For The Crème Egg Then, has a massive Market Segment, out selling its nearest competitor 2 – 1. The egg is the only product in the market to have its unique fondant and serves the common needs of the people by being small and tasty!
Target market
The Target market of the Crème Egg is the under 25 market. I have come to this conclusion due to my research and my assumption that the flexibility of the crème egg attracts the younger customers due to its ‘playful’ characteristics. At this time of Economical trouble they are the most likely to have expendable income. They also have a much more laidback lifestyle and are more likely to have time to go out and buy crème eggs. Evidence of this is shown in my questionnaire results. But this however is not an issue because they would be interested in a special edition egg.
Another Market that could be targeted is the under 13 market. Again, the crème egg is a ‘messy’ product and so matches the characteristics of customer. There could also be special packaging created for the younger market.
Section B - Research
Secondary Source 1. Wikipedia
‘’ Over the years, Cadbury has introduced a number of products related to the original Creme Egg, including:
- Mini Creme Eggs (bite-sized Creme Eggs)
- Caramel Eggs (soft caramel filling)
- Mini Caramel Eggs (bite-sized Caramel Eggs)
- Chocolate Creme Eggs (chocolate fondant filling)
- Orange Creme Eggs (Creme Eggs with a hint of orange flavor)
- Mint Creme Eggs (green "yolk" and mint flavor chocolate)
- Dairy Milk with Creme Egg bars
- Creme Egg Fondant in a Narrow Cardboard Tube (limited edition)
- Creme Egg ice cream with a fondant sauce in milk chocolate
- Dream Eggs (white chocolate with white chocolate fondant filling)
- Cadbury McFlurry (British and Canadian McDonald's Only) McFlurry soft serve mix with Creme Egg & chocolate filling.
- Creme Egg Twisted
Advertising
In recent times, the creme egg has been marketed in the UK and Ireland with the question "How do you eat yours?" and in Australia with the slogan "Don't get caught with egg on your face". Australia has also used a variation of the UK question, using the slogan "How do you do it?" Over the years, there have been several major Cadbury's Creme Egg campaigns.
- "Shopkeeper" campaign of the 1970s in which a boy asks for 6000 Cadbury Creme Eggs.
- "Irresistibly" campaign showing characters prepared to do something unusual for a Creme Egg, similar to the "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" campaign in America.
- 1985: The "How Do You Eat Yours?" campaign begins.
- 1990-1993: The first television campaign to use the "How Do You Eat Yours?" theme, featuring the zodiac signs.
- 1994-1996: Spitting Image characters continued "How Do You Eat Yours?"
- 1997-1999: Matt Lucas, with the catchphrase "I've seen the future, and it's egg shaped!"
- 2000-2003: The "Pointing Finger" campaign.
- 2004: The "Roadshow" finger campaign
- 2004-2007: The "How Do You Eat Yours?" campaign
- 2008: "Here Today, Goo Tomorrow" campaign
In North America, Creme Eggs are advertised on television with a small white rabbit called the Cadbury Bunny (alluding to the Easter Bunny) who clucks like a chicken. Ads for caramel eggs use a larger gold-colored rabbit which also clucks, and chocolate eggs use a large brown rabbit which clucks in a deep voice. The advertisements use the slogan "Nobunny knows Easter better than him", spoken by TV personality Mason Adams. The majority of rabbits used in the Cadbury commercials are Flemish Giants.
In the UK, around the year 2000, selected stores were provided stand alone cardboard cutout of something resembling a "love tester." The shopper would press a button in the centre and a "spinner" (a series of LED lights) would select at random a way of eating the Creme Egg, e.g. "with chips". These were withdrawn within a year. There are also the "Creme Egg Cars" which are, as the name suggest, ovular vehicles painted to look like Creme Eggs. They are driven to various places to advertise the eggs but are based mainly at the Cadbury factory in Bournville. ‘’
Secondary Source 2. Just-food.com
‘’ Cadbury Crème Egg, a chocolate shell containing white fondant and a yellow fondant centre, outsells every other UK chocolate bar between January and Easter each year. It is the number one brand in the filled egg market, with a market share of over 70% and a brand value of approximately £45m.
Cream filled eggs, the forerunner of Creme Egg, first became available in 1923, but Cadbury Creme Egg as we know it today was not launched until 1971.
Cadbury Creme Egg is manufactured by making a chocolate shell in a half-egg shaped mould, which is then filled with white fondant and a dab of yellow fondant to simulate the yolk. Two mould halves are closed very quickly and cooled to allow the chocolate to set. When the moulds are opened, the eggs fall onto a conveyor, which transports them first to the foiling machines and then to the finished packing.
Creme Eggs are available as single eggs or in a pack of 3, 6 or 12. A smaller replica Mini Creme egg was introduced in 1994.
