Essay Undergraduate 1,059 words

Organic Chocolate Candy Bar Marketing Strategy: Everyday

~6 min read 4 sections Marketing · Marketing Strategy

Abstract

This paper presents the marketing strategy for Everyday, a new organic chocolate candy bar designed to compete with mainstream non-organic brands by offering lower prices and broad distribution. Unlike most organic chocolate competitors that rely on natural food stores, Everyday targets conventional supermarkets, drug stores, and mass merchandisers where the majority of candy is purchased. The paper examines the product's channel distribution strategy, including supermarket partnerships, naturals stores, and online sales, as well as a detailed customer relationship management (CRM) plan using sales force automation, campaign management, and customer experience management technologies to drive awareness, retention, and long-term growth.

Key Takeaways

Introduction: The Everyday Organic Chocolate Concept: Introduces Everyday and its mainstream market positioning
Channels of Distribution: Supermarket, naturals, and online distribution strategy
Customer Relationship Management: CRM technologies for retention and campaign tracking
Conclusion: Summary of Everyday's competitive advantages

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What makes this paper effective

The paper grounds its strategic recommendations in specific industry data — for example, citing that 85% of candy is purchased in grocery stores — which gives the argument a credible, evidence-based foundation.
It consistently contrasts Everyday's approach against established competitors (M&M/Mars, Arcor USA, naturals-channel brands), which sharpens the competitive positioning and demonstrates market awareness.
The CRM section connects abstract technology concepts (sales force automation, campaign management) directly to concrete business goals like customer retention and product extension, making the analysis practical and applied.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper demonstrates applied marketing analysis by systematically working through a real-world business problem using a structured framework (product, price, place, promotion). It uses secondary sources to validate each strategic recommendation rather than relying on assertion alone, modeling how business students should support strategic proposals with market research and industry data.

Structure breakdown

The paper opens with a brief introduction that establishes the product concept and its competitive premise. It then devotes its two main body sections to the most operationally detailed elements of the strategy: channel distribution and CRM technology. The conclusion synthesizes the key advantages. The structure prioritizes depth in the areas where differentiation matters most — distribution and customer management — making it a focused, if concise, marketing strategy document.

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Essay 1,059 words

Introduction: The Everyday Organic Chocolate Concept

Why should one pursue a small niche market when it is possible to have a large market? Yet, this seems to be the path taken by currently available organic chocolate candy bars. Everyday is a new product with the goal of making the organic chocolate candy bar a ubiquitous consumer product. Its approach is simple: it will mimic the flavors of popular non-organic chocolate candy bars, but at a much lower price point than existing organic options. Furthermore, it will pursue equal footing with leading non-organic brands in the channels where most candy is purchased, rather than relying primarily on niche natural food stores.

The market for organic chocolate candy bars is currently only a drop in the bucket compared to the market for non-organic candy bars. Everyday is designed to transform this market dynamic. This paper presents the Everyday product, price, place, and promotion strategy that will give this product a significant competitive advantage over both non-organic and organic candy bars. It also discusses in detail the integrated marketing communications plan to achieve positive consumer awareness, as well as the customer relationship management (CRM) technologies needed to improve and track progress.

Channels of Distribution

As mentioned above, ubiquity in supermarkets, drug stores, and mass merchandisers such as Walmart is critical to Everyday's success, because large-scale distribution will be used to compensate for low margins. Grocery stores, where 85% of all candy is purchased, are the real prize (Nielsen takes the mask off candy sales, 2007). According to Zind (2003), the supermarket has several characteristics that make it the perfect distribution channel for Everyday. First, the average consumer visits a grocery store more than any other type of store, and therefore presents ample opportunities to encourage impulse purchases. Furthermore, supermarkets encourage "better-best" pricing options more than other channels, and Everyday can more easily invite consumer comparisons with popular non-organic brands as well as organic brands. This comparison is welcome because consumers are likely to find Everyday a better option than only slightly cheaper non-organic alternatives, and a greater value than more expensive organic brands.

Everyday will follow Arcor USA's efforts to successfully promote its Whisper Chocolate Bon Bons in supermarkets. Arcor teamed with supermarkets on couponing, floor promotional signage, and product sampling, and used local media spots to advertise the promotion (Zind, 2003).

Everyday will also be sold in natural food supermarkets, but this will not be the focus of Everyday's distribution strategy as it is for most organic chocolate bar competitors. First, the naturals market is crowded — it carries more than 2,000 chocolate items, compared to conventional supermarkets that offer about 350 items (Tirone, 2007). The top 20 selling natural chocolate items represent only 26% of naturals supermarkets' chocolate sales, versus the top 20 items in conventional supermarkets representing more than half of their natural chocolate sales (Tirone, 2007). The contribution of new items is also more favorable in conventional supermarkets. In 2006, 75 new natural chocolate items became available, contributing 27% to total natural chocolate sales in conventional stores (Tirone, 2007). During the same period, 300 new items were launched in the naturals channel but contributed only 5% to total chocolate sales (Tirone, 2007).

Everyday will also maintain its own website for online distribution. Already, one competitor, M&M/Mars, is exploring this channel to increase sales and improve profit margins. Online, consumers can personalize their own labels or foil overwraps, which enables manufacturers to charge significantly more for their candy (Moran, 2008). As one industry observer noted: "What they have done is drawn the focus away from the chocolate and drawn attention to the product. For manufacturers and retailers, it's important to understand the difference between what you make and what people buy. M&M is selling ego enhancement" (Moran, 2008). Everyday will therefore leverage the web to discover new ways to enhance its own products and add consumer value.

1 Section Hidden · 200 words

Customer Relationship Management200 words

Everyday recognizes the importance of customer relationship management (CRM), which is essential to "the establishment, maintenance and optimization of long-term mutually valuable relationships between consumers and organizations" (Introduction to customer relationship management). According to this framework, long-term customer relationships are the true drivers…

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Conclusion

Everyday is poised to meet its objective of gaining similar market share to leading non-organic chocolate candy bars. Everyday is a high-quality organic product with a more reasonable price than the competition. It has a strong channel distribution strategy that relies heavily on supermarkets where most candy is bought, and joint promotions with this channel will enhance customer relationships for both retail partners and end consumers. Furthermore, Everyday will use sales force automation and campaign management technologies to ensure that it is effectively executing its channel and promotional strategies.

Bibliography

Introduction to customer relationship management (CRM). http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_crm.htm

Moran, M. (2008, January 1). 2008 trend report: Premium chocolate. Gourmet Retailer Magazine, volume 29, number 1, p. 23.

Nielsen takes the mask off candy sales. (2007, October 22). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_Oct_22/ai_n21055219/

Supermarket facts (2008). Food Marketing Institute. http://www.fmi.org/facts_figs/?fuseaction=superfact

Tirone, A. (2007, October 1). Chocolate sweetens naturals' sales in the candy segment. Natural Foods Merchandiser, volume XXVIII, number 10, p. 44.

Zind, T. (2003, April 1). Candy has a role in boosting supermarkets: Besieged by competitors in other channels, supermarkets must seek out new ways to add value to the shopping experience. Confectioner.

Key Concepts in This Paper

Organic Chocolate Mainstream Distribution Supermarket Strategy Channel Management CRM Technology Sales Force Automation Campaign Management Competitive Pricing Consumer Impulse Purchase Natural Foods Market