ATENEO GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

MASTAT S01

Case 1: Gourmet Garden Range

GROUP 3
Christian Willson Aca-Ac
Jane Jowaher Caoile
Marion Fidelis De Leon
Minette Gabriel
 I. Case

GOURMET GARDEN RANGE

Botanical Food Company is based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It is the food arm of
Berri. In 1999, Botanical launched Gourmet Garden, a range of chopped herbs and spices in
tubes. The range includes basil, garlic, ginger, coriander, chili, lemongrass, mint, and
parsley, and uses innovative technology developed in Australia. Several aspects needed to
be addressed to ensure that the product remained fresh and maintained its flavor. New
agricultural techniques were developed that ensured that the herbs were harvested at the
peak of freshness and flavor. The industry is also more environmentally friendly than some
alternative agricultural crops. The farmers in the Callide Valley (in central Queensland) were
able to lower their water usage by replacing cotton crops with herbs, simultaneously
increasing their income.

Tests showed that the flavor of herbs such as coriander was produced by more than
30 different oils, and that these were lost a few days after harvesting even if the herbs are
refrigerated. The plastic tube design was such that the herbs did not need to be cooked,
dried or heated during processing, allowing them to be packaged fresh. The tube design
used the natural antioxidant properties of the herbs and spices to keep the product fresh. In
surveys, professional chefs and home users could not distinguish between fresh herbs and
spices and the Gourmet Garden range. The product, which took more than five years to
develop, has a shelf life of three months in the fridge and six months if frozen.

Before the product was launched, Gourmet Garden conducted consumer surveys in
San Francisco, Sydney, and London. The company discovered that consumers wanted to be
able to prepare high-quality meals without fuss. The brand name captured the essence of
gourmet flavors and garden freshness. Packaging was also important consideration – the
clear plastic tubes allowed the consumers to see the freshness. Armed with the survey
results, the company was able to approach large supermarket chains and convince them
that there was demand for the Gourmet Garden range. Simultaneously, Gourmet Garden
hired US marketing agency Christie Communication to mount a comprehensive marketing
campaign. The result was that sales in the US quadrupled over one year, and the major
competitor dropped out of this product niche.

Currently, Gourmet Garden products are sold in Australia, UK, Europe, New Zealand,
Canada, and over 8,000 stores in the U.S., making it one of the most widely distributed
Australian packaged foods in history. Gourmet Garden has experienced a sustained growth
of between 20 – 40% every year for the last five years and export represent 70% of the
company’s revenue.
 II. Discussion

Think about the market research conducted by Gourmet Garden before the product was
launched.

1. a. What are some of the populations that Gourmet Garden might have been
interested in measuring for these studies?
Some of the populations Gourment Garden might have been interested are the
following:
1. Professional chefs
2. Vegetarians
3. Frequently used spices of chef and home users Frequently used spices of chef
and home users
4. Food Manufacturers
5. Hotels
6. Restaurants
7. Picky Eaters (health conscious)
8. Traders (exporters and importers)

b. Would Gourmet Garden have attempted to contact populations?

Yes they have attempted to contact population as what was stated in the case.
“Gourmet Garden conducted consumer surveys in San Francisco, Sydney, and
London.”

c. What samples were taken?

The samples that were taken where the populations of San Francisco, Sydney, and
London.

d. In light of these questions, how was the inferential process used by Gourmet
Garden in their market research?
From the population of professional chefs and home users with samples consumer
survey conducted in San Francisco, Sydney and London. They used frequent users
of fresh herbs and spices to test the difference between fresh herbs and Gourmet
Garden products and to make generalizations that there is a market for high-quality
meals without fuss by using their product.
 e. Can you think of any descriptive statistics that might have been used by Gourmet
Garden in their decision-making process? What are those descriptive statistics?
The following are the descriptive statistics Gourmet garden has derived from their
market research.
1. What are the frequently used herb?
2. Level of freshness of herbs
3. Tubes to be used to maintain the freshness

2. a. Some measures Gourmet Garden could have used in its various market research
surveys are listed below. Categorize these by type of data.
i. Age of respondent - ratio
ii. Gender of respondent - nominal
iii. Postcode of respondent - nominal
iv. Type of herbs and spices used - nominal
v. Frequency of use of herbs and spices - ratio
vi. Number of people in household - ratio
vii. Importance of convenience in use of herbs and spices - ordinal
viii. Importance of ready availability of herbs and spices - ordinal
ix. Quality rating of Gourmet Garden herbs and spices as excellent, good,
average, below average, poor. - ordinal
x. Time (hours) spent per week in meal preparation - ratio
xi. Employment status – nominal

b. Think of some other measures that Gourmet Garden might have used to help it
obtain a consumer profile and categorize them by type of data. Give at least 5
measures.
1. Average visits to the market per week – ratio
2. Educational Attainment - ordinal
3. Time of the day shopping is done – interval
4. On average how much money do you spend on buying herbs and spices? – ratio
5. Quality rating of Gourmet Garden branding/packaging – ordinal
6. What is your ethnicity? – nominal
7. Range of Household income – ratio
8. Where do you usually buy herbs and spices? -nominal
9. Taste difference between fresh herbs and spices and Gourmet garden products –
ordinal
10. What percentage of discount would you need to switch from your current brand to
a competitor brand? – ratio
11. Has your purchasing habit ever been influenced by promotions? – nominal
12. How like is it that you would recommend this product to a friend or colleague?
Scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest. – Ordinal
14. How would you rate the value for money of the product? Excellent, Good,
Average, Below Average, or Poor – Ordinal
15. Do you purchase your herbs and spices based on price or brand name? Price,
Brand, or Both - nominal