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BUS 312

Principles of Marketing

Marketing Plan

Market Conditions

The breakfast cereal market is a growing and competitive market, both nationally and

internationally. The current market situation includes, but not limited to well-established,

and well- known manufacturers of cereal products, to unknown manufacturers, new to

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the market manufacturer, and specialty product manufacturers. One such new line of

boxed breakfast cereals is manufactured by a company called KIND with a world-wide

reputation for its healthy snack products .The philosophy of this company is that “We

believe you shouldn’t have to compromise between health and taste.”

In 2020, KIND introduced a variety of healthy boxed cereal choices, starting with 4

flavors: Apple Cinnamon, Cranberry Almond, Dark Chocolate Almond, and Honey

Almond.
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These are 5-grain cereals with proportionate amounts of nuts or fruits that are plentiful

and nutritious. The good news is that the cereal is fostered by the growing and

continued success of KIND which is a well-known and successful manufacturer in the

healthy snack category. KIND has re-imagined its very fresh ingredients, whole grain,

whole fruit, and whole nuts by creating a flavorful boxed cereal product line.

KIND’s target audience is the consumer that is interested in quality foods, willing to pay

a bit more than competitive or non-competitive boxed cereal brands that share the same

shelf space at specialty retailers or other mainstream grocery stores to ensure both

tastiness and healthiness in product consumption. The competition in this space is

fierce with other longstanding manufacturers in the cereal space upping their product

line to meet the needs and wants of today’s boxed cereal consumers. The profile for this
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consumption is typically on-the-go people that want health benefits from their breakfast

cereal without compromising the crunch, texture, tastefulness, and overall quality.

Things like whole grain, nuts, and fruits, less sugar and gluten free matter to the

consumer of KIND boxed cereal products. There are sufficiently enough products from

this new cereal line that enables their targeted audience to have options and choices.

Brand loyalty and household names of longstanding cereals enable repeat sales for

those consumers that routinely purchase the same brand of cereal. Today, consumers

have a choice of a mixture of cereal options on grocer’s shelves. From cereals that

simply tastes flavorful, fruit flavored, sugary, or with a crunch, to cereals that are

marketed to consumers that have special dietary wants and needs, there is something

in the market that can attract a wide variety of consumers. From a manufacturer

perspective, a quality product, brand, and marketing strategy are essential for any hope

to survive the competition. The market continues to change as consumers become

more educated about their health and wellness as well as reading labels on each box of

cereal to explore ingredients, caloric content, and nutrition.

From a consumer perspective, the number of boxed cereals in the average grocery

store is overwhelming, often taking up a lot of shelf space from top to bottom. Cereals

are purposely packaged in accordance to their company brand, to attract targeted

consumers and in a way that makes their product stand. This can be due to the box

size, shape, and presentation as well as the contents, that is the cereal itself. Some

cereals are packaged in boxes with vibrant colors or cartoon characters, or characters

that are part of the brand that may appeal to children. These boxed cereals are
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recognizable and notably are those that are often sugary or fruit flavored. Other boxed

cereals that are marketed to a similar target audience that KIND hopes to appeal to, are

more conservative in packaging and purposefully designed with a matter of fact visual

presentation that would be attractive to a family of all ages. This kind of packaging

aligns with the products that attract health conscious consumers, the consumer that is

prone to reading ingredients, consumers with dietary restrictions, such as gluten free, or

seeking health benefits from added nutrients, whole grains, or lower sugar levels. In a

market filled with many competitors that are marketing their products online in addition
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to a variety of grocery and specialty stores; there is fierce competition for market share.
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The strength of KIND boxed cereal is that it rests on the already health-and wellness

and kindness reputation of the company. The ingredients are high quality, there is

tastiness and health benefits and the product itself holds its own. The competitiveness

of the boxed cereal market itself necessitates a strong and viable marketing approach to

be visible in store ads, specials, health magazines, or other visible publications. The

pricing of the product, when compared to other healthy boxed cereals is somewhat

competitive, but higher than other breakfast boxed cereals that reside on the grocer’s

shelves and without emphasis on gluten free, high quality ingredients, less sugar, or any

other difference between the KIND brand and other boxed cereals. The more sugar, the

less the cereal costs as sugar becomes the main ingredient versus the whole grains,

whole nuts, and whole fruits that comprise the KIND breakfast cereals. KIND is new to
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the boxed cereal scene, and that places a heavy weight on the loyalty and reputation it

has in its successful healthy snack products to pull through and above current

competition.

Bibliography
Mordorintelligence.com. 2020. Breakfast Cereals Market | Growth | Trends | Forecasts.
[online] Available at: <https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/breakfast-
cereals-market> [Accessed 1 December 2020].

BERNING, JOSHUA & RABINOWITZ, ADAM. (2017). Targeted Advertising in the

Breakfast Cereal Industry. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. 49. 1-18.
10.1017/aae.2017.1.
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