Home Blenders Business Plan

Introduction

Blenders are kitchen appliances that are used to mix different food according to the needs of the consumer. There are portable and stationary blenders. Portable blenders are increasingly becoming popular because a person can use them irrespective of their location. Go Blend is an example of a hand-held blender. Go Blend is a portable blender that targets people who are conscious of their health. With this blender, a person can blend different foods according to their taste. Blend an advanced blender. It is a drinking bottle that can be used to accomplish blending. Active people like sportspersons, athletes, gym-goers, and even people who work will benefit from Go Blend since they can use it at their workplaces or exercises. This paper comprises of the industry analysis and the marketing plan for Go Blend.

Industry Analysis

Blenders are vital appliances that are used in homes for different uses. With Blenders, people can mix other fruits and foods according to their tastes and desires. In 2018, spending on portable kitchen appliances was $229.2 million globally. This figure will continue increasing as people are shifting towards luxury and mobile kitchen devices. Lifestyle changes have necessitated this change since people are increasingly becoming conscious of their health and prefer to make their food. The increasing number of middle-class population has increased the demand for portable blenders. The market for portable blenders will grow as people strive to live healthy lives. The demand for Go Blend, a bottle-turned-blender, will increase since it can meet the needs of different people ranging from sports people to athletes.

Competitor Analysis

Analysis of competitors is vital in determining the strategic position of the new product. Competitor analysis is performed using the internal and external strengths and weaknesses of an organization. Direct and indirect competitors are plenty. Several companies in the country manufacture portable blending machines. These companies offer direct competition, and this can threaten the Go Blend machine. Go Blend’s advantage is that the blender is also a bottle and can be used in any place. The indirect competitors are those companies that manufacture non-portable blending machines. Some people prefer blending stationary engines. These companies that deal with non-portable blending machines will satisfy this demand. However, this competition is not significant since Go Blend targets people who are active and want an easy way of replenishing energy.

The strength, threats, weakness, and opportunity of a product are essential for understanding the Go Blend machine’s market dynamics. The advantages of Go Blend are high quality, portability, and can be used anywhere. Go Blend machines are light and portable, and a person can carry it anywhere. Portability is one strength of Go Blend since people can blend their food in any place without limitations. The weaknesses of Go Blend are the size, and it cannot chop. Go Blend machines are small, and therefore, one can only blend small amounts at a time. Go Blend is strictly for blending and, therefore, cannot be used for chopping the ingredients. Go Blend’s opportunities are social media, online marketing, and selling the blender in places like gyms. Social media has become an essential avenue for marketing. The company can use social media for marketing the blender since with social media, and a broad audience can be reached. Threats facing Go Blend are competition, and competitors focus on marketing. Presently, many companies in the country produce portable blenders. These companies are already established, and breaking into such markets can be daunting. The companies have also invested in a robust marketing strategy that ensures the widespread presence of the company.

Market Segmentation

Segmentation of markets is vital since it enables a company to devise marketing strategies that meet the consumers’ unique needs in each segment (Puwanenthiren & Udurawana, 2015). The blender market is segmented into regional segments and distribution channels. The market segments for blenders are geographic, demographic ad psychographic segmentation. Geographic segmentation is according to the location of the customers for the product. Customers for portable blenders are distributed across the world, and in geographic segmentation, the world will be divided into North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Demographic segmentation focuses on factors like age, education, family size, and income. Income, age, and education are some of the factors that influence the use of blenders. People who are educated and aware of their nutritional needs can use Go Blend to make smoothies in the office according to their dietary demands. This segment’s message should focus on mixers’ essence in ensuring a person gets all the nutrients needed for healthy living. Psychographic segmentation is based on the attitudes, interests, and lifestyles of individuals. Some people love exercising because it is their career or because they want to be physically fit. Go Blend targets these people who will want to make smoothies while exercising and when in the office. The message for this segment should focus on how blenders meet their energy needs. 

Marketing Plan

Target Market

Go Blend, given its focus on healthy living, targets active people. Active in the sense that they continuously use energy and replenishing the lost energy is essential for their careers. Athletes and sportspeople are busy people who require significant power. With Go Blend, they can make smoothies that have high energy content to replace the lost energy. People working can also use Go Blend to satisfy their energy needs since they can blend different food and fruits that increase power to counter energy loss. 

Marketing Mix

According to Pour, Nazari & Emami (2012), the marketing mix refers to factors that a company can control to influence the consumers into buying the products. The marketing mix is made of price, promotion, development, and place. Price is the value of the product, and it is dependent on market forces and production costs. The product is the item being sold. The place is where the product will be sold, while promotion refers to activities that will be done to popularize the product. For Go Blend, the skimming pricing strategy will be used to differentiate the product. Since the product has been positioned as of healthy benefits, its price will be high initially, and it will gradually decrease as demand reduces. Go Blend will be sold in retail and wholesale shops. This is intended to expose the product to many consumers. Different promotional activities will be done to popularize Go Blend. The promotional activities that the company will engage in include personal selling, sales promotions, public relations, and exhibitions. 

