A PROJECT REPORT ONMARKETING MIX OF PRAWNOES

SUBMITTED BY,DIVYA A BABYMBA IV SEMESTERJUNE 2014UNDER THE GUIDENCE OF;NITIN SINGH(Business manager of CIFT)ASWATHY MOHAN(Assistant prof.KUFOS)SUBMITTED TO,SME, KERALA UNIVERSITY OF FISHERIES & OCCEAN STUDIESintroductionReady-to-eat Snack Food Industry is a potential market with consumers not being brand loyal there is always a scope for new entrants with new innovative products. Consumers generally like to try new products emerging in the markets.

The central institute of fisheries technology(CIFT) , specializes in extruded Snack Food Technology, a food processing technique for preparation of nutritious food. CIFT have come out with a protein rich fish based snack food FISH KURE by incorporating fish mince, cereal flours, spices and salt. CIFT prepares this snack using twin-screw extruders which are popular among the food manufacturers for specialized food items with high versatility and quality. CIFTs technology for extruded snack food from fish was taken by a woman entrepreneur, Mrs. OmanaMuraleedharan, Charis Food Products, Aroor, Kerala. Before registering as an Incubatee at ZTM-BPD Unit, she was running a small scale metal industry named Amruta Metal Works. She approached CIFT with the idea to develop prawn flavored extruded snack foodA brand named Prawnoes was created and registered for trademark protection by ZTM-BPD Unit. CIFT developed and standardized three varieties of Fish Kure for the Incubatee, Spicy Shrimp, Shrimp n Onion and Prawn Seasoning. The product was launched in December 2013. Prawnoes has received excellent product reviews during its test marketing period and Mrs. Omana is planning to add more snack foods to her product range. CIFT gave her technical guidance in developing the product, standardization of process parameters, testing, packaging solutions, ideas for branding, assistance in trademark filing and setting up their own production unit.Prawnoes, is the first Prawn Flavored Ready-to-eat Snack Food. Usually, extruded products are prepared using flour , which have less protein content and are limited in some essential amino acid . By incorporating protein rich Prawn Flavor, the product is enriched snack food.The extruded food products that are currently available in the market are prepared using cereal flour, which have less protein content and are limited in some essential amino acids. Fish is an ideal health food as it is high in protein and low in fat and calories. Fish and fish based products are gaining more importance among the present population due to its nutritional health based advantages.

By incorporating fish mince along with cereal, CIFT has produced a fish based protein enriched and delicious extruded snack food product, PRAWNOES (Fish Kure). This nutritious and delicious snack provides alternative to the high fat and low-protein convenience store snacks. The rapid economic and population growth is set to fuel expansion of the snack food industry in India and the extruded food like Prawnoes can likely become highly poloraised between premium and economy offerings.

RESEARCH PROBlem

marketingmix of prawnoes

Reseach is an academic activity as such the term should be used in a technical sense. A company has to ensure a marketing mix is created that appeals specifically to those people. The marketing mix is a term used to describe the four main marketing tools the 4Ps,

1. PRODUCT PLANNING2. PRICE PLANNING3. DISTRIBUTION PLANNING4. PROMOTION PLANNING

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study carried out in Ernakulam so its scope is mainly limited to Ernakulam. The product selected for a project is an innovative nonveg snack.Area for research work is allotted by our company project guide.Sample members are consumers and distributers.It gives information about the services given by distributor to their retailer.It gives information about the competitors products.It provides suggestions to the company to improve their products sales.It gives information about the sales promotion activities to improve the snack sale.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

a.primary To study the 4 ps of PRAWNOES To introduce new distributors for PRAWNOES To study problem facing to launching an innovative product To study product strategies for Growth To find the problems faced by retailers in selling of snacks To study the effect of marketing activities on snack salesb.secondary To study the penetration level of PRAWNOES in Ernakulam To collect the information about the competitors. To organize sale promotional activities to improve snack sales. To generate and secure consumer awareness

