samanthamccloskeyblog

[samanthamccloskeyblog]

The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company has always had a vast selection of products. They have continued to expand their product line over the years. While chocolate is very popular and does not plan on going away anytime soon, The Hershey Company has acquired several snacking brands to incorporate with their brands. These snacks include Pirates Booty, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, SkinnyPop, etc. Everyone loves a good snack, but consumers want chocolate from The Hershey Company.

The past several years diet trends or dietary needs have had a huge impact on consumer trends. Those participating in these trends want to be able in indulge in chocolate as a treat and The Hershey Company makes it a little difficult for them to do that. My suggestion would be to expand into a new market and new products that would fit the desired dietary needs of those specific consumers. As of right now the classic plain milk chocolate bar and the milk chocolate bar with almonds are considered gluten free. Diversifying the gluten free and selection would expand their target market and increase sales. Another product line can be vegan based, also expanding their target market and increasing sales. While products like these already exist outside of The Hershey Company, it is important for them to be inclusive for such a well-known and popular brand. With these new products they will be able to supply them to their retail store, distribute them to any grocery stores, baking businesses, and possibly even to businesses who specialize in fitness and health. They can also get these products to become more popular by partner with celebrities or influences are vegan and gluten free. This would give the products more recognition since it is not everyday people are looking at The Hershey Company website, visiting their stores, or even just buying chocolate every day. The expansion of these dietary products almost is a necessity for the continuation of success for The Hershey Company. 

Sources:

https://www.verywellfit.com/gluten-free-chocolate-bars-562448#:~:text=Hershey's%20Chocolate,only%20in%20the%201.45%20oz. https://www.hersheyland.com/brands https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2021/06/07/Hershey-2020-Sustainability-Report-advances-firm-s-diversity-equity-inclusion-policies https://www.pinterest.com/pin/673569687998688543/

[samanthamccloskeyblog]

McDonald’s Celebrity Meals

McDonalds has always been known for their kids’ meals that include toys. They have always partnered with popular movies, games, or characters for these toys. This heavily influenced children’s desires for a Happy Meal. While they continue to do this, they have recently penetrated a new market, celebrity meals. McDonald’s will partner with popular celebrities and create their ideal meal. For example, rapper Travis Scott partnered with McDonald’s fall 2020. His meal consisted of a medium sprite, a quarter pounder with bacon, and fries with barbecue sauce. Although you can purchase a meal like this at any time of the year, Travis’ name had this meal selling like crazy. The celebrity themself is such a huge marketing tactic that is already built into these campaigns. The celebrity’s social media accounts are already receiving a lot of traffic to promote the meals and even listening to their music might be an indicator that they remembered they wanted to try their new meal.  This meal idea has also been a great success with other celebrities, I believe that McDonald’s can take a step further into this market. One of their biggest competitors now is Popeyes because they are also partnering with celebrities to create their meal. Megan Thee Stallion has created her own meal but has also created a new item, Hottie Sauce. McDonald’s has had significantly more success with these celebrity partnerships, however if Popeyes continues to partner with more celebrities while providing a new product, they have a chance to out beat McDonald’s. Because of this, McDonald’s should expand their products within the celebrity meals by having the celebrity create a new product they would purchase themselves. This would give them more leverage over competitors because of their experiences with these partnerships and the new products.

While expanding into new markets and expanding to new products is risky, McDonald’s has shown great success with changes within their company. They will have to master these celebrity meals and their new products but also stay on top of consumer and market trends. Consumers expect convenience and McDonalds has provided order ahead and pick-up. Another trend they will have to build upon is consistency with food quality. Consumers do not like to have their Big Mac taste different every time. While this a typical expectation, it is difficult to master because this falls on management of each McDonald’s location. Another consumer trend to stay up to date with is healthier fast-food options. While this might be tricky since fast food is typically greasy unhealthy foods, they can use the celebrity meals to their advantage. Consider partnering with a vegan or general health-conscious celebrity that would create a healthier McDonald’s meal. Market and product expansions seem that they will be very beneficial for McDonald’s in the long run.

