Marketing Research and Planning Project

Coursework Example

Content page

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Marketing Research and Planning Project
The case of Innocent

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Strategic marketing
Word count: 2500 words

1.0 Introduction
Innocent is a worldwide brand, which is available in fifteen countries and has
enjoyed incredible success (Innocent, 2014). The fact that the company is a UK based
company, which has recently become a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd.
(Business Source Premier, 2014). In UK, the company is one of the most popular and
well-known soft drink brands. Most locals know Innocent for its high-quality fruit
juices, pure fruit smoothies, kids’ juicy drinks, fruit tubes and tasty ready meals. Due
to the popularity in UK, Innocent’ fruit smoothie will be focused on.

This report describes a marketing plan for the launch of a modified product called
“Berry Trio smoothie” offered by Innocent. The brand will extend its smoothie range
to tap demand for healthier option with this newly modified drink. The period for
the marketing plan is set from January 2015 to December 2015.

2.0 Corporate Objective

Innocent is now the UK and Europe’s favorite smoothie manufacturer. It has a
diverse category of fruit smoothies in an attempt to offer consumers fresh, healthy
products (Innocent, 2014). Innocent’ corporate philosophy is ‘getting natural healthy
products to as many people as possible’ (Innocent, 2014). This strapline greatly
expresses its core objectives; the smoothie maker strikes to continually expand its
pure smoothie range in order to respond to changing consumer needs and
preferences (Innocent, 2014).

Moreover, Innocent aims to maintain its significant leadership position in the market
by offering health-conscious consumers smoothies which are delicious, without
compromise its commitment to offering health benefits from natural ingredient
(O'Reilly, 2011). In fact, the company works hard every day to maintain a sustainable
environment and contribute to the society. As an ethical company, it insists to use
recycled materials for the packaging, and also donates 10 % profits every year to
charities (Innocent, 2014). Looking ahead, the company will accelerate its growth
even further by growing the brand with high-valued smoothie products and
innovation (Eleftheriou-Smith, 2013).
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3.0 Market Overview

Table 1 illustrates that smoothie market in the United Kingdom has experienced
year-on-year decline in volume and value sales between 2012 and 2013. (Mintel,
2014) estimates that volume sales of smoothies will drop by 1.9% to 51 million litres
in 2014, while value sales are expected to decline by 0.8% to £149 million. The fact
that fruit smoothies are often criticized by mass media and governmental
departments for the hidden level of sugar they contains (Bamford, yy). Furthermore,
household grocery budgets continue to be squeezed during the economic recession
(Mintel, 2014). Thus the smoothie market has been hit by one wave of adverse
factors after another.

Table 2 presents the percentage of UK smoothies market shares held by the players
from 2012 to 2014. It is crystal clear that Innocent is the leading manufacturer in the
current market, which held 61% of the total market share in 2014. This was followed
by own-labels, which was responsible for 26% of sales. PepsiCo Inc. took third place
with 7% share. Innocent brand have pioneered the fruit smoothies segment, while
supermarket private labels have gained ground in recent years by taking advantage
of consumers’ desire for value for money (Mintel, 2011).

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As indicated before, UK consumers have limited how much smoothies they buy due
to the negative publicity surrounding the high sugar content of the drinks. To tackle
such concerns, smoothie manufacturers has been continued to launch reduced sugar
or sugar free variants with added health benefits to win back consumers (Britvic,
2014). With a growing choice of healthier smoothies in the market, health-conscious
consumers could benefit from this trend. Besides, (Mintel, 2014) noted that
consumer confidence has continued to improve since 2013, so consumer spending is
anticipated to rise. In the following years, consumers may have a higher intention to
purchase smoothies which positioned as ‘luxury’ products among soft drink
category.

4.0 Marketing Audit – Internal and External

4.1 The Marketing Mix (4Ps)

 Product
Innocent is best known for its various ranges of 100 % natural, delicious and healthy
products, including fruit smoothies, fruit juice, juice drinks and ready meals (Mintel,
2014). Its products can be briefly summarized in tables (as shown in Table 3 and
Table 4).

Smoothies Variants Size

• Strawberries & bananas
160ml
Fruit smoothies • Mangoes and passion fruit
250ml
• Kiwis, apples and lime
• Blackberries, strawberries and 750ml
blackcurrant 900ml
• Pineapples, bananas and coconut
• Pomegranates, blueberries and acai 1.25/1.35L
• Defence 360ml
Super smoothies • Energise
• Antioxidant 750ml
• Strawberries, blackberries and
Extra juicy raspberries 750ml
smoothies • Pineapples. Mangoes and orange
• Cherries and strawberries
Table 3: Innocent’s smoothie ranges (Innocent, 2014)

Other product ranges

Juices • Not-from-concentrate chilled fruit juice
• Cold pressed fruit and vegetable juices
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Kids • Kids smoothies
• Kids fruity water
• Kids juice
• Fruit tubes
Ready meals • Vegetable pot
• Noodle pot
Table 4: Innocent - other product ranges (Innocent, 2014)

 Price
In recent years, the fruit price has gone up which results in higher cost to make
smoothies (Innocent, 2011). Indeed, from the perspective of shoppers, the price of
Innocent smoothies is relatively higher than the competitors’ smoothies (Simmons,
2011). Due to its premium pricing, meaning that Innocent is targeting at mid-high
income households and individuals.