Competitive Advantage

Competitive advantage is the advantage that the product has over similar ones. Presently, there are many portable blenders in the market. What differentiates Go Blend from other blenders it the way it has been positioned. Go Blend is posted as a blender that meets the energy needs of the customers. The customer can use Go Blend to blend anything they need from fruits and vegetables to proteins. This product is vital for people who are conscious about their health. Another advantage of Go Blend is in the materials used to make the blender. Recycled materials are used in the production of Go Blend. Using recycled materials gives a company a competitive advantage. Go Blend has a competitive advantage because it uses recycled materials. 

Value Proposition

The value proposition is the value a company is promising the customers who buy their products. The value proposition of the product can be explained in words. Go Blend prides itself as a product that meets the energy and health needs of its customers. 

Positioning

Go Blend target people who have embraced an active lifestyle. With Go Blend, a person can blend in the office, the gym, and school. This ensures that people can sustain their goals of healthy living. Go Blend will be marketed as an energy-enhancing product. Go Blend can be used to blend proteins, vitamins, and carbohydrates to be used as a drink. The variety of nutritious food that can be taken in one drink makes Go Blend attractive. The majority of the blenders have similar functionalities position their blender as portable, and some use the blender’s aesthetic features as selling points. For Go Blend, the healthy lifestyle provided by the blender is its selling point. 

Pricing

Several pricing strategies can be applied when setting the price of Go Blend. One approach is market-penetration pricing. According to this strategy, the cost of the blender is set low at the beginning. This strategy aims to build a customer base first before increasing the prices. The plan relies on the assumption that customers will switch to the brand because of the low price. Another strategy is price skimming. Price skimming involves setting high prices in the beginning and gradually reducing it with time. When a new product is launched and its product set high, customers will be willing to pay the high prices. This way, companies can recover their expenses before customer demand falls. Price skimming can work for Go Blend since it is positioned as an energy-enhancing product. Another pricing strategy that can be used is competition-based pricing. This pricing strategy uses the current market prices of similar products to set the new product’s cost. Competition-based pricing might not work well for Go Blend since customers will not differentiate the products based on their prices. 

Distribution

A reliable supply chain is vital in giving the blenders enough exposure. Online and offline distribution channels are essential for blenders since it ensures that many customers get the product (Verhoef, Kannan, & Inman, 2015). The Omnichannel distribution will be used to distribute Go Blend. This distribution strategy is to order their products online and pick them in specific stores within their locations. Sometimes, the product will be delivered at the customer’s premises. An Omnichannel strategy is vital since even though most customers have mobile devices, many still want the physical shopping experience. Offline distribution accounted for 75.5% market share of blenders in 2018. Online distribution is still growing, and social media plays a vital role in influencing consumer preferences. With an increasing number of people owning mobile devices, online distribution will be critical in distributing the Go Blenders in the future. Omni-channel distribution is intended to cater to the different preferences of the consumers. 

Promotion

Different promotion techniques will be used to popularize the product. One method is personal selling. The company’s sales representatives will visit the homes of the elderly, schools, and places like the gym to sell Go Blend. The sales representatives will also demonstrate to potential customers how Go Blend works and how they will benefit by buying the blender. The company will also use social media to promote the blender. Social media provides a vast market that can be used to reach a broad audience. Facebook and Twitter will popularize the product, given the audience that can be achieved using the platforms. In social media platforms, contests will be created whereby users will compete on the ingredients they blend for their daily needs. The post that will be shared and liked by many will be ranked first, and the post’s creator will be rewarded. 

Conclusion

Go Blend is a portable blender designed to meet the energy needs of active people. With Go Blend, the consumer is free to blend any food they want according to their tastes. The market for portable blenders has been growing due to an increase in middle-class families. This implies that the demand for blenders will continue growing, and even new brands like Go Blend have chances in the growing market.

References;

• Pour, B. S., Nazari, K., & Emami, M. (2013). The effect of the marketing mix in attracting customers: Case study of Saderat Bank in Kermanshah Province. African Journal of Business Management, 7(34), 3272.
• Puwanenthiren, P., & Udurawana, Y. (2015). Market segmentation and its impact on customer satisfaction with especial reference to commercial bank of Ceylon Plc. Marketing Information & Strategies: Core for Development, Scitech Publications (India) Pvt Ltd (January 1, 2014).
• Verhoef, P. C., Kannan, P. K., & Inman, J. J. (2015). From multi-channel retailing to omni-channel retailing: introduction to the special issue on multi-channel retailing. Journal of retailing, 91(2), 174-181.