Creme Eggs are available from New Year's Day to Easter Day in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Over 300 million Creme Eggs are produced each year. The Creme Egg plant at Cadbury’s Bournville factory can produce 66,000 Creme Eggs every hour – more than 1.5 million eggs a day. ‘’
Secondary Research Summary
I have found from my secondary research that there is competition arising from Galaxy and Lindt. Both of these products are sold all year round but both however fail to outsell the crème egg. The public view of the product is very high, thus the rate of selling.
Primary Source. Questionnaire Results
For These Results I have only selected two of my questions to be displayed here as they are the most relevant. The rest of the questionnaire is underneath.
-
Do you like the ‘Cadbury’s Crème Egg’?
Yes = 90%
No = 10%
-
What attracts you to the product?
Price = 10%
Taste = 80%
Both = 10%
Questionnaire Analysis
The questionnaire reveals that the only limitation of the product is that it is only sold for a limited time of the year, losing sales to its big competitors. Bar this, the overwhelming majority of people tested buy the crème egg because they love the taste. However, the research only indicates the products potential
Section C – Marketing Mix
The Product
For special editions, the crème filament could be replaced with an exciting flavour that is linked to the event i.e. Christmas pudding. The packaging for the younger market could consist of an ‘Egg Box’, in a standard British free range style to attract the younger customers
The Promotion
The various different advertisement campaigns have also become famous and are instantly recognizable to most. The ‘How Do You Eat Yours?’ competition can be continued in which the ‘Crème Eggers’ can send in their videos of them eating the Crème Eggs and can win prizes for the best or most wacky.
The Price
One small problem is the price. The ‘egg’ is still slightly more expensive than the Galaxy equivalent. We will need to under price them to gain even more sales from their customers or we can introduce a Multi-buy scheme like 3 for 2 or BOGOF. The biggest problem is that the product is only on sale in the first third of the year, damaging the probable profits. If Cadbury’s sold the crème egg for longer the profits could be doubled, or even tripled.
The Place
The Crème Egg needs to be located at the major selling point in the shop, most likely the tills or checkouts. This is because customers are more likely to buy them if them if they see them when they are waiting to be served.
Summary
To increase sales and to boost profits, Cadburys need to sell The Crème Egg for longer periods to increase profits and lower the price to stop conceding customers to its competitors. This supports the ‘Big Idea’ by showing how we can achieve more market share and how we can penetrate other markets.
Section D
The marketing mix reflects the research and shows how we can increase our market share and profits. The factors that effect it are below;
The Costs
The costs are being counteracted by the booming sales and the Production process is being run very efficiently. But to implement a new egg with different filament would be very costly.
For one, the Bourneville production line is running all year round to provide the mass demand for the standard crème egg, so Cadburys would have to invest in another production line and facilities for printing the special edition packaging or sacrifice the production of crème eggs at certain times of the year, losing out on potential sales.
The advertising campaign could be loosely based around the standard egg’s, just like the ‘Twisted’ bar, but would have the theme of the time of year. This would keep the costs down and provide a humorous advertising campaign that would attract the customers. Cadbury’s massive profit margin means they could invest in the new Facilities, making this strategy very feasible and realistic.
Political and Economical Factors
Unfortunately, these external factors could hamper our plans for market penetration. Last year, a bill was passed through parliament that forbid any food or confectionary advertising involving or enticing children, in an attempt to stop the growing amount of fat children in the UK. There is also consumer protection now enforced by the Government which means all the ingredients must be displayed on the packaging. But thankfully now the VAT reduction means that its cheaper for Cadbury’s to produce, ingredients wise, and cheaper for the customers to buy. This will increase profits and sales without a shadow of doubt. But as VAT goes down so does the exchange rate for the pound meaning it will cost more to import from foreign company’s that could swing the scales in the other direction.
Environmental and Ecological Factors
Cadburys, as a company, invests in recycling, thus keeping the environmentalists happy. Cadbury’s also uses environmentally friendly packaging that decomposes quicker in landfill. But they face opposition for their distributing via Articulated Trucks, of which creates carbon emissions
Legal Factors
On current packaging, clear labeling of the ingredients is in place, so there should be no trouble converting this to the new format. Also the trade description will be easily added on with the ingredients as it is on the original crème egg. As regards to advertising, the promotion will abide to Government Rules and Regulations
Summary
I have chosen market penetration because I feel the product can easily adapt to this new market. Also the special edition I talked about can bring in more revenue for the company and its added presence in the market will increase the market segment for the company. All these measures I have proposed will complete my marketing aim. The influx of a new product on the market will increase Cadbury’s profits and its market share. Objective wise, it adheres to them to. The product will sell at all the important dates and will penetrate the younger market.