On the other side, Innocent strikes to offer good value for money and superior
quality by making their smoothies with 100 percentage pure, natural fruit juice (no
concentrates and additives) in order to justify the premium price of its smoothie
ranges (Simmons, 2011).

Regardless of the sizes, different sizes of smoothies are available in outlets (as shown
in Table 3), so consumers can have a greater elasticity to select the right size they
want based on their shopping budgets and needs.

 Place
Since Innocent smoothies have a short shelf life of only 14-20 days (Innocent, 2014),
so they require an efficient distribution system. Therefore, Innocent has made use of
distribution channels of its parent company ‘Coca-Cola Enterprise’ to distribute its
products (Gray, 2013). So Innocent could easily sell its smoothies through 11,000
outlets in UK (Business Source Premier, 2014), including major supermarkets,
grocery retailers, convenience stores, coffee shops and so on, as well as online
shopping sites (e.g. Ocado, Amazon).

And, Innocent cleverly stocks the smoothies in the retail outlets which can maximize
product availability. Thanks to the well-managed chilled cabinet equipment, those
supermarket chains and independent retailers are able to stock a huge amount of
the short shelf-life products (Mintel, 2011), helping Innocent solve logistic problems
along with its supply chain.

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  Promotion

Campaign Objective Media Tools Reference

‘Chain of Good’ Under the new tagline ‘taste TV, outdoor, Advertising, (Faull, 2014);
2014 good does good’, highlighting digital and PR (CRM). (Mintel, 2014)
the taste of its drinks and experiential Print
charitable efforts Innocent activity.
makes.

‘Ready, Steady, Every box of kids’ drink will TV, online Advertising, (Innocent, 2012)
Grow’ come with small pack of seeds, activity, PR (CRM),
2012 seeking to get millions of kids packaging Print
into garden
‘Superhero With the slogan ‘here to saveTV, social media, Advertising, (Startups,
smoothie’ the peckish’, emphasizing themobile Print 2012)
2011 functional, healthy features of
application,
its fruit smoothies in-store activity,
packaging
‘The Big Knit’ - Encouraging consumers to knit Social media, Advertising, (Innocent, 2014)
Runs all year round little wooly hats to fit the on-pack PR (CRM),
(Winter) smoothie bottles. promotion, Internet,
Internet TV Print
- Innocent drinks will be sold
along with hats

- 25p from every ‘hatted’ bottle

sold will go to charity ‘Age UK’,
supporting the elderly in the UK
Table 5: Innocent’s promotional campaign

 Customer Audit

According to the findings from (Mintel, 2014), 80% of over-55s said they did not
drink any smoothies between June to September in 2014. This could explain why
they were mostly overlooked by smoothie companies since the older consumers
were belonging to the least frequent drinker (Mintel, 2011). Interestingly, the over-
45s are more likely to purchase one brand of smoothie over another if the smoothies
are ethically produced or contain a higher amount of fruit content (Mintel, 2011).
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 Conversely, the younger generation (aged 16-34) drinks smoothies at least once a
week, this segment recognized as the most frequent users (Mintel, 2014). And,
parents are always looking for affordable but healthier soft drinks for children in
order to encourage them to eat more fruits and vegetables (Euromonitor, 2014),
meaning that they are potential buyers of fruit smoothies as well.

(Mintel, 2014) found that one in five people would be interested in buying smoothies
blended with coconut water. Since coconut water is widely perceived as healthy and
natural due to its low sugar content, which has appealed to health-conscious
consumers, especially students who pursue slim bodies.

Moreover, consumers would be interested in smoothies blended with oats, added

fibre or aloe vera (Mintel, 2014). They believed that these nutritional benefits could
better re-build their bodies after consuming such smoothies (Mintel, 2014).

4.2 SWOT Analysis

4.2.1 Strengths

Strengths Evaluation
 Innocent has strong, unique brand identity and original logo (Packaging gateway,
2013) Major Strength
- Natural-sounding brand name ‘Innocent’ (+5)
- immediately recognizable logo ‘smiley face with a halo’
- The brand has a ‘playful, naive, ethical’ image
 Innocent is set to conserve the nature in its smoothies for consumers, all
smoothies are made from 100% fruit, no added sugar and concentrates (Mintel,
2014) Major Strength
 Insist on using natural, high-quality ingredient is a unique selling proposition (+4)
(Business Insider, 2014).
 Innocent uses the technology they have accumulated over many years in
producing tasty smoothies (Innocent, 2014)
 Deep expertise in new product development
• In 2013, Innocent launched a ‘more refreshing’ and a ‘super’ smoothie range, in Mild Strength (+3)
an attempt to keep expanding its product line and deliver great innovation
(Millington, 2014).
 Innocent smoothies provide a natural source of vitamins, energy, fibre and Mild Strength (+3)
minerals, offering functional and health benefits (Innocent, 2014).
 Innocent smoothies could be consumed with meals, offering busy consumers Mild Strength (+3)
balanced diet options and aiding an effective workout (Mintel, 2014).

