Marketing Research Project - Cult Yogurt

NATHANIEL BAO AKANKSA CHAUBAL MICHELLE LI

ANDERS BJELLA CHRISTINA CHEN JANE TAN

Founded in 2013

Montreal-based

You deserve well cultured yogurt. “ ” LOCALLY PRODUCED

GOURMET FLAVOURS

EUROPEAN GLASS JARS

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Restaurants Delivery Catering – Yogurt Bar

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The answers to these questions would fulfill our objectives to enhance Cult’s positioning in the market, and increase sales and target market exposure.

Determining target market demographics Assessing the current state of the yogurt market Evaluating the Cult’s current product packaging and offerings Gauging the perception of the Cult brand.

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RESEARCH PROCESS

1.

2.

3 Focus groups female 18-24, female 25-34, male 18-34 2 In-depth interviews Online survey via Qualtrics Screening questions How often they eat regular yogurt and Greek yogurt? Demographic questions (age, gender, profession, weekly groceries spending, geography)

General consumer habits Ideal yogurt product and packaging Assess Cult’s current positioning

3.

DATA COLLECTION AND SAMPLING

contest to win Starbucks gift card

301 Total resulting sample size  

18-34  Sampling frame: Year old | male and female | living in Montreal

Distributed  

sampling (quota sampling)

through Facebook groups, Twitter hashtags, in cafes (loaded on iPads)

Incentive  

Nonprobability  

SAMPLE DEMOGRAPHICS

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100

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male female

Freq

uenc

y

Gender

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100

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student working professionals

other

Profession

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20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Location in Montreal

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under 18 18-24 25-34

Age Group

TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS

Female 25-34 age group

Professionals Downtown & Plateau

HEAVY CONSUMERS of GREEK & REGULAR YOGURT

Consume yogurt at least once/week

Loyal to Greek yogurt

More likely to consume Greek over regular despite of other factors

More concerned with low fat

Heavy consumers of Greek yogurt

No meaningful differences between the genders

Price Flavor Brand Size > > >

PRODUCT PREFERENCES

Most important factors when purchasing yogurt products for heavy users

Factors most heavily affect purchase intention

Value for money Availability Healthiness Quality > > >

Descriptive analysis test and difference analysis tests

Predictive analysis test ☛ linear relationship between importance factors for the ideal yogurt product vs. heavy consumption of yogurt

Significant factors ☛ probiotic | brand I trust | good value for money

FINDINGS: PACKAGING

Unique packaging and isn’t wasteful

Descriptive analysis to find significant differences in frequency

glass jars

foil seal and logo size =  

Most important for the best packaging of yogurt products

Visibility of ingredients Easy to store/dispose Protect the product from damage

Linear regression predictive analysis t ☛ packaging importance factors vs. purchase decisions

FINDINGS: PACKAGING

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Individual single serve Pack of single serve (4-8 servings)

Medium size (aprox. 500g)

Large size (approx. 1L)

What packaging size do you usually purchase?

More frequent yogurt consumers are more likely to purchase larger containers (medium/large) than less frequent eaters.

Single serving was the most popular size, while medium size containers, surprisingly, was a close runner-up.

Correlation between gender and serving size: female participants prefer small serving sizes.

Overall, customers are satisfied with Cult’s individual serving size

FLAVOR PREFERENCES Most popular options Vanilla Chai Strawberry Bergamont Mango Lassi

(Focus group loved the options)

83% of people stated that flavor options increase the likelihood that they would purchase Cult yogurt

of the respondents are willing to purchase Cult Yogurt at a price of $3.25.

FINDINGS: PRICING

Level of consumption doesn’t affect how much consumers are willing to pay. Everyone expect to pay the same.

Very fixed market equilibrium price → unmovable

Regular Yogurt  The more the consumer consumes Greek yogurt, the more they are willing to pay for Cult Yogurt.

Change in price will lead to change in quantity

Greek Yogurt  

of the respondents are only willing to pay $3 or less 84%  

36%  

FINDINGS: PLACE OF PURCHASE

Downtown Mile End Westmount

Expected distribution

location  

Grocery store - local/niche Café/coffee shops Farmers market

Consumption situation  

Snack Breakfast

Weekly grocery spending >$100  

OVERALL POSITIONING

Create perception of a good value of money

Probiotic High quality Healthy Sustainable

Position toward “fresh” and “healthy” Breakfast or snack option

RECOMMENDATIONS: PLACE

✔ ✔ Increase distribution channel to include more cafés and niche grocery stores in the greater Montreal area

Promote yogurt bars heavily Leverage summer festivals in Montreal to promote the Cult brand

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RECOMMENDATIONS: PROMOTION

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Maintain a presence in the local “green” community… farmers markets

Continue leveraging social media campaigns… encourage people to post to Instagram or Facebook with the Cult Yogurt page ✔

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Emphasis on recyclability of glass jar

Made in Montreal PROBIOTICS

GREEK YOGURT�

BREAKFAST | SNACK | DESSERT

RECOMMENDATIONS: PRICE

✔ Short run: maintain price (skim pricing) Focus on promotion (reaching more target customers) Expand production capacity

✔ Long run: as variable costs decrease slowly decrease price to $2-$3 range to gain more sales

RECOMMENDATIONS: PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS: PACKAGING

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Keep glass jar that shows the ingredients

Recycling rebate program (+ non-wasteful eco-friendly image) Replace foil cap w/ recycled resealable plastic cap

Labeling: + vivid colors + nutritional information & ingredients + buzzwords: probiotic, locally sourced, high quality

RECOMMENDATIONS: PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS: SIZE

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Keep current individual serving size (140g) ☛ cafés

Introduce medium (500-750g) and large options (1L) ☛ grocery stores and delivery service

RECOMMENDATIONS: PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS: FLAVORS

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Currently good job ☛ variety of flavors promotes willingness to purchase

Continue innovating with new flavors.

Position as a breakfast food ☛ offer healthy granola parfaits that can be eaten both in the morning and as a snack

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OPEN A FRESH YOGURT BAR

Gain more exposure to Cult’s target market

Go-to place for breakfast and snack

Downtown area | morning high traffic area near Montreal’s corporate district

Freshly made and packed to-go parfaits (seasonally changing) + fresh fruit, nuts, grain, and granola

Build the Cult brand + direct access to consumers to continuously improve their yogurt offerings

Thank you