Reference no: EM133589184

Mini-Case Wild Foods

A huge, highly regarded consumer packaged goods firm wishes to branch into pet food. The company knows a lot about packaging, communications, and pricing. It has a great reputation in trade so the channel partners should be supportive. It figures that selling pet food can't be all that different from their current strengths.

The company is beginning with cat food. It is developing product lines currently, and plans to launch within 6 months. About a year after that, they'll follow with their dog line. The company has talked about developing foods for other pets (ferrets, snakes, and hamsters), but to date, no firmer plans have been made.

The brand is going to be called Wild Foods and the new-to-the-world feature that the brand will offer is that these canned goods will comprise wild animals. Instead of cat food being the same meats eaten by their owners (e.g., beef, turkey, chicken, tuna), the foodstuffs will be mice, rats, crows, and pigeons (the company's first recipes).

The company expects their new pet food line to be wildly received by pet owners-they expect that pet owners will say, "Finally! A company that knows what my cat wants to eat!" The company also thinks it will earn huge points from people concerned with the environment, given that they're creating a useful by-product of large populations of some unpopular animals usually regarding as vermin or pests.

Respond to the mini case as the Marketing Manager and you are determining the MARKETING problem(s) that needs to be solved. Use critical think here and use not only the facts of the case but ALSO outside research. The most challenging task is PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION. Clearly articulate exactly what problem you are trying to solve. Be specific. This will focus your research on solving that exact problem AND develop a recommendation or two that your management will support.

This mini case solution must follow the following formatting guidelines:

Three sections consisting of 1) Problem Identification 2) Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis 3) Recommendations

Problem Identification

Identify the major problems found in the case. Ensure that you distinguish between causes and symptoms. Causes may include changing customer preferences, increased competition, etc. Symptoms include declining revenues, loss of brand equity, increased customer churn, etc.
Please support your problem identification by relevant case facts along with the associated theory and concepts.
Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis

Conduct research to identify data (e.g., obtain data in the form of trends, statistics, ratings, etc. from the library and other sources) that can be utilized to provide additional insight into the case.
Draw appropriate conclusions based on the quantitative analysis of data, while recognizing the limits of this analysis.
Discussion and Recommendation

Identify and recommend a solution to the major problem in the case (there is likely to be more than one solution).
Briefly outline your solution and evaluate it in terms of its pros and cons.
Always ensure that your recommendations are supported by statistical evidence and provide spreadsheets as necessary.