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 Being a responsible corporate citizen (Innocent, 2014; Business Insider, 2014)
- Follows its own code of conduct for operation, e.g. no child labor Mild Strength (+3)
- Smoothie bottles are made from sustainable materials
- Fulfilling its charitable obligations by raising funds for developing countries and
charities
 Strong emotional bonds between Innocent and customers
- Organize ‘A Grown-up meeting’ every year, inviting customers to come and share Minor Strength
their views and opinions (Packaging gateway, 2013). (+2)

Table 6: Innocent’s strengths

4.2.2 Weaknesses

Weaknesses Evaluation
- Many note that Innocent is now owned by Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE). However,
CCE is known for being unhealthy and fatty among the public. Therefore, many Major Weaknesses
customers may feel that CCE does not match with Innocent’s identity, even will (+5)
potentially tarnish Innocent’s natural, healthy brand image (Neate, 2013).
- Although Innocent smoothies are made from pure fruit juice (no added sugar),
they actually contain a high amount of fructose sugar which is found in fruit Major Weaknesses
(Hodgekiss, 2013). Drinkers may consume unwanted sugar unconsciously which (+4)
will badly influence their perception towards Innocent.
- Innocent smoothies charge a premium price while comparing with its rivals due
to the rise of production costs and its sustainable supply chain (Innocent, 2011). Mild Weaknesses
Premium prices means that some customer may refuse to buy because they are (+3)
less likely to see Innocent smoothies as providing reasonable value for money.
Table 7: Innocent’s weaknesses

4.2.3 Opportunity

Opportunity Evaluation
 Over the years, UK government has promoted healthy eating habits with ‘5-a-
day’ campaign, and encouraged consumers to eat more fruits and vegetables
(Mintel, 2014). It can say that there is an opportunity for Innocent to further Major Opportunity
promote its smoothies since they all count as at least 1 portion of ‘5-a-day’ which (+4)
is an easy way for consumers to meet their daily ‘5-a-day’ target.
 The majority of adults and children are failing to achieve their “5-a-day” target
(Quinn, 2014). On the other side, parents are looking for tasty, healthy and
affordable products for their children. Innocent could make use of this Major Opportunity
opportunity to release more new flavors and further emphasize the health (+4)
benefits of its smoothie products, which will help to capture both parents and
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 their kids.

 In recent years, consumers concerns more about the high sugar content of
smoothies due to the negative media attention (Mintel, 2014). But at the same
time, health-conscious consumers are open to reduced sugar variants. Thus Major Opportunity
Innocent can use this as opportunity to step up new product development (+4)
activity, meaning that innovate more lower-sugar flavors to increase the
smoothie ranges.
 The cold-press processing technique has succeeded in capturing smoothie
manufacturers’ attention. They believe that such technique could retain much of
the nutrients and goodness contained in fruits and vegetables because the Mild Opportunity
ingredients are not exposed to any high pressure or temperatures (Innocent, (+3)
2014). By using cold-press processing, Innocent could offer more natural,
healthier smoothies with a higher value positioning to consumers.
Table 8: Opportunity

4.2.4 Threat

Threat Evaluation
 Public Health England (PHE) perceives smoothies as a prime source of sugar
because they are high in sugar from fruit (Mintel, 2014). Therefore, PHE has Mild Threat
decided to ‘reconsider’ the current advice that smoothies count in term of the ‘5- (+3)
a-day’ (Mintel, 2014). This will affect the healthy image of Innocent smoothies
among consumers.

 Health-conscious consumers are paying more attention to the ‘hidden’ sugar and
calorie content in soft drinks (Pepsi, 2013). And, negative reporting and Mild Threat
government skepticism about how ‘healthy’ smoothies or fruit juice really are, (+3)
prompting consumers to spend less on Innocent smoothies.
 Under the worldwide economic recession, people become more sensitive of
what they buy (Britvic, 2013). This undoubtedly affects Innocent’ sales since Major Threat
shoppers are less likely to buy smoothies which are seen as ‘premium’ drinks (+4)
compared to many other soft drinks, or they will migrate to buy cheaper
alternatives ‘supermarket private labels’.

 Now, Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE) is the parent company of Innocent. This change
of ownership will impact Innocent’s brand image in the minds of consumers.
Since CCE is a well-known company for selling soft drinks with very high sugar Major Threat
content. Thus CCE’s reputation of being unhealthy could tarnish Innocent’s (+5)
healthy, natural and pure brand image.