Sources:

https://www.verdictfoodservice.com/comment/celebrity-collaborations-for-mcdonalds/ https://www.eater.com/22152480/travis-scott-forbes-30-under-30-mcdonalds-meal-deal

[samanthamccloskeyblog]

#AerieREAL Marketing Campaign

Beauty standards are heavily influence by the fashion industry, they go hand in hand. Majority of popular clothing brands use models that are based on the world’s beauty standards. The Aerie Real campaign has taken a huge step in breaking the beauty standard with the fashion industry. The campaign started in 2014, encouraging body positivity and photos without retouching. Thus far, it has been very successful. Aerie has encouraged their consumers and followers to be part of their marketing campaign with the #AerieREAL hashtag. Consumers can post on social media with this hashtag showing of their natural bodies in their Aerie attire. This marketing campaign promotes positivity and inclusivity, while also lifting the brands image. It has also been beneficial financially for the brand. Since 2014, Victoria’s Secret’s (a huge competitor) market share has been slowly declined. Their inability to be body positive and size inclusive has negatively affected them tremendously. Hundreds of stores have been closing across the nation. If they want to hold on to their few remaining consumers, they will need to make some major changes to their marketing strategies. 

Now that #AerieREAL is an established and most likely permanent marketing campaign, it is important for Aerie to expand on this image and grow. Their current target market includes women ages 14-35, and more specifically college students. A next step to expand this target market would be market and product expansion. I think Aerie should strategize to expand to men’s line within the company. Although Aerie is women focused I think adding a men’s line or creating another American Eagle brand that is like Aerie, but is for men, would be perfect. This new market would include new products such as intimates, t-shirts, athletic clothing, and swimsuits. While majority of body positivity movements are seen within women and women’s clothing, the same positivity and inclusivity can also be provided for men. By do so, their target market would include men and women ages 12-35 as well as men and women college students. With the men’s line, Aerie would be competing more with Calvin Klein and their men’s lines. Expanding within a new market and including new products while also keeping in touch with their popular marketing campaign is a way to bring in new customers and increase sales. Staying up to date with popular styles, trends, and keeping average to low pricing will also allow them to stay on top of the market. 

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelleykohan/2020/06/28/aeos-aerie-brand-built-on-body-positivity-and-inclusion-is-slowly-edging-out-sexy-supermodel-juggernaut-victorias-secret/?sh=4646a2842ba1

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahkim/2020/01/31/aerie-disability-representation/?sh=613d29c250bd

https://www.aeo-inc.com/our-brands/

[samanthamccloskeyblog]

Dunkin’ vs. Starbucks: What is the difference?

Millions of people wake up and the first thing they think of is their morning coffee. Some consumers are very specific about what kind of coffee they drink and how it IS made. There are also consumers who will drink any coffee and are happy to have it. Most coffee consumers have heard the debate over Dunkin’ vs. Starbucks. When consumers debate over their personal preference, they consider a few things; quality of the coffee, pricing, and variety of options. I will compare these factors of both Dunkin’ and Starbucks based off current consumer preferences.

Quality

One of the main arguments consumers encounter most is that Starbuck’s coffee is better quality thank Dunkin’. In the past consumers report their coffee tasting bitter or even burnt. From personal experience I can say this has happened several times, where at Starbucks it has not. The past few years Dunkin’ has done some rebranding and made some changes within their products, slowly becoming better and better. On the other hand, some consumers say Starbucks often provides the lower quality coffee. At the end of the day, I believe the quality of coffee comes down to each individual store and how it is managed.  

Pricing/Rewards

Rewards programs play a large role in consumer behavior and business’s abilities to build relationships with those consumers. Dunkin has DD Perks. With this program you get a few beverages for signing up, which is always something consumers are looking for. DD Perk’s members receive 5 points for every $1 spent and receive a free drink for every 200 points earned. Starbucks provides 2 stars for every $1 spent while using a Starbucks gift card or 1 star for every $1 spent when using cash or card payments. One benefit of Starbucks rewards is that you can redeem your stars using various amounts unlike Dunkin’. Starbucks Rewards redemptions goes as follows: 

Because of this you have the option to save up your stars or use them as you go! While both rewards systems are beneficial to consumer and keep them coming back for more, pricing and sizing between these two companies differs. Dunkin’ provides more product for less. For example, a medium iced coffee is 24 ounces, costing $2.99. Starbucks grande (medium) iced coffee is only 16 ounces, costing $3.45. As we can see it seems that Dunkin may be at the advantage in this area. Consumers get more product for less, and rewards are more beneficial in the long run.

Variety

Both Dunkin’ and Starbucks have a variety of products to choose from, including those that are not coffee. Breakfast and lunch options are provided at each location. Breakfast at Dunkin include donuts, muffins, bagels, egg sandwiches, hash browns and more. Starbucks similarly offers various pastries, bagels, egg sandwiches, as well as some fresh fruit and cheese packages. Over the past few years lunch options within each company has expanded significantly, both providing multiple sandwich types and smaller snack items. While both have a handful of options to choose from Dunkin is better known for their sweeter breakfast options, and Starbucks has more of the savory options for both breakfast and lunch.

