Recipient Organization
DELIGHT FOODS, INC.
1317 COPLAND OAK DRIVE
MORRISVILLE,NC 27560
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Marketing and packaging are key steps in introducing a new product to consumers. Delight Foods has done four years of research into the Domestic Production of Vegetable Soybeans in partnership with crop scientists, food scientists and a cooperative of farmers. Now, this team will move into commercialization. This research will develop a powerful brand platform, including the story about North Carolina small farmers, for promoting domestically grown vegetable soybeans. The research will inform efforts to quantify and develop an innovative packaging strategies that effectively communicate the brand platform to consumers, and will be leveraged for further development of the brand platform. This research aims: (1) To conduct qualitative consumer tests of the overall unique selling proposition and brand platform for Delight Soy's vegetable soybeans. (2) To conduct qualitative consumer tests of specific branding elements, including, but not restricted to, the image, the
logo, the story on the package, the nutritional information, the health benefits, and the value proposition.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
To conduct qualitative consumer tests of the overall unique selling proposition and brand platform for Delight Soy's vegetable soybeans, specifically to conduct qualitative consumer tests of specific branding elements, including, but not restricted to, the image, the logo, the story on the package, the nutritional information, the health benefits, and the value proposition.
Project Methods
Delight Foods will begin testing its brand platform to achieve an in-depth understanding of consumer attitudes and perceptions toward packaging. Consumers will often prefer a certain brand message, yet fail to translate that into action at the point of purchase. The test package will provide a tangible link between an actual product and the brand message. Phase I will tell us how positively consumers accept our branding platform. This will be crucial before beginning Phase II, when we must develop a branding and marketing system based on the unique selling proposition validated in Phase I. This empirical study will be the foundation of our future advertising and marketing decisions. Phase I research is crucial for Phase II marketing planning and brand development work. Because the brand platform we are testing is completely new, we would like to have sound information about consumer perception, so we can determine the brand's feasibility. Well-designed focus group
research will help us gain a deeper understanding about Delight Foods' proposed branding platform and packaging design. The focus group is an exploratory research method used to help companies gain a deeper understanding of their customers' and prospects' perceptions, feelings, motivations and desires. Focus groups are an established, well-respected means of gathering in-depth, qualitative information such as opinions and attitudes. Focus groups typically bring eight to twelve people together for a round table discussion lasting from one to two hours. Qualified participants are most often recruited by telephone and offered an incentive to attend each group. Participants can be qualified by specific segments or drawn by random selection to match targeted demographics. The project plan includes the following steps: 1. Develop Creative Brief and Research Design: Write the Brand Brief and the Creative Brief that will provide direction regarding Delight Food's unique selling proposition
and brand identity. In this phase, we will develop the research design which will direct all research activities. 2. Develop Packaging Design and Begin Recruitment of Participants: Once the team has reviewed the Creative Brief together, the design team will begin work on the package design considering issues such as shape of the package, re-sealability, display issues, and consumer behavior in the frozen food aisles. We will also leverage secondary research (both qualitative and quantitative) that studies consumer behavior and retailer requirements for frozen food products. The research team will begin to pre-qualify candidates for the research as soon as the package design is ready for production. 3. Organize Four Focus Group Sessions: The research team will facilitate and moderate four groups of participants at focus group facilities. 4. Analyze and Present Results: The analysis will delve into the ramifications of the findings to Delight Foods brand and packaging strategy and
provide recommendations for future research and development.