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 Table 9: Threat

4.3 PESTLE analysis

Political/Legal Potential opportunity or threat

- To tackle the obesity problem in the UK, the public health officials
urge NGOs, businesses and retailers to collaborate so as to limit the
nation’s sugar intake, particularly among children (Mintel, 2014).
Major threat (-4)
- Public Health England (PHE) perceives smoothies as a prime source
of sugar because they are high in sugar from fruit (Mintel, 2014).
Therefore, PHE has decided to ‘reconsider’ the current advice that
smoothies count in term of the ‘5-a-day’ (Mintel, 2014). This will
affect the healthy image of Innocent smoothies among consumers.

- Over the years, UK government has promoted healthy eating with

its official ‘5-a-day’ campaign, and encouraged consumers to eat
more fruits and vegetables in their diets (Mintel, 2014). It can say Mild opportunity (+3)
that there is an opportunity for Innocent to further promote its pure
smoothies since they all count as at least 1 portion of ‘5-a-day’.

Economic Potential opportunity or threat

- According to (Pepsi, 2013), UK has experienced adverse economic

conditions in recent years, including changes in interest rates,
fluctuating tax rates, high level of inflation and so on.

- Under the worldwide economic recession, people become more Significant threat (-5)
sensitive of what they buy (Britvic, 2013). This undoubtedly affects
Innocent’ sales since drinkers are less likely to buy smoothies which
are seen as ‘premium’ drinks among soft drink segment, or switch
to buy cheaper alternatives ‘private labels’.
- In 2015, the minimum wage would increase to £7 an hour by the
government (BBC, 2014). In this sense, it will lay pressure on
Innocent’s operational cost and labor cost, as well as the profit Mild threat (-3)
margins in the future.
- Over the last couple of years, the commodity prices of orange have
been volatile (Mintel, 2014); the costs were extremely high in
summer period. Being a smoothie maker, Innocent has suffered Mild threat(-3)

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 from the production cost pressure on margins.

Socio-cultural Potential opportunity or threat

- There is a cultural trend towards healthier living in the UK (Mintel,
2011). Concerns have become more focused upon health and
wellness among consumers. Moreover, there has been a surge in
flexi-tarianism, meaning more people seek for more vegetables and
fruits, rather than protein (Don, 2014). Significant opportunity (+4)

- The majority of adults and children are failing to achieve their “5-a-
day” target (Quinn, 2014). And, parents are looking for tasty, healthy
and affordable options for their kids.
- Health-conscious consumers are paying more attention to the
‘hidden’ sugar and calorie content in soft drinks (Pepsi, 2013). And,
negative reporting and government skepticism about how ‘healthy’ Major threat (-4)
smoothies or fruit juice really are, prompting consumers to spend
less on soft drinks.
- An aging population in UK has been highlighted in the UK, reflecting
a shift towards beverage preferences (Pepsi, 2013). The elderly
(over-55s) are less likely to drink fruit juice and smoothies since they Mild threat (-2)
are more concerned about the functional benefits offered by these
drinks (Mintel, 2014).
- Since smoothies are low-involvement goods, shoppers may switch
to cheaper private label alternatives (Britvic, 2013). Thus it may
negatively affect the sales of Innocent smoothies.
Mild threat (-3)
- Besides, value for money has remained important to consumers. To
save more money, savvy shoppers will consider buying branded
products only when they are on sale, so Innocent smoothies’ profit
would potentially shrink.
Technological Potential opportunity or threat
- The cold-press processing technique has succeeded in capturing
smoothie manufacturers’ attention. They believe that such
technique could retain much of the nutrients and goodness
contained in fruits and vegetables because the ingredients are not Significant Opportunity (+4)
exposed to any high pressure or temperatures (Innocent, 2014). By
using cold-press processing, Innocent could offer more natural,
healthier smoothies with a higher value positioning to consumers.

- Due to the advent of social media, many people are so-called ‘social
media savvy’, forming a large number of users on various well-
known social media (e.g. Facebook). Theses on-the-line
communication channels have provided good opportunities for Mild Opportunity (+3)
companies and organizations to engage efficiently with their target
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 customers.

- Thus, Innocent could also take advantage of these social networking

sites to interact with consumers efficiently, gaining a better
understanding of their preferences and needs toward Innocent
smoothies in order to keep improving the quality of the drinks.

Environmental Potential opportunity or threat

- Global warming brings a generally warmer weather to UK, which
potentially influences the soft drink consumption trends among
local consumers (Britvic, 2013). For example, the warm weather in
summer months drives consumers to buy more refreshing drinks. Mild Opportunity (+3)

- Thus Innocent could benefit from the warm climate, innovating

more refreshing smoothies which would attract more drinkers to
purchase.
- In alignment with other countries in Western Europe, sustainability
will continue to be an issue in the UK. Many soft drinks companies
highlight the importance of sustainable materials and packaging
while manufacturing their products (Euromonitor, 2014). Mild Opportunity (+3)

- Hence, there is an opportunity for Innocent to develop fully-recycled

PET bottles, further investing in sustainable development along with
its businesses.
Table 10: Innocent’s PESTLE analysis

4.4 Competitive analysis - Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis

1. Threat of industry competitors (Medium)

Description Potential opportunity or threat

• Table 11 (shown above) reveals that brand leader ‘Innocent’ continues
to pioneer the fruit smoothie market, holding more than 60% share.
But it is important to point out that it lost 5% market share during
2013/14.

