Marketing Plan: The Icⱻ Crème Company

Summary

Ice Cream is considered one of the staples of America. Whether its gelatos, ices, sherbets, sorbets, or regular ice cream, the dessert continues to be something that fascinates and delights. According to both the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the International Dairy Foods Association, ice cream generates notable revenues of more than $10 billion (2011, 2014). Due to this data, it stands to reason that another company can break into the consumer marketplace and have success. The ice cream company will be named The Icⱻ Crème Company. The company will sell a variety of flavors of ice cream and will also sell gelato and sorbet.

Kilara & Chandan (2007) state that ice cream is a popular dessert in many areas of the world, but dominates in countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United States. Additionally, the frozen dessert's popularity is the result of an array of different characteristics including, but not limited to, the partial freezing, refreshing and cooling sensation that is produced upon consumption. Also, the sweet taste is what propels consumers to purchase the dessert over and over again (p.594-595). Given this, Icⱻ Crème stands to capitalize not only on what its competitors have but also the popularity of gelato and sorbet as its competitors have mostly stayed solely with ice cream as opposed to branching out into other types of dessert.

Objectives

Having goals and objectives is essential to all businesses as they provide the basic foundation and ensure effectiveness and productivity. The following are three objectives that Icⱻ Crème will employ at the onset of their establishment in order to promote themselves and begin generating revenue as quickly as possible.

Increase brand awareness - Gkar (2013) explains that brand awareness is the process that helps to build notoriety for a business. This includes the logo, taglines and overall marketing of the product (p.1).

Have a green initiative - while the concept of green jobs is something that is frequently discussed, the company will firmly commit to using only the freshest and safest products, which may affect the amount of capital in the beginning but in the long-run, will hopefully pay off.

Expand product lines - initially, the company will have 5 ice cream flavors, 5 gelato flavors, and 5 sorbet flavors. As business increases, the company will execute an initiative to further its product lines to ensure continued customer satisfaction.

Improve customer satisfaction – since customers are the most important aspects of a business, it will be the objective of Icⱻ Crème to make sure that each customer is as satisfied as they can be with both the service they receive and the products.

Mission Statement

The Icⱻ Crème Company is founded on the principle of loving ice cream, making it as well as selling it. Ice cream is a treat that should be savored and because of this, the company seeks to provide consumers with delectable ice cream that puts a smile on their faces. From regular ice cream to sorbets and gelatos, The Icⱻ Crème Company is committed to producing delicious ice cream that engenders smiles from ear to ear and is satisfying to the taste buds.

Keys to Success

There is a thought that doing too much too soon can have negative effects on small business but the company believes that with a combination of selling both ice cream, sorbet and gelato that the consumer marketplace will grab ahold of it and thereby allow for immense success. Casserly (2010) asserts that the keys to a successful business include collaboration between all parties, being focused on the future, having a technologically sound dimension, and ensuring connections (p.1). Collaboration is essential to any business running smoothly. This means that the company will have to make sure that the relationships between both management and employees begin smoothly. While it is expected that there will be some contention along the way based on the general dynamics of interpersonal relationships, the company hopes that because it is a small business that impeccable operations will be produced as soon as the business opens to the general public. The Icⱻ Crème Company will also be focused on the future. This means that planning 5, 10 and 20 years down the road becomes all the more vital to seeing the business as more than just as run of the mill, here and now establishment. Moreover, this will mean strategic planning on behalf of management in employing future flavors as well as designing strategies for both the short and long term.

With technology, The Icⱻ Crème Company will continually update its database, point of sale systems and social media platforms for marketing communications. Considering society is ever-evolving technology-wise, this means that the marketing, sales and operations departments of the company will need a considerable amount of people to ensure that there are no hiccups. Additionally, in the beginning, there may be a combination of the planner/buyer position considering the company plans to sell its ice cream in supermarkets after the first year of opening. Casserly (2010) argues that connections are vital to small businesses. That this is what separates a good entrepreneur from a great one. Business owners must be oriented toward taking their business to the next level to avoid being doomed. This means having a well thought out plan and being responsible enough to execute the vision accordingly. Further, connections make sure that the small business gets its reputation established in a positive light not solely among consumers, but vendors and the other relationships needed for growth and development (p.1). The success of the Icⱻ Crème Company depends then on a variety of factors, each working in conjunction with the other to establish a viable brand amidst other ice cream companies in the consumer marketplace.

Company Summary: Products, Location & Service Offerings

The Icⱻ Crème Company is founded upon the premise that ice cream is enjoyed by all. Therefore, to make sure that it is, the company has designed 5 distinctive flavors of ice cream, 5 gelato flavors, and 5 sorbet flavors. The 5 flavors of ice cream are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan, and cookies and cream. The 5 gelato flavors are lemon, chocolate, regular cream, pistachio, and frutti di bosco, also known as fruits of the forest, which is a combination of blackberries, strawberries, black currants, raspberries and blueberries. The 5 sorbet flavors are pineapple, grapefruit, strawberry, raspberry and lemon. The flavor determinations are based on a variety of data collected by the company's research and development department ("Twenty favourite Italian gelato flavours," 2010; Ayles, 2013) and the general consensus among management on what flavors will be most profitable and lucrative for the short and long term dynamics of the business.

The business will begin in the heart of Los Angeles, CA with headquarters in Los Angeles, CA as well. Franchises will be necessary as the business grows and expands. Additionally, product lines of the ice cream, gelato and sorbet will be expanded at the 1 year, 5 year and 10-year marks. In addition to the flavors, toppings will be available to the general public for consumption as well. This will ensure that smiles are continuously brought to the consumer's faces. Toppings will include fresh fruits: bananas, peaches, pineapple, strawberries and raspberries; tasty toppings, which include almonds, sprinkles, coconut, gummy bears and M&Ms. Syrups will also be available including chocolate, butterscotch and caramel. In addition to this, sugar-free vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream will be available for the diabetics and for those who are watching their weight.

