Intelligence and Expansion into International Markets

Case Study: Food Cultivation and Marketing

A company dedicated to the cultivation and commercialization of food employed LAC to carry out an extremely complex study. Given the nature of sales, when the product was exported to another country, no data about consumers was available, since foreign vendors did not provide any information. Therefore, the company sought to carry out market analysis in the destination country in order to get to know the consumer in detail.

Most of the national producers do not market their products abroad but rely on a marketing agency, which becomes a great barrier since they depend on the agent to reach other markets and do not have any access to information about these foreign consumers. Therefore, the degree of complexity of this study was extremely high. The company’s first objective was for LAC to analyze the berry market in the United States. Subsequently, based on knowledge of the environment, consumers, and competition, methodologies would be designed to help market their product and eliminate intermediaries.

In order to develop a detailed consumer profile, eye-catching sweepstakes were set up and promoted within the packaging of the products so that the consumer would register on a website. In this way, a large amount of data was collected that revealed the tastes, preferences, and geolocation of the market. In addition, price and cost dynamics were also analyzed. Finally, the feasibility of modifying the business model was analyzed.

• The bulk of the market is in the age range of 21 to 60 years old, and of these, young people aged from 21 to 27 consume the product on a larger scale.

• Women represent 66% of the client’s target market and men 34%.

• The majority of consumers are located in the state of Texas (16.51%), followed by California (12.42%), and Florida (12.06%), in second and third place respectively; then there are Michigan (11.84%), New York (6.32%), and, finally, Wisconsin (5.96%) and Ohio (4.31%), which are two states that have a fairly significant percentage.

• 30% of consumers know the brand of the company.?

• The majority of end consumers purchase the product in large supermarket chains (37.42%) and after that in smaller supermarkets (21.19%).

• The main reasons the market consumes the product are: in the first place for health (31%); in second for flavor (26%); in third because of freshness (23%); in fourth due to the price (11%); in fifth because of convenience (4%) and, finally, in sixth due to the brand (1%).

After the results and findings were obtained, the client was provided with all the methodologies and tools to be implemented in the medium and long term without our help. The conclusion could be drawn that young people make up the bulk of the market. Therefore, the company must know the needs, uses, and tastes of this niche in relation to its product, in such a way that they can design promotion strategies that appeal to these specific interests, without neglecting other segments.?

Consumption by women may be due to a greater interest in taking care of their diet, their appearance, and their health. This niche is of utmost importance to the client, so the company must obtain much more specific and in-depth information about the segment through interviews or a focus group, in order to get a better understanding of the purchasing dynamics. Regarding the location of the consumers, it is important to know if the geographical dispersion of the data actually corresponds to the consumption behavior of the market, or if it is rather due to the distribution method that the vendor uses.?

The positioning of the brand should be oriented towards the niches with the greatest presence in the geographical areas with the highest sales. The company must first gain a presence in the niches with the highest acceptance and consumption, and then break through to other secondary niches that can generate new sales opportunities. The forces that dictate consumption are directed towards two main branches: the first is that of health, composed of the concepts of well-being, sports, nutrition, and physical aspects; the second branch is related to the qualities of the product and concerned with the concepts of flavor and freshness. These branches should inform advertising campaigns since the perfect balance between them will be able to draw enough attention from the desired public.?

If your industry is the cultivation and commercialization of food, with LAC research and analysis you can:

• Identify the direct and indirect competitors (complementary goods) to offer an innovative and quality service.
• Analyze the polygon or area where your consumers are located, and therefore determine the most suitable type and location of the points of sale.
• Identify areas with similar behaviors and markets.
• Gain an in-depth understanding of the habits and preferences of your consumers.
• Define the most suitable marketing and sales strategies.
• Obtain information and tools to increase the presence of the product in other places.

Click to download the original PDF