Real-Time Case Project: KIND Healthy Snacks

Real-Time Case Project: KIND Healthy Snacks (Background)
In 2000, Daniel Lubetzky came up with an idea for a different kind of snack – a healthy snack made of fruit and nuts. After spending several years developing his concept, in 2004, he founded and launched the KIND brand. But sales started off very slowly. Lubetzky remarked that consumers were very skeptical of the product at first, thinking it looked too healthy and would not taste good. It wasn’t until 2009, following an infusion of capital from VMG Partners, that the Company had the resources to invest in marketing. And sampling became the firm’s number one marketing investment. Once consumer tried a KIND bar, they would start buying them. It was at this point that the brand began to take off. KIND Healthy Snacks expanded its product offering to six product lines: Fruit & Nut, Nuts & Spices, KIND Plus, Strong & KIND, KIND Breakfast Bars, and Granola (Bars & Clusters). By 2016, KIND sold 5 million of their products in over 150,000 stores around the world.

Collecting Information and Forecasting Demand 

(1.Each point writes for one page research paper

2.Specific data are required to support the facts or statements

3.Data is most important!!!)

Psychographics. Categorize potential consumer market on the basis of lifestyle  or personality attributes.
Needs. Define customer needs most relevant or critical to satisfy.

All papers must be typed in 12-point font, double-spaced using standard one-inch margins.

Resources

Another source for information and statistics is trade associations, government agencies and trade periodicals, such as:

Food Processinghttp://www.foodprocessing.com Monthly; covers strategic and technological issues facing the US food packaging industry.
Progressive Grocer http://www.progressivegrocer.com Trade magazine providing information to the retail food industry; published 18 times a year.
Supermarket News http://www.supermarketnews.com Weekly trade magazine covering the food distribution industry.
Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) http://www.gmaonline.org Trade association of food, beverage, and consumer products companies.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) http://www.bls.gov Principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics; a division of the US Department of Labor.
Specialty Food Association, Inc. http://www.specialtyfood.com Not-for-profit trade association that provides tools, information and connections for members of the specialty food marketplace.  Additionally, research should include market insights from thought leaders, such as:
o Nielsen Consumer Insights http://www.nielsen.com
o McKinsey’s Consumer Insights http://www.mckinsey.com/
o Pew Research Center http://www.pewresearch.org/
 o Accenture https://www.accenture.com
oPriceWaterhouseCoopershttp://www.pwc.com/us/en/publications.html
o Gallup http://www.gallup.com