Marketing Assignment / Kudler Fine Foods

Marketing Assignment / Kudler Fine Foods

Kudler Fine Foods, owned by Kathy Kudler, is a gourmet grocery center with three locations. The stores are designed for the consumer that likes to cook gourmet meals without shopping all over town. The company sells a selection of fine foods, wines and the culinary tools necessary to prepare the finest meal. Recently the company began contracting with local growers to provide locally grown organic produce and is now making plans to expand into the catering business. There are many areas to be considered before taking on this next venture in the company’s future.

Market research is one of the first items necessary to expand at Kudler Fine Foods. This is a tool that all businesses should use to establish the viability of business decisions. The sales plan for 2007 includes interesting new ideas to help promote awareness of the type of food Kudler offers and a chance to gain some valuable data as to the effectiveness of the plan and promotions. The company plans on offering cooking class socials. “We will initiate specialty cooking classes as a way to increase the consumption of high-margin items among existing customers and to build awareness, trial, and regular shopping among new customers.” (Apollo Group, Inc., 2007) These classes will enable Kudler Fine Foods to tap into awareness of what customers want, where the customers are that are interested and if the catering business could be a valuable asset to the company.

The well known marketing mix of, product, price, place and promotion are key components that Kathy Kudler and her staff will need to consider as she considers this new expansion of the business. The company carries a unique assortment of gourmet foods and will be able to use these products in addition to newer products in the catering service. The types of products at Kudler Fine Foods allow the company to cater events such as weddings, receptions and classy parties where the quality of the food and beverages are the main consideration. The prices associated with the catering service will need to remain competitive with other catering companies in the area. The other businesses within a geographical location relative to the stores will need to be researched to determine how pricing should be approached. A well thought out advertising campaign will be essential in alignment with pricing geared toward the competition.

Kathy Kudler should be keeping up with the latest in the gourmet food business and the economy as the owner of a food establishment. She can access vital information for the expansion into catering by using resources. Caterer & Hotelkeeper, a journal geared toward this type of business and other well known resources like, Food & Beverage, Progressive Grocer, Nation’s Restaurant News, Business Review, Food Industry Journal and World News Connection would be beneficial for ideas and the economical factors she will be facing with this next addition to the company.

Kathy will need to do a market survey within a specific radius of her locations to determine what her competition is, what products they carry, what services they provide and the prices they charge for these items. She then needs to look at her own expenses for the catering service and determine how she will price her services. This is something that the executives at Kudler Fine Foods can assist with and meet with her to make final decisions and plans before opening the new service. Costs such as hiring new employees and travel expenses will need to be considered in the overall plan for determining pricing and how to compete with other companies.

Place is not just about location. The term is more aligned with distribution. “Distribution is about getting the products to the customer.” (NetMBA Business Knowledge Center, 2008) The geographic location does help determine which consumers will utilize the services or products of the business. The sales plan for 2007 at Kudler Fine Foods incorporates the vision associated with place. “At this time, we are focusing on improving our existing locations. However, sales are encouraged to actively consider new ways that we can expand our business geographically in the future.” (Apollo Group, Inc., 2007)

She may want to consider a product fair where she provides a sampling of the items she might carry for the catering service. This aligns with the sales plan for 2007 where the company offered cooking classes to increase awareness. Many of the new customers gained from this venture would probably be interested