The company uses a formal four-step process: 0 Idea Generation: Done in 2004 for pasta to take advantage of the growing demand for quick home meal replacements Vs. done soon after for pizza as a line extension. Concept screening: For pasta: no presence of formal surveys but more an intrinsic conviction that the product was going to be a success Vs. Many surveys done for pizza.
Most important one: 33% of restaurant-goers had a strong interest in a whole grain crust 0 Test Kitchen: Large range of choices for the pasta/sauces. Products designed to be unconsumed in a single meal for two Vs. Basic kit for pizza with separate crust, cheese, sauce and complementary toppings. Product designed to feed 2 to 3 people. 0 Quantification of volume with BASES tests: Similar approaches because the research is done by the same firm. With the difference that already-established Theatre consumers were included in the pizza researches.
Also samples were given during this phase for pizza whereas it wasn’t done for pasta . Results are going to be discussed in the next questions. 7) Forecast of the demand for pizza 0 Trial rate (definite + probable): For pasta 36. 3% For Pizza of + of so 27. 3% 0 JAVA distribution : For pasta : 50% For pizza : 40% 0 Target households : 30% bigger for pizza 0 Margin structure similar in both cases All these data’s seem to disadvantage the demand of pizza compared to pasta, but this is for general consumers.
For people already using the pasta, the pizza will meet a bigger demand: 0 Customer awareness 50% Vs. 12% O “top two” box vs. 54% So my forecast of the demand for the pizza is: 0 For general customers: it’s going to be lower than for pasta but still decent. 0 For ICANN fresco pasta customers: Demand is going to be high and compensate the unreal trend because of the brand awareness 8) What’s to learn about the view of consumers about pizza? 0 Refrigerated pizza has a very bad image regarding quality attributes, slightly better for taste attributes and decent usage attributes. Theatre pizza could not compete with takeout pizza but equals or out-performs other refrigerated pizza in every aspect 0 Of the 17% change with introduction of Theatre pizza, 11% concern frozen and refrigerated so these are the products they want to compete with So in a general way, consumers view pizzas from restaurants in a surprisingly great way compared to the refrigerated ones. There is a window for Theatre to produce something that combines the best aspects of both experiences. ) Pizza concept test results Vs. Findings for pasta Purchase Intent: 0 “Top two” box: For Pasta : 76 % For pizza : 60 % (54% for non-customers and 79% for Theatre customers) 0 Mean Likeability: For Pasta 4. 1 For pizza 3. 7 (3. 5 for non-customers and 4. 2 for Theatre customers) 0 Mean Appearance rating: For Pasta 3. 2 For pizza 3. 0 (3. 0 for non-customers and 3. 1 for Theatre customers) Likes/Dislikes: 0 People favorable to concept: 60. 3 % for pizza Vs. 76% for pasta 0 Concerning the arioso likes, pasta seems to outperform pizza, even for people favorable to concept : 0 Total likes for total people : 24. 3% for pasta Vs. 21% for pizza 0 Total likes for people favorable : 28. 25% for pasta Vs. 26. 27% for pizza 0 Total dislikes for total people : 14. 67% for pasta Vs. 20. 67% for pizza 0 Total dislikes for people favorable : 9. 33% for pasta Vs. 13. 67% for pizza So regarding purchase intents, pasta has general better values, but as noticed before, the values for Theatre customers buying the new pizza are slightly better. Therefore, knowing that pasta sold well, pizzas are likely to sell equally well at least for the pre-established customers.
Regarding the likes, pizza is outperformed in every way so this is a concern that should be taken into account for a more mid/long-term point of view. 10) There is a first mover advantage but it’s really weaker than for pasta because : CLC Major chains like Papa John’s and Pizza hut already introduced whole-wheat or multi- grain crusts 0 Kraft and Nestle are huge players with low-cost frozen pizza 0 Razing is also on the move with a pizza concept But Theatre does not directly compete with major takeout chains.
Kraft and Nestle re currently not direct competitors regarding fresh and healthy pizzas and Razing hasn’t introduced its product yet. So there is a window of opportunity to launch the product with a mild first mover advantage. 1 1) It seems like the product was generally well received regarding the quality of it. Although the crust is a little disappointing for a main feature, sauce and ingredients have a positive impact. So, in my opinion, only the crust needs improvement and that should improve the overall taste. The biggest problem seems to be the price (45% of dislikes because of this is huge, including 23% more expensive than a takeout! According to previous data’s telling us that people greatly prefer the takeout, this is a major issue because Theatre shouldn’t try to compete with restaurants. Moreover Exhibit 10 tells us that for 12″ refrigerated pizzas the price range that most people are willing to pay is 6. 01 to 8$. The mean price is around 10$ and doesn’t change much for people favorable to the project. The current average price of 12. 38$ is way too out of the range and should definitely be lowered under 10$ at least for the launch of the product. 12) Launch the pizza? Definitely yes! The first mover advantage isn’t huge but still exists.
There are good opportunities to implement in this market of fresh and healthy refrigerated pizza. This new product can benefit from the pre-established brand awareness. Although the pizza is likely to sell less than the pasta concept, data’s show that people will be interested in buying it, especially among Theatre customers. But the price definitely needs to be lowered for the launch of the product. Also there are improvements to do regarding the quality of the product (especially for the crust) this last point is not mandatory for the launch but should quickly be taken into account for the evolution of the product.
