problem1) Kashi is considering entering new markets in Africa. It would be significant for the company to conduct consumer research to understand how consumers in different African countries will react to its product range.

Discuss the following three (3) various research methods Kashi can use to understand consumer behaviour in your home country:

1.1 Observation

1.2 Interviews and surveys

1.3 Experimentation

Marks would not be awarded for theory. You are needed to show a practical understanding of these methodologies, what they are used for and the type of specific information you will want to acquire with each method. You must consider the following number of various types of research as suitable to each of the three methods, and give specific practical exs of all of them:

Observation–two types of research Interviews and surveys–three types of research Experimentation–one type of research

problem2)

2.1 Segment the market for natural foods in your home country (do NOT identify target markets). You are needed to be specific and not merely to list. For ex, variable might be‘ women in their early thirties’ and NOT just‘age’ or ‘gender’.

2.2 Identify the primary target market for Kashi in your home country and describe why you have selected this segment and how the segment meets the criteria for choosing segments.

2.3 Describe, and demonstrate by way of practical exs, any ten (10) of the variables which would influence the decision process for the purchase of Kashi products in your home country.

2.4 Companies often try to motivate consumer buying by linking their products to important needs. There are, however, other ways to motivate customers. Describe the five (5) ways in which Kashi could motivate customers to buy its product during the launch and introduction phase of the marketing strategy. It is important that you demonstrate your ability to give practical and realistic suggestions.
Kashi on a mission by Barry Silverstein brandchannel.com February 3, 2010

In 1984, Phil and Gayle Tauber of La Jolla, California, set out to find a healthful vegetarian protein source. Result was “seven wholegrains and sesame,” and that’s how Kashi was born. First company made only cereal, but today, Kashi is the natural foods company which markets the wide range of products extending far beyond cereal. Kashi is small–only 70 employees–but it seems the whole lot bigger. Might be it’s because the company was in the right place at the right time, taking advantage of the natural, organic, whole foods craze early on. Might be it’s because of Kashi’s series of health-oriented television commercials which have been running for the past four years. Or might be it’s because, in 2000, this once tiny independent became a subsidiary of the enormous Kellogg’s Company. (Yes, that Kellogg’s.)

Whatever the reason, one thing is certain: Kashi is the company on a mission. On Kashi’s website, company claims, “Many of us at Kashi don’t know where Kashi ends and we begin. To us, Kashi is more than products in packages–it’s a way of life.” Before you dismiss this as marketing hyperbole, consider fact that company has built its whole business around sustainability, giving it quirky name “Project SpArK” (Sustaining Planet And Retaining Kashiness). Kashi employees report about their personal sustainability efforts on company’s website (“It could be hard to remember to bring your reusable bags with you to store, so I decided to do remembering for some people by handing out reusable Kashi bags in front of a local market,” prepares one employee.)

While Kashi has the self-effacing sense of humor, company is quite serious about making a positive impact on the world. Kashi uses all natural ingredients sourced within United States when possible. Paperboard for all packaging is made from 100 percent recycled sources. The company actively practices the “Three R’s”–Reduce, Reuse, Recycle–working with partner organizations to be as environmentally conscious as possible.

Protecting environment is not Kashi’s only missionary work. Company has been involved in Share Our Strength’s “Operation Frontline,” a program which educates low-income families about proper nutrition. Kashi worked with Sundance Channel to create “Grains of Change,” a series of short films about how to make world a healthier place. In 2006, Kashi sponsored “Day of Change,” a seven-month tour which crossed United States and included natural food cooking demonstrations, product tastings, and hands-on yoga training.

Following year, “Kashi Snack Drive” encouraged consumers in four American cities to “trade in” their unhealthy snacks for Kashi snacks. Kashi isn’t above leveraging celebrities, either. In late 2009, company struck the deal with Mollie Katzen, a best-selling cookbook author. Together with Katzen, Kashi created and launched www.Get-Cooking.com , an online collection of instructional videos which help consumers cook with natural ingredients. The site is a companion to Katzen’s new book, GET COOKING: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen. Kashi’s present television ads fit nicely with company’s personality. They each feature a real Kashi employee, discussing some aspect of “Kashiness.” The commercials centre on natural foods, fitness, and healthy living. Each ad ends with company’s tagline, “7 whole grains on a mission.” The company also runs an occasional ad which is more promotional. One, for instance, shows some Kashi employees getting unsuspecting consumers in the elevator to sample a Kashi product. A recent promotion offered a free single-serving sample of one of three products by means of the company’s website. Kashi has methodically grown its product line well beyond its cereal roots. The company now offers twenty-nine kinds of hot and cold cereal, as well as twenty-nine different snack bar products. Other product lines include crackers, cookies, frozen entrees, pizza, pilaf, waffles and pocket bread sandwiches.

At the time when some companies might be reducing their product offerings, Kashi clearly has expansion on its mind. But that’s not unusual. It’s all part of the missionary’s job. Silverstein B, 2010.

Kashi on a mission. [Online] Available at: http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=475