cookies are ready• Focus more on distributing their cookies to retail and discount stores (like

grocery outlets, Cash & Carry, Winco…etc)

CITATIONS

2016 Wild Backpacker. (2016). Comparing Energy Bars. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://www.wildbackpacker.com/backpacking-food/articles/comparing-energy-bars/

31 million U.S. consumers skip break each day. (2011). Retrieved from The NPD Group: https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/pr_111011b/

The Best Supermarkets In The Country, As Ranked By 'Consumer Reports' Huffpost Taste. (2014, December 14). The Best Supermarkets In The Country, As Ranked By 'Consumer Reports' Huffpost Taste. Retrieved from TheHuffingtonPost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/best-supermarkets_n_1398053.html

Boriss, H., Brunke. H., & Kreith, M. (2006). Commodity profile: Plums, fresh market. Retrieved from Agricultural Resource Center, University of California-Davis: http://aic.ucdavis.edu/profiles/PlumsFresh-2006.pdf

Clif Bar and Company. (2014). Clif Bar Minis. Retrieved February 29, 2016, from http://www.clifbar.com

Duggan, M., Ellison, N. B., Lampe, C., Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2015, January 09). Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms. Retrieved March 02, 2016, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms-2/#

Eat Natural case study. (2008). Eat Natural Case Study: Establishing a Brand in the Breakfast Cereal & Cereal Bar Markets, 1-10

Erin Baker's Wholesome Baked Goods. (2016). Erin Baker's. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://erinbakers.com

Global Breakfast Cereals Industry Profile. (2015). Breakfast Cereals Industry Profile: Global, 1-33.

Grigsby-Toussaint, D. S., Moise, I. K. and Geiger, S. D. (2011), Observations of Marketing on Food Packaging Targeted to Youth in Retail Food Stores. Obesity, 19: 1898–1900. doi: 10.1038/oby.2011.120RUSSELL, B. C. (2011). Wake up: TO BREAKFAST POTENTIAL. Specialty Coffee Retailer, 18(9), 24-26.

Hirschfield, M. (2007, December). Product of the Week: Erin Baker's Breakfast Cookie. Retrieved March 01, 2016, from http://www.motherearthliving.com/home-products/erin-bakers-breakfast-cookie.aspx

Hoffman, B. (2012, September 4). How 'Millennials' Are Changing Food as We Know It. Forbes. Retrieved January 28, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoffman/2012/09/04/how-millenials-are-changing-food-as-we-know-it/#420ccc35339d

Kell, J. (2016, January 22). The Surprising Reason Starbucks' Sales Jumped. Retrieved March 02, 2016, from http://fortune.com/2016/01/22/starbucks-food-sales-rising/

CITATIONS

KIND LLC. (2014). KND Breakfast Bars. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://www.kindsnacks.com/store/types/kind-breakfast-bars

Kurtz, D. L. (2014). Contemporary Marketing (17th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Liu, Y., & Lopez, R. A. (2014). The impact of social media conversations on consumer brand choices. Marketing Letters Mark Lett, 27(1), 1-13. Retrieved March 2, 2016.

McCormack, R. (2016, January 28). Erin Baker’s Marketing Class Tour. Speech presented at Marketing 380 Business Tour in Erin Baker's Wholesome Baked Goods, Bellingham.

Moth, D. (2013, August 5). 10 inspiring digital marketing campaigns from Coca-Cola. Retrieved March 02, 2016, from https://econsultancy.com/blog/63175-10-inspiring-digital-marketing-campaigns-from-coca-cola

“Recall Execution Effectiveness: Collaborative Approaches to Improving Consumer Safety and Confidence,” Deloitte on behalf of the Food Marketing Institute (“FMI”), the Grocery Manufacturers Association (“GMA”), and GS1 U.S., June 2010

Recall: The food industry’s biggest threat to profitability. (2012). Retrieved from Tyco Integrated security: https://www.tycois.com/wps/wcm/connect/ab4fd1f4-4aa2-45a3-a4f1-b91b36539e0f/LT1000-02FoodDefenseWP_Part2_hireresDigital.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Redondo, M. R., . . . Rivas, T. (2009). Difference in the breakfast habits of overweight/obese and normal weight schoolchildren. Discrete Applied Mathematics,157(8), 1799-1805. Retrieved March 2, 2016.

Reyes, S. (2003). Baker's Seeks Oreo Status. Brandweek, 44(2), 8. Rubin, C. (2011, May 09). In the Business of Ignoring Diet Fads. Retrieved March 02, 2016, from http://www.inc.com/articles/201105/small-business-success-stories-erin-bakers-wholesome-baked-goods.html Snyder, B. (2016, February 25). Millennials Think Eating Cereal Is Way Too Difficult. Retrieved February 26, 2016, from http://fortune.com/2016/02/25/millennials-cereal-sales/