Brannigan Case Analysis Essay

  Strengths: Brannigan Foods’ Soup Division has the largest soup market share in the United States at 39.8%. They are willing to change and have the capital to do so.   Weaknesses: The soup industry as a whole has been on a consistent decline over the last several years. Brannigan’s has wasted money acquiring small businesses that have done little to nothing for profits. They have also been developing different types of soup in which only 1 out of 100 is actually well received by consumers.   Opportunities: They have the potential to be the leaders in healthy canned soups that are offered in a variety of trendy flavors. Brannigan Foods is already a well –established brand with many loyal followers who can regain their brand identity through less marketing than a newer or smaller business.   Threats: Frozen and deli soup industries are trending and causing the market shares of shelved soups to plummet. Any quick and easy meal option from fast food to macaroni and cheese are threats to this industry and to Brannigan’s The problem presented in this case is that Mr. Bert Clark needs to make a formal budget and action plan for the CEO to address the three year downturn in profitability, market share and sales. Consumers aren’t purchasing as much soup as they have in the past. With so much variety, not only within soups, but among all food options, it’s hard to make consumers choose only your brand every time. Price plays a large role in buyer decisions when it comes to items that they plan to store in their cupboard. If the price isn’t low enough, they can just switch brands or wait until later to purchase their stock items. Brannigan’s has been steadily increasing their price to ebb the effects of the lower sales amounts. Brannigan’s hasn’t done anything to increase the value of their soups in the minds of consumers; they have only raised the price. The true problem is that customers aren’t finding enough value in Brannigan Foods Soups to rationalize spending more on them than they had before. I propose that they have a contest to develop new flavors of soups, with the winner receiving a combination price of money and a year’s supply of Brannigan Foods Soups. Buying up smaller brands of soups doesn’t sound feasible seeing as how it hasn’t worked at any time before for this company. Another option is to seasonalize the soups to allow for new flavor varieties to be introduced in spurts. Heartier (potato, noodle and cream) soups are desired in the winter, where as a gazpacho is in a higher demand in the summer. Allow consumers to take surveys to receive coupons for your products and ask them what they want in a soup. The contest concept can do wonders for creating a buzz about your product and is the best alternative. Even more importantly, you are gaining insight into exactly what the consumers want. This nation has been so overly advertised to that people tend to ignore ads all together. What they don’t ignore is the chance to win something with no risk. Lay’s â€Å"Do Us a Flavor† contest has been a great success over traditional marketing strategies. Why you ask? â€Å"The answer is simple: consumers don’t trust traditional marketing strategies anymore, and businesses are getting creative, using consumer-generated marketing—directly involving the customer in the marketing and development of products—to succeed† (Jones, 2013). Works Cited Jones, Alex. â€Å"Potato Chips and the Role of the Consumer in Marketing and Product Development.† FRESHMR. Market Strategies International, 17 May 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.