Marketing Plan for La Duree

Marketing Plan for La Duree What business are you in? What will be the 'next cupcake?' For many years, cupcakes were the great pastry craze, resulting in the rise of the Magnolia Bakery and Crumbs in New York City. These enterprises eventually spread throughout the United States. The cute confectionary took hold of the public's imagination. Around the same time, food trucks that sold fare more interesting than the usual 'dirty water dogs' and soft pretzels also began to become more popular amongst New Yorkers.

Falafel, gourmet ice cream, macaroni and cheese, samosas, and tacos are some of the diverse array of foods offered on these relatively small, inexpensive-to-operate vehicles. Macaroons have also gained a smaller but equally loyal following amongst foodies as cupcakes. Americans who live in France and write cookbooks and blog about their experiences like David Lebovitz and Dorie Greenspan have championed the macaroon.

There is already a loyal following for the macaroon in France, and one of the most beloved cafes offering the sweets, along with a tasty array of other baked goods, is the elegant bakery La Duree. Why is it the right business for you to be in? The proposed business is to open a La Duree in New York City. This will capitalize upon the love of French pastries amongst foodies, the enthusiasm for portion-controlled sweets, as well as the insatiable appetite for novelty in the food world.

New York City loves delicate and exotic foods that allow residents to watch their weight yet still eat tasty treats. Offering macaroons and a limited array of other La Duree pastries from a food truck would capitalize upon two trends at once. From a practical standpoint, a dessert food truck is ideal because it encourages consumers to make impulse purchases.

They do not need to make a special trip to a bakery, which they might hesitate to do, given that a pastry, unlike a sandwich for lunch, is not strictly a necessity. Also, if consumers do not want to buy a large number of pastries at once, the food truck allows them to easily buy one or two. A food truck is also far less expensive to operate than a formal shop, and incurs less overhead expenses such as rent.

What would you like your business to be famous for? The macaroon would be the signature item of the business. It is light, small, quirky, yet quintessentially French. Macaroons can be offered in a wide variety of flavors, and changing some of the seasonal and special flavors would attract customer attention. What do you sell? As well as macaroons, a rotating variety of other famous La Duree pastries can be offered, including but not limited to eclairs, tarts, and other confections. Chocolates can also be offered, depending upon the season.

Why will people buy from you? The high quality of the macaroons and the ability to eat genuine French pastries, as opposed to an American 'spin' on the French treats will be the primary attractions. Jaded New Yorkers who are accustomed to 'trendy' foods will be able to taste what real French pastries are like.

The food is made from good, wholesome ingredients and is not over-the-top decadent like David Chang's 'crack pie' and 'cereal milk' offered by Momofuku Milk Bar, but nor is it a low-fat, low-quality diet product that apologizes for being a dessert like Tasti-d-Lite. This is genuine comfort food, rather than processed food or food that is so decadent most customers will not want to eat it more than once of twice.

Who are your competitors? The primary competitors are other dessert trucks, such as the Treats Truck, Dessert Truck and Sweet Streets. Established NYC bakeries such as Magnolia and Crumbs also have a loyal following which could rival La Duree ("Checking out the marcarella and yoko at the Street Sweets truck," Midtown Lunch, 2009). The Bouchon Bakery is a French bakery famous for its macaroons, as is the Macron Cafe.

How can you stand out from the crowd? Marketing macaroons as the 'genuine article' from a recipe specific to Paris will be a cornerstone of the marketing. Said David Lebovitz, who lives in France: "I'm also a firm believer in cultural divides; there are some foods from other cultures are best left to their home turf.

I've never had a great Madeleine in America and if you've ever had a 'croissan-wich' in the U.S., you know what I mean." By using a French approach, La Duree will offer a true French pastry, in terms of quality, selection, and above all freshness.

The food truck will be like the corner French bakery -- ideally, located in Soho, an area which draws a great deal of foot traffic from young, trendy, food and fashion-conscious consumers, spanning everyone from young designers on a lunch break to teens doing afterschool window-shopping. Given that La Duree's image in France is one of elegance and refinement; this must be carried over into its American incarnation. No ketchup macaroons or 'strange' flavors: instead, all offerings should be true to the spirit of the original store (Lebovitz 2009).

La Duree promises that all its macaroons are made every day according to a traditional formula: "The pastry chefs measure out very precisely the required amounts of almonds, eggs and.