Coffee variety is no problem at either establishment. You can purchase regular hot or iced coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, espresso shots, and cold brew. Dunkin has recently expanded to a few beverages other than coffee. They have always had their coolattas, hot chocolate and iced tea, but their biggest add-on yet is their refreshers. Refreshers have been a big part of Starbucks products and Dunkin’ finally decided to take advantage of their popularity. Along with their refreshers, Starbucks also has black and green tea, frappuccino (caffeinated or not), and juice. The biggest downfall for Starbucks most recently is their supply chain issues. This has led to limited supply of various food items and many drinks components.

Closing

 Without supply chain issues at either company, I believe both can provide as sustainable meal and beverage at any time of the day. In 2020, Starbucks earned a revenue of $23.5 billion and Dunkin’ coming in behind with only $287.4 million in revenue. Despite this big difference in revenue, i believe Dunkin’ is the more popular company between the two. Their benefits outweigh Starbuck’s when it comes to the convenience and desires of coffee consumers. 

Sources:

https://swirled.com/starbucks-vs-dunkin-donuts/ https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/11/21/does-starbucks-still-have-lots-of-upside-potential/ https://www.starbucks.com/menu https://www.dunkindonuts.com/en https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-vs-dunkin-donuts-better-coffee-chain-2018-9 https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/dunkin-donuts-vs-starbucks-drink-wars-raging

[samanthamccloskeyblog]

Target Holiday Shopping & Supply Chain

Year after year Target excels with their Black Friday and holiday shopping deals. Since the start of COVID-19 many businesses, specifically retail stores, struggled with the supply chain. The past year we have seen our favorite products out of stock for extended periods of time, having us questioning when they will return. For the 2021 holiday season Target decided to begin their deals a little early, immediately after Halloween came to an end. The supply chain and shipping issues that once held a major problem for them, has been cleared for the holiday deals to begin on time.  Target employees have been seen the past few weeks filling the shelves with holiday favorites. A key to this success for Target is the increase in hiring employees. Inventory is back up, so they need the employees to keep up with the shipments. It will be interesting to see other retailers who notoriously succeed during the holidays and determine if their supply chain negatively affected their sales. At this time, Target is on track for success.

Having inventory stocked and ready for Target has already been benefiting them so far this season. The third fiscal quarter brought in $1.488 billion in sales. In comparison to the third quarter the sales have gone up 46.8%.  A big part of these sales are the digital sales. Because their supply chain and shipments are back on track, digital sales have also been through the roof. The increase in inventory and employees is very beneficial for these digital sales so they can be fulfilled in each Target store. As we know COVID-19 has played a huge part in the digital sales within Target and other retail stores. Will these digital sales continue as the pandemic fades or has this become a new convenient trend for consumers? I believe digital sales are here to stay in the long run, but the high sales numbers might not as be as significant as they are now.  However, I also believe that the digital sales will be as successful they are now specifically during the holiday season in order to provide the convenience consumers are looking for.

Sources

https://corporate.target.com/article/2021/10/supply-chain-update https://tcbmag.com/target-execs-tout-holiday-shopping-readiness/ https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/target-walmart-inventory-supply-chain-disruptions

[samanthamccloskeyblog]

Expansion of the Hard Seltzer Market

Hard seltzers are carbonated, flavored, alcoholic beverages (within the beer family). Within the past few years, the hard seltzer market took a turn for the best. This trend took off without looking back. Most popular since the beginning is White Claw as well as Truly. From there, every company in the market suddenly had a hard seltzer in their product mix. The variety to choose from today is overwhelming e.g., Truly, White Claw, Corona Refresca, High Noon, Bud Light Seltzers, Vizzy, etc. This market has certainly expanded significantly over the past few years, the real question is will it ever stop? While I believe that the hard seltzer market is not going anywhere, I do believe the initial craze is going away. Hard seltzer consumers initially loved the few companies in the market so with the additions it does not feel special, taking that craze away. With the craze fading I still believe the sales within the market will be significant. Hard seltzers are a great replacement for those who do not favorite beer or hard liquor. Most seltzers are gluten-free as well which is a plus for that community. These beverages are great replacement beverages for a night of light drinking, those who are health-conscious, or for those who just love the taste! Considering these factors, the target market of hard seltzers include young/middle-aged adults who enjoy casual drinking while also living a healthy and conscious lifestyle. If the companies producing hard seltzers know how to market to this group of people, expand this group into a wider target and continue to innovate, this trend will not be ending any time soon.

Sources

https://www.businessinsider.com/hard-seltzer-craze-timeline-white-claw-truly-bud-light-seltzer-2021-10 https://www.molsoncoorsblog.com/hard-seltzer-sales-vizzy-topo-chico