Competitive Analysis

Due to the Icⱻ Crème Company being based in Los Angeles, CA, a competitive analysis will be performed with two other ice cream companies: Basket Robbins and Yogurtland. While Yogurtland serves frozen yogurt as opposed to regular ice cream, the company is very popular in the Los Angeles, CA area and has similar distinct aspects that warrant comparison. For the purpose of this competitive analysis, a SWOT will be conducted.

(SWOT figure omitted for preview. Available via download)

Given this SWOT, it seems that the Icⱻ Crème Company can benefit tremendously with savvy marketing techniques and a polished understanding of what consumers want so they are satisfied and return again and again. Baskin Robbins and Yogurtland appear to have considerable issues with their marketing for reasons aforementioned in the table.

Technology, Future Services, Market & Industry Analysis

As aforementioned, technology will play a significant role in the establishment of the company and its success. One of the first aims of the company is to employ a social media strategy that is tied to its marketing. Additionally, finding specific investors to secure capital and resources needed for the most up to date point of sale systems and operating costs. The current market specifies that consumers enjoy ice cream and that they will purchase it irrespective of the fact that ice cream and the assorted products can be purchased in supermarkets. According to Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, "the industry is an $8 billion [one and] 90% of all U.S. households regularly consume frozen desserts [because they] are an affordable luxury" (2014). Given this industry analysis, the Icⱻ Crème Company stands to capitalize on the marketplace with its ice cream, gelato and sorbet offerings. Furthermore, the company plans to expand into e-commerce at the 5 or 10-year mark depending upon business finances. This will allow for a better capitalizing on the consumer marketplace as consumers enjoy having ice cream shipped to their door without the need to go to the supermarkets. Additionally, after the first year, there are plans to sell only the ice cream in supermarkets to engender more business and target consumers that frequent grocery stores.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

At the core of the marketing strategy for the Icⱻ Crème Company is social media. Gonzalo (2013) writes that social media is important for five reasons: it provides consistency for a brand; allows for a demonstrable ROI; gives an allocation of resources; creates a consumer response management approach and allows for a restructuring of the way the business operates (p.1). Given this, it is the belief that Icⱻ Crème Company can create such a strategy by employing several social media strategists to come up with a superb plan to dominate all avenues of social media including Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube for promotional opportunities and consumer engagement. Given social media is the dominating factor in the success of businesses in the 21st century, there is a rationale to believe that considerable investments should be placed in shoring up the marketing of the Icⱻ Crème Company. Moreover, with the expansion into e-commerce and supermarkets, the Icⱻ Crème Company stands to successfully become known in the minds of consumers as the only company engaging consumers online via social media if the strategy is deployed properly. The following is a timeline projection of marketing initiatives that the Icⱻ Crème Company will execute.

Financial Plan

Pricing for the ice cream will be $5, gelato will be $6 and sorbet will be $6. This data is based on current industry trends. Toppings will be an additional $.50 to $1 depending upon the type. It is estimated that the Icⱻ Crème Company’s owner will put in $80,000 of his own money with roughly $50,000 received from investors. The $80,000, the owner will hope to receive back by the 5-year mark. An additional loan of $5,000 will be taken out to ensure proper inventory levels. It is reasoned that sales will rise over a 5 year period. There is a rationale to stipulate that investors will receive their money back within a year’s time given the profitability of the ice cream industry.

Due to the fact that this is a marketing plan for a startup company, the numbers may fluctuate over the course of the first year. The company will employ a total of 10 employees at the beginning and will be family only and the products will be made on site. This will avoid additional costs associated with the product being made off-site with money being devoted to marketing and overall development of the company. The following is a projection of monthly and annual sales.

These numbers are based on selling 15 of each item per hour (* note toppings are not taken into consideration in the calculation) multiplied by an 8-hour workday. The company plans to be open 7 days a week. Given this dynamic, the company stands to recoup costs after the first year.

References

Ayles, A. (2013, April 2). 15 Most Popular Ice Cream Flavors: The Winner May Surprise You! Retrieved from Active Beat website: http://www.activebeat.com/diet-nutrition/15-most-popular-ice-cream-flavors-the-winner-may-surprise-you/

Casserly, M. (2010, June 30). Six Signs Of Small-Business Success. Forbes, Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/30/small-business-owner-success-technology- forbes-woman-entrepreneurs-guardian-life.html

Gkar. (2013, January 28). The Importance of Brand Awareness. Retrieved from Small Business Can website: https://www.smallbusinesscan.com/the-importance-of-brand-awareness/

Gonzalo, F. (2013, November 4). 5 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2014. Retrieved from Social Media Today website: http://socialmediatoday.com/gonzogonzo/1884651/5-social-media-marketing-trends-2014

Ice Cream Sales & Trends. (2014). Retrieved from International Dairy Foods Association website: http://www.idfa.org/news--views/media-kits/ice-cream/ice-cream-sales-and- trends/

Kilara, A., & Chandan, R. C. (2007). Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts [Article]. Retrieved from Research Gate website: www.researchgate.net

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt. (2014). Retrieved from http://menchiesfranchise.com/

Twenty favourite Italian gelato flavours. (2010, August 11). Retrieved from Pocket Cultures website: http://pocketcultures.com/2010/08/11/favourite-italian-gelato-flavours/

Why U.S Dairy Desserts? (2011). Retrieved from U.S. Dairy Export Council website: https://www.usdec.org/Products/content.cfm?ItemNumber=82480&navItemNumber=82251