Mkt 571 - Kudler Fine Foods Product offering

Kudler Fine Foods Product Offering

MKT/571

October 17, 2011

Kudler Fine Foods Product Offering

Kudler Fine Foods prides itself on offering its customers the finest gourmet food items from all over the world. Their foods are made with the finest organic ingredients, purchased from local organic farmers, and no additional preservatives are added to their products. Kudler Fine Foods is a gourmet grocery store with three locations in California. The owner Kathy Kudler has made the decision to expand the companies market to Germany, and to offer a new product line of gluten free and sugar free bakery items. Specifically the location will test a new line of gluten and sugar free bread, cakes, cookies, pasta, and pizza.

Based on some initial research Kathy has determined that there is a strong market for gluten free food items in Germany, and that they can be found in most supermarkets. Through her research she determined that "European law requires manufacturers since November 2005 to additionally list any gluten-containing grains, mustard, sesame, and a few other ingredients" (Wangen, 2010) on the product label. This is a great advantage to customers, where Kudler Foods plans to create its "niche" is in the fact that their stores will have designated areas for their gluten and sugar free items, and that they are made fresh daily, which is the way many German's prefer to shop. The research also indicated that while gluten free items are available locally, according to Dr. Stephen Wangen (2010), "gluten-free items are literally hidden among the other food in Germany so you have to specifically look for them".

Market Needs and Growth

Kudler Fine Foods are always working on ways to improve their business and build a steady cliental. As a company trying to open up a store internationally doesn't leave much money for advertising and promotions. We are currently running a commercial and we have several billboards in the busiest areas of Germany. We are focused on showing our future customers exactly what we have to offer and what they are missing out on. In order to continue reaching our future customers we need more advertising strategies like flyers and business cards. Kudler Fine Foods depend strongly on word of mouth from the customers that currently shop with us. We make sure that we go above and beyond to provide them with the best service possible. After we have provided them the best service imaginable they can take their receipt and provide feedback on their experience. Once the customer has completed the survey it asks them would they like to refer any of their friends to us and receive 10% off of their next purchase with Kudler Fine Foods. A customer usually provides a friends email address as the contact avenue, based on the customer referrals we send flyers and advertisements' of our current promotions by email. After they have provided us with the e- mail address of their referrals we then send out flyers and current promotions to let them know about us as well. The best part about the survey and our promotions is that it can read in ten languages.

SWOT Analysis

Kudler Fine Foods possess' strengths that include specialization, the presence of a social network, and differentiation from 'low-end' grocery stores. These strengths draw a more affluent customer base that are willing to pay a higher price for status, experience, and specialty items that are often hard to find. Kudler has been able to capture the attention of a developing market who formally did their shopping at chain stores whose only pull was discounted prices.

In an international market such as Germany, Kudler may realize some weaknesses such as a language barrier facing upper management, dramatically different working conditions, and customer preferences. For example, in Kudler's home country of Canada, employees are expected to stand while ringing up customer purchases and place them in the store bags provided. In Germany, however, employees are accustomed to sitting while scanning items and are not expected to bag purchases. Instead, customers often bring in their own baskets and totes, picking up their purchases at the end of the counter on their own.

Kudler has a marketing opportunity in Germany because of its focus on gourmet, local foods. Germans are known to walk to the grocery store almost every day for the things they need. If Kudler could position their new store in a high-traffic, residential area they could realize a high degree of repeat business. In addition, German citizens take pride in local produce and current grocery chains are often lacking in this area. Because Kudler is committed to finding the best foods in the local area and offering them at their store, they may be successful in drawing a wider customer base.

One threat Kudler faces is the competition of other chain stores, which will be discussed in detail later, and the fact that this is their first time breaking into