About Expert

Key Topics
Brief:
Michel de Rovira and Augustin Paluel-Marmont are two Paris-based entrepreneurs who in 2005 began baking and selling their own home-made cookies in local shops and cafes, under the brand name ‘Michelet Augustin’. Their products are enjoyed by customers but following some difficulties with production and finances, the business is now at a crossroads. You are a team of marketing consultants advising Michel and Augustin on their future strategy. By studying the facts presented in the case document, and drawing from relevant theories, frameworks and insights covered in the course and further reading, prepare a report for the entrepreneurs, giving your analysis of the current situation and recommendations for future marketing strategy. Specifically, your report should contain three sections:
1. A critical analysis of the key characteristics of the cookie market in France, and identification of which consumer segment(s) Michel and Augustin should target.
Guidance:
• Use the information provided in the case in this tasks but avoid simply repeating facts – offer analysis rather than description.
• Give explanation and justification for your choices
• Use theories/frameworks offered in marketing strategy and consumer behavior lectures to help you, as well as insights from the attached further reading.
Essay: A critical analysis of the key characteristics of the cookie market in France, and identification of which consumer segment(s) Michel and Augustin should target.
The cookie market in France consists of the biscuits that contain butter, chocolate, eggs; cream, wafers or they may be plain. This shows that the cookies in the market of France are available in many varieties. The consumers have many tastes, and this is the reason why the market of France is flooded with the different ingredients and flavors in the cookies. The French cookie market is dominated by the large players who have relatively more market share and more market power. This shows that the new players who are planning to enter the market of France needs considerable investment to build their production capacity so that they can earn high returns to scale on the production of the cookies, increase their volume of production and make their cost structures competitive enough to enter the market, compete with the large players and establish themselves in the market.
The major retailers who are located in the supermarkets and the hypermarkets of France carry the power of distribution of the cookies. This shows that the best channel of distribution of the cookies is through the retail channel because there were similar brands of cookies in the retail market of France and the replacement could be done only by the retailers without incurring any heavy costs. The presence of international players dominated the market of cookies in France, and they also led the market. This shows that there is tough competition in the market for obtaining the space in the retail shelf and for grabbing the attention of the consumers because both domestic and the international players are well-established in France, and they have positioned their product strongly.
The company should target that segment which places emphasis on eating breakfast in the morning. There are people who prefer brunch but, the health conscious people are aware of the fact that breakfast is a must to have the meal and it is the most important meal of the day (Sun?Waterhouse, 2011). So, they should be targeted. Then, the segment related to the young age group should be targeted to the children and the teenagers. These are the greatest chocolate and cookie lovers and their average consumption per day is very high as compared to people in the other age-groups (Humbert, 2003). Then, the segment that is willing to pay a premium price for the cookies should be targeted. This is because the company will give quality products, they will be unique too as there is intense competition in the market, the company will make investments for making the consumers aware of their product. So, for getting quality, uniqueness, and advertisements, the consumers have to pay a premium price (Anselmsson, 2014). The segment of the consumers who are attracted and prefer the discount coupons and the hidden gifts inside the packs of cookies should be targeted. The promotional activities of the company should involve the offering of the gifts and the coupons because the children love gifts and the teenagers also like discounts (Bezawada, 2013). So, if they will be targeted, then the company will be successful in promoting its product in the correct manner.
Anselmsson, J., Vestman Bondesson, N. and Johansson, U., 2014. Brand image and customers' willingness to pay a price premium for food brands.Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23(2), pp.90-102.
Bezawada, R. and Pauwels, K., 2013. What is special about marketing organic products? How organic assortment, price, and promotions drive retailer performance. Journal of Marketing, 77(1), pp.31-51.
Humbert, B., 2003. Screening France. French Politics, Culture & Society,21(2), pp.81-94.
Sun?Waterhouse, D., 2011. The development of fruit?based functional foods targeting the health and wellness market: a review. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 46(5), pp.899-920.