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• Own-label was an impressive player with 26% market share in hands
during 2013/14, taking advantage of consumers’ desire for value for
money and cheaper price especially during the economic recession.
And, this powerful competitor has stepped up the new product
development activities so as to further attract more consumers to
switch to them (Mintel, 2014). Threat (-3)

• With impressive 4% market share growth, PepsiCo’s smoothie brand

‘Naked’ is Innocent’s direct competitor. The Naked range of smoothies
focuses on vitamin content, giving an established reason for
consumers to buy (Mintel, 2014). With the new range of Super
Smoothies rolled out in 2014, Innocent looked to compete against
Naked with its so-called ‘the most nutrient-sense products’ (Innocent,
2014).

• According to (Mintel, 2014), another rival brand ‘Happy Monkey’

mainly focuses on the kid’s smoothies market, which also is a critical
market Innocent is targeting. Its smoothie ranges emphasize healthful,
natural content which is quite similar to Innocent’s principle.

• To sum, the fruit smoothie market is quite competitive.

Table 11: Threat of industry competitors (Medium)

2. Threat of potential new entrants (Medium)

Description Potential opportunity or threat

• In term of ‘learning curve’, it is not very difficult to learn how to make
fruit smoothies. But, newcomers have to compete against other
existing players such as Innocent and Naked smoothies which are well-
known brands among locals.

• Despite Innocent is enjoying the leadership and strong reputation in

smoothie market, it still has to aware of the threats from new entrants.
This is because these newcomers could potentially erode Innocent’s
share and sales in the future.

• For example, ‘Coldpress’ is a new entrant of the smoothie market in Threat (-3)
2013. By using high-pressure processing technology, the brand asserts
that its smoothie range has better taste and nutrition compared to
other similar smoothie products (Mintel, 2014).

• If new entrants seek to maintain their brand identity and brand

awareness in this competitive market, they have to spend a bundle on
advertising and other promotional activity. Taking Innocent and Naked
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 smoothie as examples, they are the largest and second largest spencer
of promotional campaigns (Mintel, 2014). In 2013, they spend £6
million and £4.6 million respectively on different campaign regarding to
their smoothie products, like TV ad, outdoor, digital, sampling
campaign, PR, in-store activity and so on (Mintel, 2014).

• Thus, the threat to entry is ‘medium’ due to moderate entry barriers.

Table 12: Threat of potential new entrants (Medium)

3. Bargaining power of suppliers (Low)

Description Potential opportunity or threat

• Innocent is a large corporation with a diversified supply chain as it

sources its raw materials (i.e. fruits) from thousands of different farms
across the world, such as huge plantations, family farms, Amazon
reforest and so forth (Innocent, 2014). In short, the concentration of
suppliers is relatively low and Innocent does not need to worry about
when it will run out of raw materials while producing its smoothies.

• The company always set to pay their suppliers reasonable cost, Opportunity (+2)
subsequently building long-lasting relationships with them (Innocent,
2014).

• Although the price of raw material could fluctuate all the time,
Innocent could still buy the fruit at the best value by comparing all the
prices offered by its worldwide suppliers (Innocent, 2014). This means
it could avoid suppliers forcing up the price and putting substantial
pressure on Innocent through the fruits they are supplying.

• To sum, the bargaining power of suppliers is assessed as ‘low’,

meaning that Innocent is not particularly vulnerable to the bargaining
power of its suppliers.

Table 13: Bargaining power of suppliers (Low)

4. Bargaining power of buyers (High)

Description Potential opportunity or threat

• Although Innocent is the UK’s number one smoothie brand, which

possesses a large customer base, it could not ignore the aggressive
power from private labels or other cheaper brands.

• Due to the advent of internet, customers can easily find any

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 information regarding the smoothie products. For example, they can
compare the price of smoothie offered by different brands via price
comparison sites or supermarket official websites. This gives customers Threat (-4)
higher power to switch.

• As mentioned before, Innocent smoothies are charging a relatively

higher price compared to other brands. Therefore particularly during
economic recession, consumers are more likely to switch to lower
priced smoothies offered by supermarket chains or other retailers.
Since supermarkets own-labels benefits from economies of scale, helps
keep the price of smoothie lower than well-known brands all the time.

• In this sense, the cheaper price of own-labels threatens to not only

Innocent’s profitability but also extant customer base. This is because
now price-conscious customers find it easy and inexpensive to switch
to own-labels to buy smoothie products. So it could say that the cost of
switching to other brand will be low.

