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. 

 

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

a. What are some of the populations that Gourmet Garden might have been interested in measuring for these studies?

 

b. Would Gourmet Garden have attempted to contact populations?

c. What samples were taken?

 

d. In light of these questions, how was the inferential process used by Gourmet Garden in their market research?

 

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?