Situation Analysis: Where are we now?
The coffee tree is native to Ethiopia. From there it spread throughout the Middle East. Until the 17th Century all the coffee of commerce came from Arabia. Slowly, the efforts of Dutch merchants spread cultivation to the East Indies. Coffee cultivation began in the Americas in the early 1700’s. Most of the coffee trees of the Western Hemisphere are said to be descended from a single plant. It was carried from a botanical garden in France to the island of Martinique in the West Indies by Capt. Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, a young military officer. He kept the tree alive during an arduous voyage by sharing with it his limited ration of drinking water.
Coffee cultivation spread quickly through the West Indies in the next few years. Coffee was the first grown in Brazil in 1729. Brazilian coffee exports achieved importance by 1809, and since the mid-1800’s Brazil has by a considerable margin been the world’s leading coffee rowing nation. Between 1850 and 1900 other Latin American nations developed extensive coffee plantations. Commercial coffee growing began in central Africa about 1900. Africa, however, became a major source of coffee only in the period following The origin of man’s use of coffee is lost in the timeless legends of the Middle East.
One of the most appealing relates that some monks, after observing the liveliness of sheep which had eaten coffee cherries, began to eat the cherries to help keep themselves awake through long nights of prayer. Consumption of coffee probably began by the 6th century AD. A reference to coffee appears in a medical manuscript of AS 900. It was first used as a food, as a medicine, and as an ingredient in wine. Coffee as a beverage similar to that of today – a water extracted of roasted beans – appeared around 1300. In the middle political discussion. Rulers periodically attempted to suppress them; King Charles II of England termed coffeehouses “seminaries of sedition.”
When it became known that roasting coffee beans brought out their flavor, roasted beans were crushed, boiled in water, and then consumed grounds and all. Spices were often added to the brew. In Egypt soon after 1600, sugar was added to cut the bitterness of coffee. The use of milk became common in the late 1600’s. In Scandinavia and colonial America, eggs were added to reduce bitterness.
Espresso, which is brewed by forcing steam through finely ground darkly roasted coffee beans, became popular in the 1940’s. It was the main beverage served in the coffeehouse that began to flourish near college campuses. Again the centers of literary and political discussions, as well as poetry and folksinging , coffeehouse were favorite spots for the beatniks and hippies of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Bad Ass Coffee Company products are attempting to serve the serious coffee drinkers out there. We are trying to focus of course on the older generation as well as the younger generation of coffee drinkers in the United States today. We want to try and aim our coffee more toward the younger generation of coffee drinkers since more and more young adults are starting to drink coffee.
- The Bad Ass Coffee Company distribution channel can be segmented into 4 categories.
- Bad Ass Coffee Company will be targeting the independent retailers as well as the supermarkets and hope start our own brand name stores around the world.
- The people who would probably enjoy our products the most would most likely be the baby boomer type era. We would like to aim our products more toward the new generation of coffee drinkers to come.
- Kids and minorities are not really going to be targeted as much as the young adults but everyone will be recognized as a coffee drinker by our company.
- The serious coffee drinker buys an average of 5lbs of coffee a week. Our goal is to try and raise this average with the bad ass coffee name in every household.
Some firms are forced to develop unique distribution channels because of inadequate promotion of their products by independent marketing intermediaries. Not Bad Ass Coffee Company, we add a direct sales force through selective distribution. We only sell our coffee to a limited number of retailers. In order to get Bad Ass Coffee you must got to one of our many coffee houses in the U.S. or order directly through us. Only a select few specialty stores carry our product. We want our coffee to be a delicacy.
Marketing Objectives: Where do we want to go?
To increase our sales volume in the next year we plan on increasing sales at the Bad Ass Coffee Company by an increase of advertising exposure , awareness of our products to the public, educational seminars such as the one held at The Specialty Coffee Association of America trade show in New Orleans, new target market of the young coffee drinker, and entering the global market.
By using trend analysis which involves forecasting future sales by analyzing the historical relationships between sales and time, the following would be a conservative estimate. Based on the Bad Ass Coffee Company’s current distribution methods, our price range, profit margin, promotions (open house, trade show, and seminars) and high quality of our products, our current level of sales are anticipated to increase in the future.