• To sum, the bargaining power of buyers is assessed as ‘high’ in the case

of Innocent smoothies.

Table 14: Bargaining power of buyers (High)

5. Threat of substitutes (High)

Description Potential opportunity or threat

• In the soft drink market, smoothies are recognized as ‘luxury’ products

when compared to carbonated drinks or water. Consumers might buy
other lower priced soft drinks to refresh themselves, rather than
buying smoothies. More importantly, the cost of switching to other
types of soft drinks is relatively low.

• Besides, there is a general trend in UK towards healthier living,

encouraging consumers to drink less sugary soft drinks such as fruit
juice, smoothies and fizzy drinks (Mintel, 2014). Instead, they should
drink more water, coconut water, tea and milk which are seen as Threat (-4)
healthier options.

• In the case of smoothies, substitute products would be water, tea,

coffee, carbonated, energy drinks, sport drinks, fruit juices, hot drinks
and milk. Thus consumers actually have a great variety of substitute
alternatives to choose from. In this regard, this poses a critical threat
to Innocent smoothies.

• Since smoothies are low-involvement products, consumers have higher

propensity to switch to other brands or even other soft drink category
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 due to consumers’ changing preferences and needs. As indicated
previously, there are many alternatives to smoothies which could
result in consumers switching away from Innocent smoothies.

• To sum, the threat of substitutes is assessed as ‘high’ in the case of

Innocent smoothies.
Table 15: Threat of substitutes (High)
5.0 Assumptions
Looking ahead, the worldwide economic recession, would continue to affect UK
consumers, may continue to streamline household budgets. We estimate that price-
conscious shoppers will be switching their loyalty to cheaper alternatives such as
carbonates and own-label soft drinks.

The future of the smoothie market is likely to remain centered around healthy
eating, meaning that consumers will continue to seek fresh, healthy and pure
smoothie products. Thus, we expect that more smoothie manufactures will try to
mitigate consumer concerns over sugar by launching more low-sugar variants of
their standard smoothies. In this sense, the smoothie market will raise another
competition in the coming year.

As discussed before, consumers are always looking for value-for-money, meaning

that they would be willing to pay premium prices for smoothies which possess taste
and health benefits at the same time. This trend will continue to prompt smoothie
markers to add more new flavors as to win consumers. Therefore, innovation and
new product development should continue to be top priorities among all smoothie
manufacturers.

6.0 Marketing Objective

Based on the SMART concept, the marketing objectives for the modified product are
summarized in Table 16 below:

 According to (Hodgekiss, 2013), Innocent’s pomegranates, blueberries, and

acai smoothie (250 ml) is criticized by the media for the high fructose sugar
content (equivalent of 3.5 glazed donuts). To mitigate the concern over
sugar intake among consumers, we attempt to modify this existing product
‘pomegranates, blueberries, and acai smoothie’ with a new name ‘Berry Trio
smoothie’.
 Target market: Innocent has been targeting both men and women who aged
16 - 34 years old since they are perceived as the core consumers of
Specific smoothies in UK. But in this strategic marketing plan, Innocent will slightly
broaden the age group to 45 years old. Because our modified product is also

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 targeting parents who would like their kids to drink healthier instead of
sugary fizzy drinks. And, we attempt to attract consumers who have
concerned for a healthier diet. To sum, the age group targeted is from 16 to
45 years old (both men and women).
 To maintain Innocent’s leadership position in the smoothie market by
expanding the current smoothie range and improving its existing product.

Measurable  To increase the profit margin by 2% in 2015 through implementing new

marketing mix for our modified product.

 Innocent is currently the UK’s favorite smoothie manufacturer. Thus, the

brand is high on recognition and recall. Moreover, Innocent’s fans are always
Attainable excited to try out new products and variants. They will transfer their opinions
to other consumers via word of mouth. If the new product could receive
positive responses from consumers, it would drive repeat purchase, thus an
increase in profit margin could be achieved.
 As we mentioned before, UK consumers are looking for a smoothie product
blends with coconut water and aloe vera. Thus, we believe that this modified
product “Berry Trio smoothie” would attract new shoppers to the brand, and
Relevant appeal to our loyal drinkers who always looking for something new.

 And, this new smoothie product would offer more variety to health-
conscious consumers who had been show to demand healthier soft drinks.

Time-based  Innocent is expected to fulfil all marketing objectives by the end of the year
2015.
 Promotional campaigns would start from January 2015 to December 2015.
Table 16: Marketing Objectives

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7.0 Strategies for new product (New 4Ps)

The following strategies will be implemented to achieve the marketing objectives:

 Product

Figure 1 (Left): The layout of the existing product ‘pomegranates, blueberries, and
acai smoothie’

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Figure 2 (Right): The layout of new ‘Berry Trio smoothie’ (with aloe vera cubes)

Figure 3: New label on packaging (Berry Trio smoothie)

For our new product “Berry Trio smoothie”, the logo on the packaging has been
altered from a "star face" figure to "aloe vera cube" in order to match with the new
product content. Also, the logo color is changed to sky blue as to reflect that coconut
water has been added.

