Instructions Image credit: Anthony92931 via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY 2.0]. For your final project you analyze the following case study about the grocery retailer "Trader Joe's and work to develop and market a new dessert item for the chain. Review the following and for background: The Company With a near cult following, Trader Joes has carved out a successful position in the competitive grocery market. Started in Los Angeles in 1958 by Joe Coulombe as a convenience store, Trader Joes was dramatically re-positioned in the 1960s as a store with luxurious food at low prices. Trader Joes has grown to 474 stores in 41 states. Estimated annual sales exceeding $13 billion. The company has 38,000 employees. The Shopping Experience What makes Trader Joes a unique grocery shopping experience? Trader Joes stores are not largeabout 10,000 square feetand carry a limited number of items to keep costs down. While there are fewer items (2,500 to 3,000), the items are often unique. More than 70 percent of the merchandise is private label, including Charles Shaw wine that sells for about $3.29 per bottle! Private label has been part of Trader Joes product strategy for more than 30 years. According to Trader Joes president, Doug Rauch, We went into private label because of the value opportunity, so we could put our destiny in our hands. And over the years, consumers confidence in these offerings has grown, allowing Trader Joes to try new things and experiment with other offerings. Private-label offerings allow Trader Joes to knock at least 20 percent off the cost of its products. And all private-label offerings boast no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Dont let the low prices fool youthe merchandise quality is upscale. In addition to organic fruits and vegetables and other grocery staples such as milk, cheese, and meat, there are unusual items such as Trader Joes own chocolate-covered, peanut butterfilled pretzels, and exotic cheeses such as an Indian Paneer and a white Stilton with mango and ginger chunks. The Search for New Products Trader Joes uses a group of trained employees called the tasting panel to evaluate, critique, and improve its varied lines of house brands. New-product ideas have been uncovered in an airport in Thailand and a small restaurant in Italy and brought back to Trader Joes and the tasting panel. This constant influx of new, tasty, critically reviewed products replaces the bottom 10 percent of products. Rotating out the bottom 10 percent isnt easy, but it ensures a constant flow of new products for customers to try, according to Matt Sloan, vice president of merchandising. And customers are willing to travel to take advantage of the value provided by Trader Joes. Trader Joes has become to Manhattan supermarkets what Walmart is to middle America grocery stores. The values offered by Trader Joes exceed the convenience of the local market. According to Jon Hauptman of consulting firm Willard Bishop, there are price-gap tipping points where consumers are willing to pay more for additional convenience. Hauptman says this price gap typically is around 10 percent. Since Trader Joes prices are easily more than 10 percent lower for similar items (generally 20 percent lower) and offered in a more upbeat shopping environment, consumers are willing to trade convenience and tote their Trader Joes shopping bags through the subways of Manhattan. Sampling is a key promotional tool. For a grand opening in Newport News, Virginia, customers were able to try Atlantic smoked salmon and hot cider in the morning followed by roasted red pepper soup, sweet potato bisque, and Tuscan Italian bread in the afternoon. Employees answer customer questions and offer food suggestions. Handwritten suggestions on labels offer ideas for foods that work well together. Recipe cards are available with additional food preparation ideas. Looking for a special dessert? How about a frozen pumpkin cheesecake or strawberries dipped in white chocolate? People will think youve gone through so much trouble, or theyll say, You got that at Trader Joes," says Trader Joes Danny Owens. Your Assignment You are a marketing specialist tasked with creating a tempting dessert that can effectively compete with Trader Joes frozen pumpkin cheesecake and strawberries dipped in white chocolate. Then, your assignment is to develop a marketing plan to launch the new dessert nationally. Before reading any further, we would like you to review Appendix A Building an effective Marketing Plan (pp. 56-70) and Chapters 21-22. Please feel free to look up marketing plans in other literature, as well, as you may need it for the paper. As you can see, marketing plans often differ in nature and content depending on many factors such as the nature of the industry, management needs, and the purpose of the plan. However, most plans follow a similar structure. A product or brand plan would include all of the following components (below). Please use this framework to develop the marketing plan for your new dessert: Executive Summary - a very short (200-250 words) summary outlining the goals and recommendations included in the plan. Situation Analysis - a concise description (350-700 words) of the current relevant conditions in the market: Market Summary Market Needs Competition Market Trends SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Marketing Strategies - The main body of the plan explaining the logic by which you hope to achieve your marketing objectives. This includes identifying the target market, outlining the marketing mix strategies and the level of expenditure. Marketing Objectives Marketing Strategies Marketing Tactics Target market Demographics Psychographics Product positioning (USP) Marketing Mix Pricing Quantity Product review Features, benefits Points of difference Promotion IMC Message Media Advertising Sales Promotion Distribution Types Implementation Milestones Annotated Bibliography - Please be sure to attach an annotated bibliography to your marketing plan that documents all your sources for the project.