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYRESEARCH DESIGN FOLLOWED:-Descriptive Research is the research method used because descriptive studiesembrace a large proportion of market research. The purpose is to provide an accurate snapshot of some aspect of the market environment. Descriptive research is more rigid than exploratory research and seeks to describe users of a product, determine the proportion of the population that uses a product, or predict future demand for a product. As opposed to exploratory research, descriptive research should define questions, people surveyed, and the method of analysis prior to beginning data collection. In other words, who, what, where, when, why, and how aspects of the research should be defined.SAMPLING:-SAMPLING TECHNIQUE USEDIn this project the technique of sampling used Judgment sampling. Judgmentsampling involves the choice of subjects who are most advantageously placed or inthe best position to provide the information required.SAMPLE UNITIn this project case sample were the consumers and distributors of Ernakulam& the aim was to know the acceptance of a nonveg snack to the customer and the competitors present in the market.SAMPLE SIZE: 300 consumers &30 Distributors of Ernakulam from various region mainly urban and rural areas.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKIn order to study and attain above mentioned objectives, it is essential to study / revise following concepts in marketing in context of present study.Marketing mix-The term "marketing mix" was first used in 1953 when Neil Borden, in his American Marketing Association presidential address, took the recipe idea one step further and coined the term "marketing-mix". The marketing mix help us to define the marketing elements for successfully positioning our market offer. One of the best known models is the Four Ps, which helps us define our marketing options in terms of product, place, price and promotion. Use the model when we are planning a new venture, or evaluating an existing offer, to optimize the impact with our target market.Four Ps-Elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as 'the four Ps':A prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a 4 P classification in 1960, which has seen wide use. Product - A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry& the hotel industry or codes-based products like cellphone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system. Packaging also needs to be taken into consideration. Price The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product. Place Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet. Place is not exactly a physical store where it is available Place is nothing but how the product takes place or create image in the mind of customers. Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. A certain amount of crossover occurs when promotion uses the four principal elements together, which is common in film promotion. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards. Public relations are where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events. Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important role in word of mouth and Public Relations.

SizeList priceAreaAdvertising

QualityMRPLocationSales promotion

ShapePricing policyCoveragePublicity

BrandPricing strategyTransportationPersonal selling

ColourTrade discountWarehousingPublic relations

DesignPrice discountLogisticsDirect marketing

VarietyCash discountMaterial handling

PackagingQuantity discountChannels

WarrantyCredit termsDistributor

GuaranteeMode of paymentRetailers

AccessoriesPenaltyAgents

After sale serviceInstallmentsDealers

DATA BASE

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES:In this project the technique of sampling used is Judgment sampling. Judgment sampling involves the choice of subjects who are most advantageously placed or in the best position to provide the information required.Information is collected by personally contacting retailers through interviews.Types of data analysis techniques used in the project:- Tabular analysis.- Graphical analysis.- Percentage analysisSOURCES OF DATAInternal source-Information is collected from a data of the company.JournalsExternal source-1.PRIMARY DATATo collect primary data from Retailers Questionnaires are used. Questionnaire areprepared very carefully so that it may prove to be effective in collecting the rightinformation.2.SECONDARY DATASecondary data collected from different website, Books, etc. This secondary data formed the conceptual background for the project. This secondary data was compared with the primary data collected in area.LIMITATION OF THE STUDY The scope of the study is limited Ernakulam only. This study is limited to Prawnoesnonveg snack only only. The observation is there within a specific time one month The data given by some of the respondents are not accurate due to lack of time. Prawnoes is an newly innovative product so marketing mix too complicated There is a possibility of causal or careless answers by the respondent.HPHHHHHhhhhhZjdhdjhsjdhsjdsdhhhhsREVIEW OF LITERARUREMARKETINMIXBorden (1964) developed the concept of marketing mix and affirmed the idea of defining marketing manager as one who is constantly engaged in fashioning creatively a mix of marketing procedures and policies in his effort to produce a profitable enterprise.Now the marketing mix is defined as set of controllable marketing tools that a company uses to create a desired response in the targeted market. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008) . Set of these tools is generally referred to as 4Ps of Marketing, being Product, Price, Promotion and Place. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008) (Balachandran & Gensch, 1974)

PRODUCTProduct is some good or service that a company offers in the market. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008) Product is something that can be offered to the customers for attention, acquisition, or consumption and satisfies some want or need. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999).Kotler et al (1999) suggests that a marketer should build an actual product around the core product and then build augmented product around core and actual product. Core Product refers to the problem-solving services or core benefits that customers are getting when they buy some product. On the other hand, actual product refers to a products parts, level of quality, design, features, brand name, packaging and other features that are combined in order to deliver the core benefits. Augmented product means associating additional benefits and services around the core and actual product. These additional factors could be guarantees, after sale services, installation, etcSource: Three Levels of Product. (Kotler et al, 1999, Pg. 562)