The new product name is called "Berry Trio" because it consists of three different
kinds of berries - blueberry, cranberry and raspberry. The reason that we have
chosen them is that their content is low in fructose but high in fiber (see figure 4
below). We have specially highlighted this on the label as a unique selling point as
well as a reminder to consumers. Indeed, the quality and nutritional formulation of
the smoothie has been improved in response to strong public concern against soft
drinks with high sugar content. Increasing fiber content in this new smoothie will be
one key part of reducing sugar content.

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Figure 4: Fibre and fructose content of popular fruits (Gillespie, 2014)

According to some feedbacks on our official website on the current smoothie, such
as "to thick, too sweet, sticky", we have therefore modified the product by adding
coconut water to dilute the thickness and sweetness.

We have also received consumer comments that they could like to add fiber to the
smoothie drink and so we have decided to add "aloe vera cubes". Further, "aloe vera
cubes" are solid and chewable and helps you fill full, which means you can combine
it with your daily meals and achieve a healthy diet at the same time.

In short, the first time coconut water and aloe vera have been included in an
innocent smoothie, making it ‘more refreshing’ for those consumers who find the
texture of standard smoothies too thick.

 Price

• To increase the profit margin by 2% in 2015 through skimming pricing strategy

• The 250ml bottle of ‘Berry Trio smoothie’ would be priced at £2 when first
introducing to the market.

• Although the recommended retail price (£2) is slightly higher than other
21
 Innocent’s current smoothies (£1.8 for 250 ml), the launch of this modified
product will be in support of various sales promotion campaigns to motivate
consumers to try out and buy the product, subsequently would help Innocent to
generate as much profits as it can within the limited time.

 Place

• Like all innocent’s smoothies, Innocent will continue to apply the distribution
channels of its parent company ‘Coca-Cola Enterprise’ to distribute ‘Berry Trio
smoothie’. Thus Innocent could easily sell the smoothies through 11,000 outlets
in UK, including major supermarkets, grocery retailers, convenience stores,
coffee shop chain (e.g. Starbucks) and so on, as well as online shopping sites
(e.g. Ocado, Amazon).

• The new smoothie will make its debut in all outlets in June 2015

 Promotion

• See Section 8.0 “Promotional campaign”

8.0 Promotional campaign

Pre-launch campaigns (January 2015 – the end of May 2015)

Multi-media advertising campaign

Description:
• Being the first Innocent TV ad in 2015, aims to bring UK consumers with a brand
new product “Berry Trio smoothie”, encouraging people to set new healthy
targets for the following year.

• TV ads will feature that ‘Berry Trio smoothie’ is perfect for people looking for a
delicious and nourishing drink as part of their balanced diet, actively positioning
the smoothie as ‘refreshing, healthy and tasty’ alternatives to sugary soft drinks.

Objectives:
• To show the target audiences that a new addition is going to join Innocent’s
smoothie range, meaning that it will offer customers a wider choice of
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 smoothies.

• Inform consumers of the new ingredients in ‘Berry Trio smoothie’, emphasizing

the freshness and wellness of the coconut water and aloe vera.

• The ads will also remind audiences of the actual date of sale (June), and keep
Innocent brand and its natural, pure and fun propositions front-of-mind among
consumers.

Media:
• The TV ad campaign will be supported by social media, press, outdoor adverts
and in-store activity. This multi-channel advertising campaign will help to drive
widespread consumer awareness.

Duration: 1/1/2015 – 1/3/2015 (2 months)

Approximate cost: £3.5m

Secret sample campaign

Description:
• As to promote our new "Berry Trio", we have come up with a new promotional
program. First, we will get in contact with the supermarket chain such as Tesco,
Sainsbury and together we will launch this promotional program. When a
consumer use their supermarket online purchase service to make any orders. A
bottle of "Berry Trio" smoothie will be delivered to consumer as free of charge,
so that our new product is being promoted to all consumers.

Objectives:

• To prepare the ground for the launch

• Aim at “surprising” people with the new launch of ‘Berry Trio smoothie’, and
getting them to try a new flavor of Innocent’s smoothie.

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• Through this trial, generating higher interest in this great-tasting smoothie
among different shoppers

• Communicate and get more people know about the great ingredients and
numerous health benefits in every ‘Berry Trio smoothie’ bottle.

Duration: 1/3/2015 – 1/4/2015 (1 month)

Approximate cost: £ 1.3m

Pop-up sample campaign

Description:
• Innocent is promoting its new smoothie ‘Berry Trio smoothie’ with a massive
sampling campaign.

• The eye-catching pop-up sample stands will be set up next to entrances of tube
stations, shopping mall and parks across the UK.

• Innocent will distribute over 100,000 bottles of ‘Berry Trio smoothie’ through
the sampling event.

• The staff will hand out free samples on selected days (e.g. every Sunday) in April
and May.

