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Introduction
Heinz Ketchup brand was founded by H. J Heinz Company in 1876 (Heinz 9). Heinz Tomato Ketchup is made from fresh and juicy tomatoes. Therefore, it is a brand that stands out on its own. As a matter of fact, it is the company’s fastest and bestselling brand.
In addition, it is the top brand that it has ever marketed and distributed in various markets across the world (Heinz 23). Since its introduction, it has remained the company’s best brand of Ketchup. Heinz Tomato Ketchup is exported to various countries all over the world.
Discussion
The maker of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, H. J Heinz Company, uses the total market approach. This is because the brand is used by almost all market segments. Heinz Tomato Ketchup is used as a condiment for various foods (Summerskill 13). These foods include; hot dogs, chips, French fries and others that are used by all age groups. Therefore, the company uses total market approach to reach this wide market.
As a matter of fact, it has curved out its own niche market because of good quality, undisputable texture and taste (Heinz 11). Total market approach enables the company to reach many customers instead of focusing on a given market segment that might not be sustainable. This is why Heinz Tomato Ketchup can go well with other Ketchup friendly foods. In addition, it is served in many restaurants and can also be bought in all retail outlets in countries that it operates in like USA and Canada.
There are various forces that make up Heinz Ketchups’ marketing environment. For instance, political factors define the way the company markets itself. These factors include; various regulations and legislations. Different laws are also a force that makes up its marketing environment (Summerskill 15).
Such laws differ in relation to a given state or countries code of conduct. Economic forces like the labor market and economy dictate how the company approach’s the market. The state of the economy has a direct impact on the company’s sales volume.
Social factors have an impact on the company’s marketing environment. This is because lifestyle variations and population keep on changing and the company adjusts itself as time goes by (Poulter 21). There are various health conscious consumers with different attitudes. The company cannot ignore such people as they have an impact on its marketing activities. Information technology is a technological factor that makes up the company’s marketing environment.
Competitors are always increasing and the company knows this as a force that needs to be attended to. Increased competition dictates that the company should increase its marketing activities. There are many substitute products and brands in the market that play a critical role in the company’s marketing environment (Poulter 28).
Current consumers pay more attention to health and convenience. These consumers buy Heinz tomato ketchup because it offers them delicious and nutritional value. In this case, more attention and focus is paid on pharmaceutical value. Therefore, these are the most important factors that influence the consumer buying behavior for Heinz tomato ketchup (Heinz 32). As a matter of fact, consumers put the company on pressure to continue producing new and innovative products.
Current trends on lifestyles and their attitude at a given time influence consumer buying behavior. This is because Heinz tomato ketchup is used as a condiment for various foods. Because consumers have different attitudes, they may exhibit distinct buying behavior (Dienstag 9). This affects and dictates their decision making on how they purchase the product. The urge for healthy eating has also had an impact on consumer purchasing behavior.
Heinz tomato ketchup is in the maturity stage of the product life cycle. The product has been in existence for a very long time. As a matter of fact, it is the longest brand that the company has. This can be explained from the fact that there is strong brand awareness in the market. To avoid stagnation in sales, the company has been improving on its taste and coming up with new and innovative ways to enhance it (Poulter 22).
For instance, the company has continually improved its nutritional value because of increased competition to maintain its market share. Its marketing campaigns have been aimed at increasing the usage per customer. As much as this stage is characterized by a reduction in prices to keep of competition, the company has not been reducing its prices (Dienstag 13).
H. J Heinz Company manufactures many products in the market. For instance, apart from Heinz Ketchup, its most popular products include Ore-Ida, Classico, Smart Ones, Heinz Beanz and Weight Watchers (Heinz 32). The company also manufactures meals and snacks like Boston Market, Delimex and Bagal bites. In addition, it manufactures infant and nutrition products like Wattie’s, Nurture and Plasmon (Heinz 16). The company has a large and distinct range of products for various markets across the globe.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup fits into the company’s product mix because it has continually met its expectations. As a matter of fact, the company has thousands of products for different markets. As much as Ketchup is the company’s flagship product, it has complemented well with other products like Ore-Ida and frozen potatoes (Heinz 13).
The Heinz product line includes various sauces and ketchup like Heinz ketchup, Classico and Lea & Perrins. Therefore, it has fit in the product line because of its taste appeal and health choice (Dienstag 13). In addition, the company has expanded its product line to respond to emerging market trends and needs. This has been adjusted in relation to different markets tastes and preferences.
