Marketing for Kudler Fine Foods

1980 Words4 Pages

Marketing Assignment

Kathy Kudler opened the first Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) store in 1998. After shopping for fine food ingredients, store to store, Kathy realized she could combine her love of gourmet cooking in a one-stop shopping experience with her marketing expertise to target other people’s culinary passions. Three store locations now operate in California and Kathy recently contracted with organic growers to provide her customers with locally grown organic produce, and has decided to expand KFF further by adding a catering business.

KFF's rapid growth over the last 10 years and the catering opportunities will affect KFF immensely. Kathy will need to evaluate carefully the marketing methods to launch the new catering business, assess the relative value of the market research, and identify the components of the marketing mix for KFF’s new catering service (product, place, price, promotion). She will need to determine the products KFF should offer and how the company will determine the price structure compared to other catering companies in the area. In terms of a catering service, term place will be explained. Kathy will decide how KFF will promote the catering service and how KFF’s target market affects the use of technology. If Kathy decides to launch the catering service, she will need to decide how her decision will mesh with the recent contracting of organic growers and how the decision will affect the success of KFF.

Relative Value of Market Research

KKF needs to realize the importance and value of performing market research, and the feedback the research will bring to the company. Market research is the process of defining marketing problems and to identify opportunities for the company. Collecting and analyzing information to benefit the business so the feedback makes the necessary changes and improves the business (Berkowitz, Hartley & Kerin, 2006). Before adding a catering business KFF needs to determine the risks and opportunities of adding such a service. Marketing research is used to determine the risks the company will encounter, the unknowns that can influence the business and to improve decisions the marketing department makes (Berkowitz, Hartley & Kerin, 2006). By using the marketing research tool KFF will be able to incorporate solid business decisions and changes into the sales plan.

Evaluating the risks and opportunities of their plan to market a catering business, KKF should include the reality of local catering businesses to determine if they will maintain their competitive edge. Looking at the potential customer base and how the customers will use the catering services will determine if a catering service will be cost effective.

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