Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Well- You have a great project on hand.
On positioning: Mostly the positioning strategy of Baking and Cakes is celebration- birthdays, weddings, christmas etc. Why not position this brand as comfort food?Like in the stress of your existence- we turn back to that special, baked cake that my aunt made. Else they can also be positioned as gourmet. When you are in the process of deciding on the launch strategy- you will have to take one of them and later do brand extentions into the other category given that the price points of confort food and gourmet cakes will be different.

On Packaging: Shd you decide on gourmet positioning a suggestion would be marketing and positioning it on its origins for eg:Called 'Schwarz-walder-kirsch-torte' in German, which means Black Forest Cherry Torte (torte is the German word for cake). Each cake could come in a box with its history.[the Black Forest Region (Der Schwarzwald in German) located in the state of Baden-Warttemberg. The name, Schwarzwald, evokes darkness and mystery coming from the romantic German concept of Waldeinsamkeit or forest-loneliness. This region is known for its sour cherries and Kirsch or Kirschwasser (a double distilled, clear cherry brandy made from the sour Morello cherry). Combine these cherries with the German's love of chocolate, and you have this wonderful chocolate confection with cream and cherries. ]
Hope this helps.

I would begin sifting out any interesting family history/info to help begin building the brand, naming the company, naming the product(s). Right now I believe "family recipes" is key.

Next, possible product manufacturers, FDA requirements for manufacture, shelf life, packaging details. Would definitely poll current buyers to gauge the market and determine who/why/when purchasing. Would require interesting packaging design and history I believe.

Reminded me of Panettone when I originally read your post.

I remember from my college years reading about a local service that would bake and deliver cookies and cakes to order, 24 hours a day. I thought it was ingenious, and I would have gladly paid the somewhat steep price just to have had those fresh-baked goods delivered to me, had this business been anywhere close to where I went to school.

While I'm sure your client will not be going after the night-owl college crowd, perhaps the branding could include a message about out-of-the-oven, into-the-home delivery? Perhaps this could only be offered as a premium service, but it might be worth thinking about. It's expected for pizza, but I don't think anyone expects it for cake, and it might might turns some heads and win some business.

Randall-
This is one of those clients that fall right into my niche. High-end, gourmet, product conceptualization... a ton of fun. I eat this stuff up (pun intended.)

Distribution:
Is this a preservative free product? Will it or can it be frozen? I ask these questions because of the distribution. Regional gourmet bakeries generally distribute their baked goods in within a day's ride in bread trucks because they are preservative free, all natural, organic products (never frozen). One of my clients (baking about 70,000 loaves daily) ranged from Boston to Baltimore.

I would go after restaurants and caterers, gourmet stores. Definitely go to the Fancy Food Show in NYC. Get them on QVC (which can be a struggle). They have whole shows devoted to gourmet food. If they go after major supermarket chains, (which might be the wrong market) they need to hire people to go to the markets and do tastings and hand out coupons. Dealing with supermarkets is a study unto itself because of changes in our society and wicked competition. Every one of them here in Bucks County is trying to do it all... bakery, catering, shrimp bars, wing bars, panini grills.

Ingredients:
This sounds like it will be a higher priced item. The trend here is definitely towards all natural ingredients. Consumers are becoming ever more conscious of food additives and are making informed buying decisions. They want products that taste better and will pay more for good products. Consumers eat desserts as a treat and they are developing more sophisticated and discerning palates. If they are going to eat a calorie rich dessert, they want it to taste incredible.

The positioning in one word: Indulgence.

Packaging:
Has to be the absolute best. High-end, very creative. Graphic elements have to scream quality. If they go the supermarket route it is a tough road. The product can be fabulous but if it doesn't translate quickly, and come to life and be able to compete with a zillion other brands, they will never make it. This is a fiercely competitive market and packaging is (almost) everything. Package in single or double serving size. Consumers are more likely to buy a small cake for themselves. They only buy a big cake because of an event, dinner party or holiday meal.

Naming:
This is a taste and touch thing for me. Hard to name a product like this unless I use all my senses. I would however throw out the idea to do a seasonal series to go along with their normal range. For instance, a "red, white & blueberry cake" (raspberries, strawberries & blueberries) around the 4th of July, or a Pumpkin Spice Cake during the fall, A Cranberry Chocolate Rum during Christmas etc.
Also look into food & drink trends. Limoncello is a hot summer drink here. Do a rum cake with limoncello. Would be fantastic. I can almost taste it now.

Partner with others:
There is an unbelievable coffee company somewhere near Pittsburg called Arbuckles. I order ground coffee online from them and it is the best darn coffee I have ever had (and no, they aren't a client.) If your cakes can be frozen, perhaps there is a coffee & cake budding relationship here.

Partner with the Rum company:
Could there be some opportunity here to do a joint campaign?

I could go on and on but my clients await. Have fun with this one. And don't eat it up all your profits!
Mop

agree with MOB on the packagin part. I've helped clients with some fancy packaging lately and they have increased their sale twofold. A good packaging of the product shows the quality/commitment of the cakes they are selling. So get an agency with some packaging background and once you come up with the direction of the brand they should be able to assist you with the look and feel that works.

