CANINANTICS CANNED FOOD MARKETING PLAN

Caninantics Canned Food Marketing Plan



Caninantics Canned Food Marketing Plan

About the Company

Caninantics is the company that has been initiated recently and operates in pet food industry. The company needs a competitive brand to be launched in the market in order to enhance awareness about the brand and its presence. It is hard for companies to start-up a business with an effective brand that is effectively accepted by the target market. Caninantics aims to launch a new brand of dog food that can be classified in the catefory of dispensed pet food. The core features of the product are that it is dog food in can packaging which is easy to recycle.

There are several dog can foods operating in the pet food industry; hence, the organization has decided to add up certain features that can enhance its acceptance in the market. Caninantics aims to construct an effective marketing plan for the product before its launch in order to create enough awareness of the brand that could assist its acceptance in the target market. After the success of its canned dog food, Caninantics wants to launch canine accessories by the end of the year. Hence, acceptance of this brand is essential for company's survival and success.

Analysis of Pet Food Market

Canned dog food continued to perform well, with value sales growth of 6% in 2010. This solid growth pushed average unit prices upward for the overall dog food category; given the fact dog food products have much higher unit prices than traditional daily foods. This growth in overall unit prices, however, was only a moderate 2%, as discounting and a general slowdown in trading up to premium options prevented stronger unit price growth. The slight decline in dog food volume sales largely fits into a broader historical pattern, as volumes have fallen consistently since 2007 (Ziethmal & Bitner, 2003).

Increased promotional activity and greater competition between retailers and manufacturers pulled prices downward, while recession-weary consumers did not trade up to premium product options to the same degree as in past years. As a result, unit prices and value sales did not grow at the same pace as in the recent past. Dog food sales through both supermarkets/hypermarkets and pet superstores grew in 2010, increasing the value share of these channels to 42% and 19%, respectively. Both of these channels thrive on their ability to offer a wide range of products to consumers.

The supermarkets/hypermarkets channel also holds the advantage of offering some of the lowest prices, while pet superstores can capitalize on their expertise about pets and their ability to offer services (pet grooming, boarding, etc). Some of this growth came at the expense of garden centers (tracked in “other non-grocery retailers”), which have not been able to differentiate themselves enough from these competitors to maintain their consumer base (Randall, 2001).

The percentage of households owning a dog slipped marginally in 2010, a second consecutive year with a decline. High levels of unemployment continued to drive home foreclosures, pushing many people into new ...