Coffee Mate Case Study
1. What are the main benefits of Coffee-Mate and what is limiting its sales?
First of all, Coffee-Mate´s main benefit is its ability to replace cream or real milk. Furthermore, it can be stored for a much longer time than milk or cream making it a good substitute. People who cannot drink coffee without milk don’t need to carry around or look for milk since coffee mate will do the same job. In addition it is made of health promoting ingredients such as dried glucose and vegetable fat. However it cannot be legally defined as non-diary since it also contains milk derivatives. This can be considered a benefit to Coffee-Mate when it comes to customers who like the flavour and thus also makes them use less sugar for sure. Another competitive advantage and benefits to customers of Coffee-Mate would be its offer of various package sizes. On the other hand, limited sales are due to them targeting a market which is characterized by its low interest in the product, since most buyers do not see it as a weekly shopping item. Furthermore another factor that affects the sales is that the consumers prefer ordinary milk or cream instead of powder milk. Coffee-mate contains many chemicals in order to imitate the function of milk and to extend its shelf life. Therefore the fact that it is not a natural product affects customers choice when it comes to healthy issues. Furthermore its artificial taste may be unappealing to some customers. Hence, it is potentially used as a whitener in tea or coffee only in emergency situations in which the household has run out or run low on supplies of milk.
2. Should Coffee-Mate be mass marketed, aimed at one segment or aimed at multiple segments?
Mass marketing consists of trying to serve the whole market with the same product. In fact, for most of the 1900s most important consumer products companies held to mass marketing-mass producing, mass distributing, and mass promoting the same product in the same way to all consumers.
First of all, Coffee-Mate´s main benefit is its ability to replace cream or real milk. Furthermore, it can be stored for a much longer time than milk or cream making it a good substitute. People who cannot drink coffee without milk don’t need to carry around or look for milk since coffee mate will do the same job. In addition it is made of health promoting ingredients such as dried glucose and vegetable fat. However it cannot be legally defined as non-diary since it also contains milk derivatives. This can be considered a benefit to Coffee-Mate when it comes to customers who like the flavour and thus also makes them use less sugar for sure. Another competitive advantage and benefits to customers of Coffee-Mate would be its offer of various package sizes. On the other hand, limited sales are due to them targeting a market which is characterized by its low interest in the product, since most buyers do not see it as a weekly shopping item. Furthermore another factor that affects the sales is that the consumers prefer ordinary milk or cream instead of powder milk. Coffee-mate contains many chemicals in order to imitate the function of milk and to extend its shelf life. Therefore the fact that it is not a natural product affects customers choice when it comes to healthy issues. Furthermore its artificial taste may be unappealing to some customers. Hence, it is potentially used as a whitener in tea or coffee only in emergency situations in which the household has run out or run low on supplies of milk.
2. Should Coffee-Mate be mass marketed, aimed at one segment or aimed at multiple segments?
Mass marketing consists of trying to serve the whole market with the same product. In fact, for most of the 1900s most important consumer products companies held to mass marketing-mass producing, mass distributing, and mass promoting the same product in the same way to all consumers.