Your client also needs engage the services of a good photographer and stylist. Nicely styled images is very important in selling the brand.


good luck

Randall,

You have some great responses here - particularly Kathy's and mop's. Two very smart ladies at the top of their game and you'd do well to listen to them. Between theirs, there isn't much room to contribute. BUT, that hasn't stopped me before!

First, buddy, advise your clients to keep their consultant away from the hooch! (just kidding)

The starting point for this client is understanding their goals. What are the personal goals of the clients? Do they want to exit the working world and make a living doing something they like or are they in the mode to build a dynasty? What's their energy level? Do they want to keep this venture all to themselves - in which case they are limited by their skills (albeit augmented highly by one skilled consultant dude) and their resources, or do they want to go after some venture capital, built it to an empire, and cash out?

Next is to take a look at their desires for business models. What do they want to be when they grow up? Do they want "very controllable" where they have one retail store with square footing in displays and everyone stops by, picks out their choice, and then trots home? Or is this a retail store/restaurant - tables, coffee, maybe WiFi? Or is this a chain of stores in the locale? Or is it a mail order place with a web eCommerce site, catalogues, direct mail campaigns, SEO, and a baking factory? Or is this a franchise where there are a bunch of stores around the country (or world) with standard very secret recipes and pre-prepared ingredients and business models? Each of these scenarios takes a completely different skill set, management effort, investment, roll out. The payback for each (speed and magnitude) are different too. Each scenario takes a different mindset for your clients too. And if they ain't got it, they have to get it through partnering or hiring the right people at the right time.

Each of the options means a different customer set too. I think, given the product, the positioning of "gourmet," as Kathy and mop expressed, is right for any of the scenarios. But, ethnics will probably play a role in this from a customer standpoint. For instance, I would think that the rum-based products would play well in areas where the background is predominantly of European origin. Like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Most of PA and NY, etc. And NOT like in predominantly Hispanic Miami. And I doubt Asian cultures would buy into rum based sweets. So if your clients want to capitalize in the southern states or globally, they may need to augment their recipe stores with other rich pastries that are more to the pleasing of other ethnicities. So in each scenario needs of the customer and customer segments have to be accounted for. At the same time, each scenario brings in a different competitive landscape. Competitive analysis has to be a factor. And, completing the analysis, each scenario has to incorporate the core competencies of the owners today and what needs to be added to get them into a sustainable competitive advantage with unique selling points (e.g. packaging and shipping needs, factory setups, supply chains, and the rest of the things in the SWOT). Additionally, legal requirements comes in - with alcohol based stuff, you need to make sure you are legally OK in all various locations you are planning to go to. You don't want your clients to be hauled into court because they didn't cook the alcohol off enough and some third grader got their class and teacher drunk at their school birthday party! Of course, each scenario requires a completely different marketing approach. If they want to go franchise, you are really selling a business model versus the other scenarios are selling loaded cookies. If you stay local, internet isn't as big a factor versus radio, signage. If you go café versus bakeshop, parking situations have to be reviewed....

So, pal, what I'm saying is that the first place to begin is to have a heart to heart with the clients and see how far they want to go. Paint the pictures for them in terms of risks, effort, and rewards. Hey, we can do almost anything with them - it all depends on where they want to be.

You want to talk more, you got the number...always available for you!

I hope this helps.

Wayde

Randall

Bit slow on the uptake here but I think you need to step back and get an appreciation of the big picture from the client's perspective.

That is, if they even have a big picture. If they don't it's probably something you need to help them form. Marcus has already the key questions about distribution - please enlarge that line of thinking to the whole logistics/supply chain, not just outlets, but manufacturing, storage, warehousing, delivery systems, reverse logistics for faulty items, etc, etc... All that needs to be in place. Don't do ANYTHING with national outlets - even regional ones - until you understand their standard terms and conditions for doing business.

I recently had a client who negotiated a national deal including pricing, then to get the agreement documented by the retail chain to find it included so-called standard charges for inventory acceptance, discounts prompt payment (i.e. less than 90 days!), and the right to return all unsold merchandise at any point. Imagine stocking 500 stores nationally, then to have to accept all that stock back with no penalties.

As Marcus puts it so succinctly, once the client has decided to dance with the devil, they're at the devil's beck and call.

Perhaps a more reasonable, but still aspirational model for you to consider at the moment might be the "little old bakery in Corsicana, Texas" - they started small and a long time ago. I remember twenty five years ago getting a brochure and order form from them, with my Amex statement. And sure enough, that year, from various gift-givers, we received three of their fruit cakes. All the way to Melbourne Australia. Amazing. Delectable. We still have the tins.

Wayde and Marcus have suggested making sure you have a deep and meaningful, heart to heart with each of the family members. I'd like to suggest you formalise that process with a private, one on one discussion with each family member who is going to be involved, financially, organisationally, operationally, whether passively or actively. Map all their responses and see whether there are any potential disconnects and/or discords at this early stage. Better to meet them head on now, than in a remedial stage later.

Don't be fobbed off with "we don't need to get too hidebound, we know what we're doing, we have a strategy, we just haven't written it down". An unwritten strategic plan is a like a cheque in the mail.

Good luck, sounds like a great assignment.