Brand Positioning

The best tasting food is also the purest. That means no chemicals in your food, in your air or in your the earth. It’s an easy ethical choice and an economic one that helps sustain local economies and businesses. SPUDS organics is an advocate for changing the way we consume and nurturing your free time. Seems hard to believe you could get so much from a potato.

a Recap on Opportunities / a New DIrection

HOUSEHOLD CONSULTANCY
A complementary consultancy for any spuds customer and a face-to-face opportunity. For new customers, the Spuds! consultant would orient them thru the online ordering system and answer any questions on organics. For the dedicated customer, spuds would respond to a pre determined goal to make the individuals household more sustainable. (ie composting for an apartment, hydro)

YOUTH EDUCATION and OUTREACH
Schools and 2.0
Inner school meals

WORKSHOPS / EVENTS
Spuds could create a community here people who want to become active can do it with some expert leadership. Topics would be similar to the education and could include SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM to more immediate opportunities as HEALTH AND NUTRITION, HOUSEHOLD GARDENING AND COMPOSTING, COOKING.


TAKE OUT DELIVERY and PREPARED MEALS
a de-emphasis on carbon emissions and a little more wiggle room. Organic Deli-style foods delivered to you after a long hard work day.

MORE AGGRESSIVE PROMOTIONS AND MARKETING
Gorilla marketing strategies for example – “THE APPLE CAMPAIGN” – a perfect opportunity to reach out to the Vancouver community would be to run a gorilla marketing project. Creating a presence in main transit arteries, Spuds! re-introduces itself, its rebranding with organic consultants and a free apple. (apples being one of the top produce items (as always, keeping waste and materials to a minimum)

CONCLUSION

– The competitive market is growing but so is the demand. Organic food sales are expected to continue at 20-24 percent into the next decade. It is not unrealistic to assume that that this trend will and would eventually overtake conventional food production techniques and become the norm.

The competition for Spud! is not within other delivery services but the big grocery chains that are expanding their organic offerings as well as the farmers markets which are becoming more common. Both competitors leverage unique selling points. The Grocery chains offer the one-stop experience where produce and products can be held and scrutinized. In this setting customers are more likely to impulse buy or stock up on surprise sale items. For the Organic Grocery stores, like Whole Foods, they also offer in-store expert advice, a chance to really know your food and a bondable customer experience. The farmers markets, create an alternative setting which is half event and half grocery shopping. Often farmers mix with artisans, musicians and the experience is festive.

What both competitors do well is create unique settings that suggest and create AN ORGANIC LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE.


SHIFTING FOCUS

Spuds needs to reposition themselves as the pre-eminent source for LOCAL (westcoast) organic production and the Organic Lifestyle as a whole. Spuds needs to create opportunities that allow for face-to-face interaction and experience. Still quite unknown, they need to expand on marketing efforts beyond the referral system. As 10 year organic veterans, they can capitalize on their expertise by actively educating customers and prospects.

These suggestions would involve building from Spuds delivery division and including an educational and outreach consultancy.

Who Buys?

THE CONSUMER

Consumers prefer organically produced food because of their concerns regarding health, the environment, and animal welfare, and are willing to pay the price premiums established in the marketplace. The top seller by far is produce with vegetables winning over fruit. Most popular items are strawberries, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, apples, grapes, bananas, potatoes. Organic Dairy products are rapidly gaining popularity.

One third of the us population is currently buying organics with heavy buyers accounting for 3%

Reasons for buying organic.
66% health and nutrition and a new understanding of allergies
38% taste
26% environmental concerns
16% availability

12% of the shoppers said the word ”organic” was a primary factor in their purchasing decision

Deciding factors are : Appearance (fewer defects), price, size and packaging, whether the item is on sale, organic.

The Person: female, small household with higher income, a household knowledge of organic agriculture, children under 18.

New Threats!

A BAD SEASON/POOR CROPS – experienced by any farmers within the 800 mile radius may cause extended shortages on major supplies.

PRODUCE/DELIVERY RADIUS – seasonal produce is only in store during it’s harvest time.

I.T. PROBLEMS – if experienced even once, can tarnish a consumers experience, and they won’t even know it.

BAD ECONOMY & THE CHEAPER PRICE OF CONVENTIONAL PRODUCTS – may have many customers cutting back on Organic products for cheaper non-organics in order to save.

EXPERIENCE DESIGN – the art of shopping can be a day long event that is both entertainment and celebration of all things culinary. Competitors like Whole Foods have create an atmospheric shopping experience.

MOST CONVENTIONAL FIRMS ARE NOW HANDLING ORGANICS
this will only increase.

Currently they are sold in 46% sales natural foods stores

47% sales conventional grocery stores, direct-to-consumer markets, and club stores. (this shift occurred in 2000, at spuds’ infancy)

7% farmers' markets, foodservice, and marketing channels other than retail stores.
With farmers markets ever expanding.

Spuds should make themselves spresent at farmers markets

ORGANIC FARMERS could at some point be unable to meet the high demands and this would reflect poorly on Spud! Ability to deliver.

New Opportunities!

ORGANIC IS FASHIONABLE -
Organic farming and livestock is the fastest growing sector in agriculture since 2002 it has double in production twice. There is a new desire to return to the ‘basics’ in food production and preparation. The conventional food chain has lost its integrity.

THE ART OF COOKING
AT HOME – the rising trend in frugality is to return to cooking and hosting at home.

JOINT VENTURES / STRATEGIC ALLIANCES - Spuds has begun to venture into strategic alliance with several Vancouver restaurants, including Vancouver favourite "Vj's" which culled a huge response for the Valentine's contest. Any and all organic or ethically responsible business via online linking and promotional piggy backing.


EDUCATION - Educational components either online thru new networking technologies or as a chance to create face to face experience with spuds reps.

LOCAL SCHOOLS OUTREACH – informing kids as part of a health outreach component

LIFESTYLE
SERVICES -



STRONG WORKING RELATIONSHIPS TO PRODUCERS
to overcome tight supply and to increase availability of more produce.

COMMUNITY AWARENESS – SPUD site as HUBB - building on the referral system, the spuds well-equipped online shop could support a community hub and resource for groups interested in expanding on a sustainable lifestyle.

Furthermore, developing community awareness thru sustainable print design could expand the Spuds brand to a wider audience not familiar with local trends hile keeping up with the spuds code of ethics.


EXPANSION OF PRODUCTS – the popularity of organics means more and more interesting products are becoming available. Right now the Organic Desserts brands are on the rise.

New Weaknesses!

WEEKLY DELIVERIES IS LIMITING. Spud should consider moving away from the carbon emissions campaign and adding a secondary delivery day.

LACK OF MARKETING is by word-of-mouth only.

LACK OF LOCATION - of the business, though secondary to the business itself, could have more of a visual presence and could perhaps host events or opportunities with a face-to-face interaction.

DISPLACEMENT -
the customer never has a tactile shopping experience and at times buying you food via a keyboard can feel distinctly odd.

STILL NOT ONE-STOP -DELIVERIES - are currently only available once a week. This system relies on the customer negotiating their needs for this period of time which often results in them also having to shop elsewhere. Customer retention becomes unreliable.

WAREHOUSE LIMITATIONS - The amount of products are still limited as compared to a store setting.

SHELF LIFE - Organic produce ‘appears’ to rot faster than those grown with pesticides

HOW DO YOU PROVE COMPETITIVE PRICES or ENCOURAGE customers to try new products?