Marketing Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Marketing Research - Essay Example Although considered as non basic consumption commodities, biscuits and cakes have a huge popularity in the United Kingdom as well as in other parts of the world. There are occasions that the two cannot miss in the menu and therefore they will continue to have a large market. On the other hand, the brand names for these products have also been growing with even more international players joining the fray. As a result, retail chains have to understand the dynamics of the two products to be able to take advantage of their fast moving nature. With competition in the supermarket chains, it is important that our organization specifically understand and implement the best approaches on the sales of the stated products. This report is therefore intended to assist management to make decisions concerning minor adjustments (tactical, short-term) and major changes (strategic, longer-term) to the current product mix. It will analyze the various issues that have majorly stood out on the popular br ands of cakes and biscuits in the United Kingdom. The consumers of the available products are also important for this analysis and therefore it is important that the report evaluate the various aspects of consumer market according to the valuable information in the sector. The time frame for this analysis shall be within the last five years. However, before the actual analysis of product mix, it is important to have a brief overview of the sector within the set time frame as discussed in the following section. Market Overview To begin, the biscuit segment in the country has witnessed a gradual growth in the recent years with a growth of 6% according to the year 2012 estimates (Companies and Markets 2013). One driver of consumption in this sector has been the use of biscuits as an accompaniment of hot drinks. On the other hand, biscuits have always benefited from the drop in the cake sector. This situation can be attributed to the costs and health factors that have dominated the conc erns of consumers in the contemporary society. Among the major brands in the United Kingdom market is marketed under United Biscuits (UK) ltd, which is a leader in the country for production of popular biscuits. Some of the brands include McVite’s digestive, Mini Cheddars, Jacobs and Hob nobs (Companies and Markets, 2013). As mentioned earlier, health issues and sustainability of the environment has been a great factor in the determination of the brand and product of choice by customers. In addition, the biscuits segment is categorized into seasonal, special treat and children biscuits. With children being some of the major market segments for biscuits, it is evident that the children biscuits has experienced and maintained a rapid growth. To the cake sector, the major categories are the individual and large cakes which may be in the form of pies and tarts. The individual cake category has been fast growing due to the cost issues and convenience factors associated with packag ing and brand image. With the economic turbulence of the recent years, consumers have remained conscious of the prices so that they are able to reduce their expenditure on products associated with junkies or referred to as snacks. However, cakes have been traditionally known for occasions like weddings and birthdays. As a result, customized cakes still afford to fetch a lot of money in the sector. In addition, due to health concerns, many producers are constantly changing their product composition for more healthy final products. Product Mix Analysis The product mix