Saxonville Sausage Company
Case 3 : Saxonville Sausage Company
I. Background
Saxonville was a 70-year-old, privately held family business headquartered in Saxonville, Ohio, with 2005 revenues of approximately $1.5 billion. The company produced a variety of pork sausage products, predominantly fresh sausage as opposed to smoked or semi-dried. The heart of the business consisted of branded products: bratwurst (70% of Saxonville’s revenues); breakfast sausage, both links and patties (20% of revenues); and an Italian sausage named Vivio (5% of revenues). Storebrand
Since 2004, both the bratwurst and breakfast categories across all sausage producers had been flat (0% volume increase) nationwide, with little or no growth expected in the short term. Saxonville’s own brats sales had been flat, but in breakfast sausage the company had underperformed the market, resulting in a double-digit revenue decline.
II. Problems
Italian sausage was the one category showing growth across producers in the retail sausage market, having grown at an annual rate of 9% in 2004 and 15% in 2005. Saxonville’s Vivio brand had matched that level of category growth; however, Vivio was available in just 16% of the nation’s large supermarkets, primarily in Boston, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and South Carolina.
Ann Banks, new product marketing director at Saxonville Sausage Company assigned to assess “the Italian opportunity” for Saxonville and develop a national product under the Vivio name or as a new brand. Coming from a Fortune 100 packaged goods company, with experience in brand identity and development work, Banks was eager to “make her mark” in a smaller organization. Saxonville needs a well-thought-out positioning plan if they want to move from their also-ran position in Italian sausage to national category leader and make their product one that every major grocery account in the U.S. will want to carry.
Some facts and problem about Saxonville’s Italian
I. Background
Saxonville was a 70-year-old, privately held family business headquartered in Saxonville, Ohio, with 2005 revenues of approximately $1.5 billion. The company produced a variety of pork sausage products, predominantly fresh sausage as opposed to smoked or semi-dried. The heart of the business consisted of branded products: bratwurst (70% of Saxonville’s revenues); breakfast sausage, both links and patties (20% of revenues); and an Italian sausage named Vivio (5% of revenues). Storebrand
Since 2004, both the bratwurst and breakfast categories across all sausage producers had been flat (0% volume increase) nationwide, with little or no growth expected in the short term. Saxonville’s own brats sales had been flat, but in breakfast sausage the company had underperformed the market, resulting in a double-digit revenue decline.
II. Problems
Italian sausage was the one category showing growth across producers in the retail sausage market, having grown at an annual rate of 9% in 2004 and 15% in 2005. Saxonville’s Vivio brand had matched that level of category growth; however, Vivio was available in just 16% of the nation’s large supermarkets, primarily in Boston, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and South Carolina.
Ann Banks, new product marketing director at Saxonville Sausage Company assigned to assess “the Italian opportunity” for Saxonville and develop a national product under the Vivio name or as a new brand. Coming from a Fortune 100 packaged goods company, with experience in brand identity and development work, Banks was eager to “make her mark” in a smaller organization. Saxonville needs a well-thought-out positioning plan if they want to move from their also-ran position in Italian sausage to national category leader and make their product one that every major grocery account in the U.S. will want to carry.
Some facts and problem about Saxonville’s Italian