The total revenue of Bad Ass Coffee Company can be figured by taking the price of the product and Currently Bad Ass Coffee Company sells to distributors at $75.00 a case of 6 bags of Bad Ass Coffee. Last year Bad Ass Coffee sold very close to 25,000 cases, the total revenue for this would be Once that total revenue is computed, expenses must be subtracted to see the actual profit accumulated. With product history and using the above computations, a profit projection could be calculated.
The Bad Ass Coffee Company Mission Statement is as follows: “The mission of the Bad Ass Coffee Company is to provide the best tasting organic coffee in the universe. To do this, we will sell and roast exclusively organic coffee. We will support our customers in an effort to spread the word that organic also means satisfying and delicious. And most importantly to remember why we started this company in the first place. To put our coffee knowledge to good use, to live in harmony with the planet, and to have fun doing it.”
We want our company to be perceived as an industry leader with innovative, quality coffee aimed at the serious coffee drinker. The Bad Ass Coffee Company was recently honored and recognized at The Specialty Coffee Association of America seminar as 1996’s best coffee of the year. An award which.
Strategy: How can we get there?
We want our consumers to be happy with every bean they see come out of our Bad Ass Coffee Bean bags. To meet our consumers needs, we will be trying a few new ideas. We will be offering our own line of flavored creamers. A new and fun bag design is in the process right nowWe will be offering special deals to preferred customers and offering samples of our new line of coffee out this summer. We will be offering these and many more things in the future to attract all different types of coffee drinkers in the United States. Hopefully our new flavors will attract some new customers and our old customers will spice up their coffee with our new flavored creamers for a kick of something new. To help our company grow we plan on putting 50% of our gross profit this year back into the company.
We will also spend a little more on advertising this quarter.. We will cut back on promotional discounts to no greater than 5% for special show orders, open house orders and seminar orders. This will apply to all employees also. We also plan to stay competitive within the market category for the coffee industry.
In different situations depending on the customer, the following would be a possible price concession in the Cash discounts if the product is paid for in specified terms. Quantity discounts for truckload orders.
There are several channels of distribution that can be used. If the buyer meets the Bad Ass Coffee Company standard credits terms , buying minimums, ect. The following flow chart depicts the possible distribution methods available with Bad Ass Coffee Company.
Personal selling will be very critical. It is important to develop a customer relationship where a win-win situation can occur creating long-term relationships with you customers. Once the salesperson had identified a qualified prospect, he or she collects all available relevant information and plans an approach- the salesperson’s initial contact is an invaluable step. A presentation will follow so the client can be familiarized with the product. The actual moment of truth is the selling aspect of our product which can The amount to be spent on advertising is at the discretion of the sales people in the field.
Cooperative advertising budgets, marketing development funds, ect are all budgeted every year to the sales department, although the ultimate responsibility for advertising decision making often rests with top marketing management, the organization of the advertising function varies among different products in our Bad Ass Coffee Company spends approx. $26,000 a year on advertising alone. We spend our money on such things as attending trade shows throughout the U.S.
Advertising our product is essential in good yearly sales quotas. Some of the money is spent on advertising Bad Ass Coffee company in trade flyers, and by advertising products in trade publications to increase buyer awareness around the country. Promotional activities will include offering discounts for trade shows, open houses, and educational seminars across America. Bad Ass Coffee Company also uses independent advertising agencies because they typically are staffed with highly qualified specialists who provide a degree of creativity and objectivity that is different to sustain in corporate advertising departments.
10% of Bad Ass Coffee Company’s budget is allocated to marketing, of that, 10%-30% is spent on advertising alone. My proposition is that 15% will be spent on current advertising methods with the national trade publications. The remaining 15% will be spent on new advertising for the targeted young I we do not accomplish this plan, Bad Ass Coffee Sales could begin to level off. It is necessary to keep the wheel turning, finding new buyers to replace the ones that no longer exist in our market.
Reference
- www.inc.com/incmagazine/archives/019305.html
- www.nerdworld.com/user/dstein/nw204.html
- www.angelfire.com/mn/stenmark/coffee.html
- www.iluminatus.com/fun/agogo/coffee_a_gogo.html
- www.bid.com/bid/cybercafe/occmiss.html
- www.blackhills.com/-hrtearth/jit.html
