Marketing Fundamentals (Essay Sample)

Student Number 2018 words Protein Water Drink for Dash Water Company , Summary of Company The Dash Water Company’s business idea is to reduce food waste by finding uses for fruits and vegetables that do not make it to the general markets due to physical defects that mar their appearance but not their quality (Linsell, 2022). In addition to reducing food waste, using unwanted produce contributes to efforts to reduce climate-warming emissions. The category B Company (Dash Water) was launched in 2017 by Jack Scott and Alex Wright, with its headquarters in London. The Company's revolutionary product, which has created a buzz in the consumer market, is its sugar-free- carbonated beverage-Dash Water (Linsell, 2022). One can get the Dash water beverage in limited flavours, including lemon, mango, peach cucumber, raspberry, and blackcurrant (Linsell, 2022). Through hard work and persistence, the Company has grown over the years, and unsurprisingly its products can now be seen stocked on shelves of other notable companies such as Starbucks Corp. and Tesco Plc. Consumer Trends Ever since the inception of the Dash Water products, consumers have received favourable reception of the products. The secret is the growing inclination of consumers towards healthier lifestyles. In addition to this inclination, there has been a growing trend that indicates that consumers are more likely to acquire “… creative options from craft sodas to things like sparkling water infused with hemp and adaptogens in photo-friendly cans…” (Dingwall, 2022) This statement describes the Dash Water product to a T. Either the Dash Water company has done its research correctly or is lucky to a fault, but one would be more inclined to believe the former (Dingwall, 2022). With such an appeal, the Company can reap from this growing trend as more individuals take up healthier lifestyles. To sustain its growth, the Company has to diversify its offerings and try to get into other segments within the beverage industry by modifying some of its offerings to tap into a growing segment within the beverage industry. As more individuals become more aware and critical of what they consume, individuals have started to look for beverages that can offer them more than what is typically on offer from beverages. As a result of this growing need, functional beverages have recorded a rise in sales over the last couple of years. Dash Water can therefore capitalize on this growing trend by creating a beverage that provides more for the individual taking it, more so ones containing proteins. The rationale behind this choice is the growth this particular segment has recorded over the years (Walker, 2013). Data shows that for sports products containing protein, their consumer uptake globally between 2007 and 2012 grew from 2.5 billion to a whopping 4.9 billion (Walker, 2013). In the United Kingdom, the trend was the same. During the same period, the uptake of sports products with proteins grew from a mere 73 million Euros to 170 million Euros (Walker, 2013). If Dash Water, therefore, should consider developing a beverage that could cater to this growing segment of beverage consumers. Market Segmentation The beverage market is segmented just like any other. The various segments in the beverage market include Waters carbonates and energy/stimulants drinks; drink concentrates mixes and meal replacements; juice and juice drinks; and chilled coffee and tea. The segment that the protein water would take, therefore, would be the mixes and meal replacements segment. This consumer is a good segment for Dash Company to consider because it is effective since it is measurable, accessible, and substantial. This segment has a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 percent (AHFES, 2021). Graph 1. Shows the growth of soft drinks over the years. The high protein content is one of the checklists that has led to the growth of this particular beverage segment. With this growth trend Dash Water if it ventures into this particular segment, will have a substantial number of individuals ready to take up its prod. As such, the Company will secure itself as a leading healthy beverage-producing company in the United Kingdom. Target Market The target market for the new protein Water will be fitness enthusiasts, particularly bodybuilders and other individuals who want to gain muscle mass. This particular market is the best fit for Dash Water Company to focus on because this is a growing section of the consumer population. As such, more demand is unavoidable as more and more individuals want to be healthier (Patterson, 2022). This niche is a perfect target market because it is accessible and predisposed to acquiring protein supplements. Data indicates that 47 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom use protein products daily (Mintel News, 2016). Therefore targeting fitness enthusiasts would work well for Dash water since 42 percent of the population in the U.K. who so happen to be individuals between the age of 16 to 24 years (Mintel News, 2016). Furthermore, the offering by Dash Water would cater to what most consumers are looking for: protein supplements. Therefore Dash Water should invest in protein beverages since there is a growing market for such products. Furthermore, the basis for segmentation on the part of the Company should be psychographic and behavioural. The product of the Company will therefore address the interests of fitness enthusiasts and their need for more protein intake (Patterson, 2022). The consumer population is similarly ready to buy more protein supplements, which should not be an issue for the Dash Water Company. Moreover, the targeting strategy for this particular segment should be differentiated and niche specific, that is, gym goers (Patterson, 2022). Doing this will ensure that the Company identifies its product with a given specific niche and, with time, may become central and identifiable with gym-goers in the United Kingdom with proper advertisement. Product, Branding, and Positioning Product Modification The product that Dash Water Company will have to create to address the needs of its already identified segment and niche would be a soft drink with health benefits for the user. The health drink which would fall under the supplements segment will be rich in protein content, not too high nor too low for the target user, a gym goer whose protein concentration will be enough to enhance muscle growth. Furthermore, the constituents should be from natural sources. This sourcing of content will highly appeal to the target market. Furthermore, the beverage, a soft drink infused with proteins, should have an approximate time frame for improved results to be visible to the human eye. The product will be available in soda cans, recyclable glass, and plastic bottles. As expected, the quantities of the containers will vary as well as the prices for the various product offerings. Given that the product is health-related, it falls within the Company's current offerings of sugar-free carbonated soft drinks. According to Kotler, a product has three levels: the core generic and augmented product (Claessens, 2015 a). The proposed Protein Water beverage satisfies the three levels of a product in that the beverage benefits its consumer by increasing protein levels, which will contribute to muscle formation during workout sessions. In considering the second level, the product satisfies this level in that its containers appeal to the target customer or market, thereby satisfying several criteria in this section, such as colour style, fashion, and branding. The bottle will come in various colours, for instance, to match the customer's choice and preference. The beverage quality will be exceptionally high to surpass any competition that a rival company may bring (Claessens, 2015 a). For the last level, which is on the Augmented product, the delivery of the product or rather accessibility of the product by consumers will be prompt and always available whenever needed. Branding The drink will be branded based on all three levels of bring, which include its attributes such as increasing protein levels in the body. The second level is on the benefits of the drink, which are increasing proteins and muscle mass for bodybuilders. The last level that will be taken into consideration while branding the drink is the beliefs and values of the Company, which include providing healthy drinks for individuals who want to live happy and healthier lives. All the parameters are taken into consideration when it comes to the name selection for the drink (Claessens, 2015b). The suggested name for the drink will be "Dash Muscle Shake." As suggested for brand names, this name is short and suggests the drink's benefits; it is easier to pronounce and remember. In addition to memorability, the name is distinct (Claessens, 2015b). On the branding sponsorship decision, the best choice would be to go with the parent company Dash since the Company wants to establish itself as the producer of quality healthy beverages for athletes and other health enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. The choice of branding will have to consider the overall aim of making the drink the healthiest choice for bodybuilders and other gym-goers. Positioning Positioning the drink will be one that could reduce meal planning costs to get the required amounts of proteins necessary for one to get muscle growth. Therefore by positioning the drink as a substitute for a strict meal regimen, the drink will naturally be included in the meal plans of individuals who are financially unable to stick to a meal plan required for bodybuilding. Furthermore, the drink could be used by those who need more time to prepare a full-course meal required for bodybuilders. Therefore the drink will be positioned as a lifesaver or, rather, a time saver. The marketing mix theory by Mccarthy is vital for the positioning of the drink. The four Ps, whi...