There are various competitors in the market as far as Heinz Tomato Ketchup is concerned. As a matter of fact, the market has a very large number of consumer leading brands that pose a big threat to Heinz Tomato Ketchup. Some of this leading brands include; Tarantella, Elefante, Pomarola and Extratomato (Summerskill 18). There are also other tomato sauce and paste products that compete with Heinz Ketchup. These include organic Tomato Basil Sauce that comes in different tastes.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup has remained competitive because it is free from preservatives and various colorings that have been seen in different products (Heinz 29). As much as it faces a lot of competition, the company prides itself for adding flavor to different foods. Heinz ketchup comes in different designs and this has been its most distinct packaging approach.
As far as shelf placement is concerned, Heinz Ketchup is placed in its own corner on the shelves. This can be said to be strategic placement because of its unique design and pricing (Poulter 13). I discovered that this was replicated in almost all the retail stores that I visited like Shoprite, A&P and Wal Mart. Therefore, Heinz Ketchup relies on shelf placement, brand recognition and packaging to attract customers. This has enabled it to compete well with other products and brands in the market and shelves.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup has continually been redesigned to give it a new look. Redesigning has been done based on previous designs. Although there are other brands in the market, the brand is packaged in a new and squeezy bottle that makes it easy to use. In addition, it also has a unique deep and squeeze-dual function that other brands don’t have (Heinz 14).
Its labeling has unique elements that are added every now and then to meet market trends and lifestyles. As much as it has been redesigned to give it a fresh look, it has maintained its unique brand identity. The products image makes it more appealing to customers and this has been its marketing strength (Summerskill 8).
For instance, this was its initial design and label but this has been changed as time goes by. In the process, the company has been able to add on new features to make it more appealing. The figure below shows the company’s current and new design.
Although its competitors have good designs, they are not as striking as Heinz Tomato Ketchups design and labeling.
Heinz Ketchup products are competitively priced in the market. In this case, its prices range from $1.79 for a 24 Oz container and $3.29 for a 32 Oz container (Heinz 7). Although, its products are a pull with various consumers, the company has been forced to reduce its prices in relation to everyday low pricing as competition intensifies. As much as prices have plunged in different markets, the company has maintained its critical approach to pricing (Heinz 21). The company has stuck with its brand name pricing strategy and this can make consumers to switch to other brands.
The company has a very wide promotional mix that it uses to reach the market. In this case, it uses all the aspects of promotional mix (Pearson& Martinez 34). Its promotional mix includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, cooperate image, public relations and direct marketing (Heinz 29). As a matter of fact, it has carried out various sales promotions to reach out to different consumers.
Heinz Ketchup has carried out numerous advertising campaigns. This has been both print and TV commercials (Sweney 11). For instance, the company has been running a TV commercial called Heinz restaurant. In addition, there has been the Necklace print advert that was done by Mark BBDO.
These adverts have enabled it to reach out to many consumers in the market and maintain its presence. As a matter of fact, radio and TV adverts have been used to attract people to its site (Heinz 3).
The company has also used sales promotion and publicity to reach out to consumers. In October 2010, the company unveiled a digital promotional campaign with various supermarkets like Tesco and Asda (Heinz 9). In this case, recipe cards will be given to shoppers to drive them to the campaign site. Heinz Ketchup has maintained its unique distribution channel that it has used to reach customers.
It is supplied indirectly to retail consumers through various channels like grocery stores and supermarkets. In addition, it has also outsourced product warehousing and distribution to companies like ES3 (Heinz 5). This has been done by signing various agreements to identify distribution centers.
Conclusion
I think that Heinz Ketchup is a brand that will continue being in the market for a long time. This brand has built a strong customer relationship with various consumers because of its uniqueness and freshness. As a matter of fact, consumers recognize the product from its unique design and label. The company has done a good job by continually repackaging and redesigning the brand to keep up with increased competition. The company has enough consumer attention because of its taste and this will continue making it a market leader.
Works Cited
Dienstag, Foa, Eleanor. In Good Company: 125 Years At The Heinz Table. New York: Warner Books, 1994. Print.
Heinz. Products. 2010. Web.
Pearson, Jake and Martinez, Jose. A classic gets revamped! Heinz gives ketchup packet a makeover. New York: Daily News, 2010. Print.
Poulter, Sean. Heinz creates world’s smallest microwave (and you can plug it into your laptop). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman &Littlefield Publishers, 2009. Print.
Summerskill, Ben. Beanz meanz bigotz. London: The Guardian, 2008. Print.
Sweney, Mark. Heinz pulls ad showing men kissing. London: Random House, 2008. Print.
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