PRICEcustomer. Price is considered to be the most significant factor that affects consumers choice. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999)Pricing StrategiesCost-based pricing is the simplest pricing strategy. Using this strategy price is set by adding some mark-up to the cost of the product. This strategy works if firms prices are not too high as compared to the competition. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2005) Another cost-oriented pricing strategy is Break-even Pricing. Firms determine the price at which they can recover manufacturing and marketing cost, or make targeted profit. (Nagle& Hogan, 2006)Competition-based Pricing Price is what a customer have to pay to acquire a product, or cost of a product to a is when a company sets prices in accordance with the competition. Prices are largely based on the prices of the competitors. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2005)In Customer-value based Pricing, products are priced on the basis of perceived value of the product. Company shall find out what value customers assign to competitors product and what value they perceive of companys product. Measuring perceived value is difficult and if the more prices are charged than the perceived value, sales will suffer. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999PROMOTIONKotler (2002) defines promotion as the activities a company performs in order to communicate to its existing and potential customers. Multiple channels are used to communicate to different parties (Distributors, customers) and different means could be used to do promotion.Branding Strategies for PromotionKotler (2002) classifies promotional activities into different categories.Advertising is a non-personal presentation of goods or services, such as T.V ads. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002). Keller (1998) considers advertisement a powerful tool to create strong associations with brands.Personal Selling is the type of promotion in which a company representative meets customers personally to sell a product. It is useful to understand customer needs deeply. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002). According to Keller (1998) personal selling is more customized and detailed.Sales promotions/Trade promotions are about giving incentives to enhance sales, such asdiscounts or samples. (Keller K. L., 1998). While Kotler (2002) provides various reasons for sales promotions, he says that sales promotions to end-customers increase short term sales and help building long term relationships, while trade promotions aimed on distributors and retailers so they buy large volumes and advertise the product more.

If a company or a product gets positively promoted without the company paying for it, such as in documentaries, it is called communication through Public Relations. This type promotion has high credibility because it is viewed as news instead of an advertisement. (Keller K. L., 1998)

Standardizing advertisement brings a consistency in the way a brand is portrayed. (Melewar& Vemmervik, 2004). However Boddewyn et al (2004) argues that the companies which follow standardization in advertisement loose competitive advantage.PlacePlace refers to the availability of the product to the targeted customers. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999) A company can adopt multiple channels to get its product to the customers. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002) These channels can be direct and indirect. Choice of channel has strong affect on sales. (Keller K. L., 1998)

Branding Strategies for Place

Direct channels to reach customers could be company owned stores, phone and internet selling while indirect selling could be through intermediaries such as distributors or agents. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002)

Using indirect channel, company has to give up control over distribution and selling. (Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000) Company loses control over prices charged to end users, and how the product is being displayed. (Keller K. L., 1998)

Indirect channels should be used because intermediaries have the experience of the market, they are may be specialized in a segment and may have scale of operations, therefore they can add value to the product. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002).Kotler et al (2002) calls the firms Multi- or Hybrid structures which use both direct and indirect channels for selling.A company having strong brand image is more likely to get qualified intermediaries, and middlemen work more enthusiastically to promote a product with a strong brand image and demand. (Keller K. L., 1998)

B r a n d i n gThe word brand comes from the root word Brander which means to burn. The burn marks were and still are used to tag animals so they could be identified. Today word Brand is used for the same purpose, to identify and distinguish products and services. (Keller K. L., 2008) (Cliffton & Simmons, 2004)

American Marketing Association defines brand as a name, term, sign, symbol, design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services to differentiate them from the competition. While practicing managers define brands as something that creates awareness, reputation and prominence etc in the market. (Keller K. L., 2008) Glatstein (n.d) says that brand image is a promise that a company makes to its customers. Brand image defines who the company is, how it operates and how it is different from its competitors.

To create a brand means ability to choose a name, logo, symbol, design or other characteristics for a product to differentiate it from others. (Keller K. L., 2008) Brand elements are those specialties and basic characteristics of the brand that differentiate it from the other products in the market, these are trade mark able features of a product or service which serve as identification. Brand elements are generally chosen on the basis of six criteria which are Memorability, Meaningfulness, Likability, Transformability, Adaptability and Protect-ability. (Keller K. L., 2008) Customers experience brands in many ways such as product, price, packaging, marketin promotion has high credibility because it is viewed as news instead of an advertisement. (Keller K. L., 1998)

Standardizing advertisement brings a consistency in the way a brand is portrayed. (Melewar& Vemmervik, 2004). However Boddewyn et al (2004) argues that the companies which follow standardization in advertisement loose competitive advantage.PLACEPlace refers to the availability of the product to the targeted customers. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 1999) A company can adopt multiple channels to get its product to the customers. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002) These channels can be direct and indirect. Choice of channel has strong affect on sales. (Keller K. L., 1998)Branding Strategies for PlaceDirect channels to reach customers could be company owned stores, phone and internet selling while indirect selling could be through intermediaries such as distributors or agents. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002)Using indirect channel, company has to give up control over distribution and selling. (Kotler, Marketing Management, 2000) Company loses control over prices charged to end users, and how the product is being displayed. (Keller K. L., 1998)Indirect channels should be used because intermediaries have the experience of the market, they are may be specialized in a segment and may have scale of operations, therefore they can add value to the product. (Kotler P. , Armstrong, Saunders, & Wong, 2002)Kotler et al (2002) calls the firms Multi- or Hybrid structures which use both direct and indirect channels for selling.A company having strong brand image is more likely to get qualified intermediaries, and middlemen work more enthusiastically to promote a product with a strong brand image and demand. (Keller K. L., 1998)