One of the most exciting parts of a new product launch is seeing an effective plan executed to perfection. The food marketing consultants at HSR Associates are known for bringing that same excitement and energy to our clients when developing a food marketing plan. After all, a quality consultant’s goal is to successfully bring your ideas from the kitchen to the marketplace. Developing a plan to do so is extremely complex! With that in mind, this week’s blog details just some of the basic principles in developing an effective marketing plan.

Targeting the Right Group

Any food product development consultant worth hiring understands not only the various groups and demographics of consumers that exist, but how to appeal to each of them specifically. Targeting the right group can make or break a new food product. Your consultant should be able to assess your product and identify the correct demographic.

Highlight Product Strengths

New food products often collapse because the marketing plan fails to highlight the product’s strengths and benefits for the consumer. Great food marketing consultants can develop a promotion plan and food package design that educates the consumer on a product’s strengths in a way that makes them want to purchase.

Real World Food Experience

There are many jobs in which a top notch academic record cannot compare with real world experience. The best consultants back their marketing plans not only with rigorous research and solid empirical data, but also with the intuitions that can only be developed with real world food experience. Exceptional consultants know how to avoid being impatient and over-optimistic. That means they avoid making marketing forecasts based upon “blue sky,” rather than customer knowledge and realistic expectations.

Competitive Pricing

Offering a competitive price involves careful study of the competition, price surveys, and store checks. It involves knowing how to increase the consumer’s perceived value of the product, which allows for higher pricing. In addition, the consultant should know how and when to justify a premium price for added value. The Price List we develop includes discounts, allowances, prepaid freight, bracket prices, commission for the broker, a reasonable gross profit, and an accrual for marketing so that product sales start to pay for themselves.

Aggressive Promotion

This is perhaps the most important element of an effective marketing strategy, and food products routinely fail because not enough money is allocated to achieve goals and sustain the market. Most of the marketing budget needs to be spent on consumer trial or getting the consumer to try the product for the first time. Successful marketing plans educate the buyer/distributor as well as the consumer. They employ effective sell-in and ongoing sell-through programs. Plans should incorporate competitive data (SAMI volume and brand shares), quarterly promotions, scan downs, demos, coupons, PR, and many other factors.

Work with Expert Food Marketing Consultants!

Building an effective marketing plan requires knowledgeable food marketing consultants, and that begins at HSR Associates. HSR ASSOCIATES specializes in developing new food products and bringing them to market. We provide all the services necessary, from Kitchen To Marketplace. Contact us today at steve@hsrassociates.net.

More great ideas to come from our food product development experts! Stay tuned…………..