Marketing Mix: Product

When are which needs addressed?

Well, as is mentioned in positioning, Ambro is targeted at the busy but health-conscious people. So it satisfies the need for a quick lunch, which means that it actually provides consumers the time lost with having a regular or even fast food lunch since Ambro could be easily made and be consumed on the go. Besides, Ambro satisfies the need for healthy food – an optimized portion provides both men and women with all the healthy, nutritious ingredients of a perfect meal. 

But is this linkage clear enough? Are organic foods healthy? The topic is subject to discussions lately, but the most important blogs (like this one, this one or this one) tend to positively answer this question and rely themselves therefore amongst others on this Newcastle research, even though a Stanford Analysis seems to oppose it (which in turn is again opposed here). Apart from academic research, many consumers live with the simple heuristic that organic food means also healthy food, so therefore we think marketing Ambro as organic will appeal to health fanatics.

Our target customers can use Ambro as a replacement for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Ambro could be used as a replacement for any of them. However, research shows that most U.S. citizens regularly skip breakfast. Therefore, Ambro could be the most convenient solution for breakfast skipping while simply consuming it on the way. However, it is just as likely that business people need a quick lunch, or work late and miss a good dinner later the day. In those cases, Ambro provides a healtheir solution than fast food or simple sandwiches.

Product Features

So far, the product consists of a powder that is sold in big bags of 8 meals. One meal always accounts for two breakfasts. The powder itself provides the specific ingredients, but consumers still need to scoop and mix the product themselves.

Since Ambro is a higher-than-average priced product (see the other post), it is important that the texture and layout of the package carry distinctive features that promote Ambro’s premium positioning. This can be reached through using high-end materials, and/or carefully designed packages that support the product image. For example the brand Innocent produces premium smoothies and communicates a playful brand image through their layout and premium package materials.

Possible Product Improvement

A possible improvement could lie in creating one-portion packages, so that people do not need to worry about amounts anymore. To even increase simplicity, these packages could be made in a way that users can open the package, add the water, close the package, shake, and consume. The package might look something like this:

The first package should have some resealing mechanism on top so that consumers can add water, close the package, shake, and consume. The second package however, should have some folding feature so that consumers can unfold it, add water, put the cap on, shake and consume. The third package would use the same mechanism as the first but with a different material.

Blue Ocean Strategy

In fact, Ambro does not particularly face competition but rather enters a whole new market. In other words, Ambro creates a blue ocean strategy. Ambro renders competition irrelevant by creating a leap value for both themselves as well as the customer. While meal replacements already exist, Ambro is the first one using organic and healthy ingredients. This drives up the price as well, leaving greater potential for operating profit. So with regards to competition, Ambro will be the very first healthy meal substitute, and ideally, Ambro will also be easier to use than competitive products.

Ambro’s cost are high though (which is different from traditional Blue Ocean Strategy) but this is only due to the use of specific ingredients. When the product attracts an initial customer base, opportunities for cheaper ingredient growing and processing could be slowly adapted via economies of scale so that Ambro in the end appeals to a larger customer base. Regarding regular meals on the other hand, Ambro is still cheaper - let alone a regular organic meal.

Sources

Kim, W.C. & Mauborgne, R. (2004). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 69-80.