Objectives:
• To arouse the public attention towards ‘Innocent’ brand

• To attract as many people as possible so that they could experience the new
product ‘Berry Trio smoothie’ for themselves

• Aim at “surprising” people with the new launch of ‘Berry Trio smoothie’, and
urging them to try the new drink.

• To convince and communicate people of the great quality of products as well as

‘refreshing’ flavor

Media:

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The pop-up sample campaign will be supported by social media and press adverts.

Duration: 1/4/2015 – 31/5/2015 (2 months)

Approximate cost: £ 1.5m

 Berry Trio smoothie will make its debut at the first day of June 2015

Post-launch campaigns (June 2015 – December 2015)

Coupon campaign

Description:

• The staff will hand out free samples next to high-footfall spots including
entrances of tube stations and shopping mall across the UK

• It targets to 25-to 45-year-old consumers.

• Coupons includes £1-off vouchers and free coupons for the ‘Berry Trio
smoothies’

• Consumers can redeem these coupons and vouchers in any major supermarket
chains (e.g. Tesco) and coffee shop chains (e.g. Starbucks)

Objectives:
• To trigger short-term sales

• To attract new buyers, which would increase Innocent’s customer bases in long-
term

• To reward new shoppers and existing fans of Innocent with a generous

incentives

Media:
The coupon campaign will be supported by Innocent’s social media pages.

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Duration: 1/6/2015 – 15/9/2015 (3 months)

Approximate cost: £ 1m

In-store promotion campaign

Description:
• Fewer people will buy smoothies in cool weather so sales promotion is needed

• Run half-price promotion in autumn and winter in major supermarket chains

Objectives:
• Through this sales- promotion initiative, hopes to trigger short-term sales

• To attract new buyers, which would increase Innocent’s customer bases in long-
term

• To trigger immediate purchase (induce action)

• To reward new shoppers and existing fans of Innocent with a generous

incentives

Media:
The in-store promotion campaign will be supported by social media, radio and poster
adverts.

Duration: 30/9/2015 – 31/12/2015 (3 months)

Approximate cost: £ 1.2m

9.0 Reference

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as-shoppers-snub-sugar/370008.article

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BBC (2014) Labour minimum wage promise would see £8 per hour rate by 2020.
Available at:
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Britvic (2014) Britvic Soft drinks review. Available at:

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20Drinks%20Review%202014.ashx

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Euromonitor (2014) A Two-Track Juice Market: Opportunities in Flavourful,

Functional and Healthful Juices [Online] Available at:
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Faull, J. (2014). Innocent unveils new ad as part of £3.5m ‘chain of good campaign’.
Available at:
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Gray, N. (2013). We have spent a lot of money to remain Innocent worldwide:

Richard Reed. Available at:
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Innocent-worldwide-Richard-Reed

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Hodgekiss, A. (2013) The 15 WORST sugary drinks in Britain: Orange juice with as
much sugar as 13 Hobnobs and Innocent smoothies have the same as three-and-a-
half doughnuts. Available at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2301135/15-WORST-health-drinks-
Orange-juice-Innocent-smoothies-sugar-13-Hobnobs-3-half-doughnuts.html

Innocent (2011) Big (and slightly smaller change) is afoot. Available at:
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is-afoot

Innocent (2012) Innocent campaign gets kids into the garden. Available at:

http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/us/press/release/120201-innocent-campaign-
gets-kids-into-the-garden

Innocent (2014) Innocent Available at: http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/

Millington, A. (2014) Innocent appoints group marketing boss in management shake-

up. Available at:
https://www.marketingweek.com/2014/12/12/innocent-appoints-group-marketing-
boss-in-management-shake-up/?cmpid=mwbreak_756128

Mintel. (2011) Smoothies - UK - October 2011. Available at:

http://academic.mintel.com/display/545342/

Mintel. (2014) Fruit Juice, Juice Drinks and Smoothies - UK - November 2014.
Available at:
http://academic.mintel.com/display/723872/

Neate, R. (2013) Coca-Cola takes full control of Innocent. Available at:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/22/coca-cola-full-control-innocent

O'Reilly, L. (2011). Innocent aims to double size of business in three years.

Available at:

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http://www.marketingweek.com/2011/02/23/innocent-aims-to-double-size-of-
business-in-three-years/?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1

Packaging gateway (2013) Pulling off a packaging redesign: learning from Innocent
and Tropicana. Available at:
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Pepsi (2013) Annual report 2013. Available at:

http://www.pepsico.com/Assets/Download/PEP_Annual_Report_2013.pdf

Quinn, I. (2014) Action on sugar claims a quarter or kids juice drinks have as much
sugar as Coca-Cola. Available at:
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of-kids-juice-drinks-have-as-much-sugar-as-coca-cola/373448.article

Simmons, J. (2013). Innocent: The Inside Story of Innocent Told from the Outside. 2nd
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Startups (2012) Richard Reed on marketing campaigns for Innocent Drinks.

Available at:
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