Founded in 1964 in Hamilton Ontario, Tim Horton's is a Canadian success story. In 2014, along with Burger King, Tim Horton's was acquired by Restaurant Brands International, now the world's third-largest chain of restaurants.

Tim's recently decided to launch a new dark roast blend of drip coffee. In their business analysis they saw an opportunity to capture more coffee drinkers; their research showed that 50% of the coffee consumers in Canada and the US last drank a dark roast coffee. As a result of these discussions, the company developed multiple flavour formulations of the dark roast and initially launched the blend in only two cities: Columbus Ohio and London Ontario.

With a well-known brand and an established distribution channel through their 4613 locations, the company saw Dark Roast as a successful addition to their product mix. The advertising creative for the launch showed groups of consumers entering a black Tim's location in the pitch dark, where they were handed a cup of the new blend and invited to taste it. Consumers in the ad spoke to the "rich bold taste" of the new blend. This creative was used on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and the company's YouTube channel, and in a national television ad campaign across Canada and the US as well as in print and outdoor advertising in major cities in both countries.

When the company decided to proceed with full production of their new blend and the marketing team determined the strategy for all areas, what stage in new product development was Tim Hortons entering?

1. market test
2. commercialization or product launch
3. product development
4. market strategy