ElderGrasshopperMaster959
Awake Chocolate Continuing Case Taste Drives Decisions As mentioned…
Awake Chocolate Continuing Case Taste Drives
Decisions
As mentioned after in the Awake case in Chapter 1, the clear focus for the company was to understand consumer needs. This focus on needs describes very well the first stage of the Consumer Decision Process described in this chapter.
When Awake Chocolate was formed, determining how to meet a consumer need was paramount. Awake CEO Adam Derero noted that the rallying cry when starting up Awake was focused on “… delivering the energy benefit in food format. And we are not aware of anything better tasting than chocolate, [so] that’s what we focused on.”
And thus taste is what drove Awake Chocolate, and was the stimulus that would compel consumers to try to solve the problem of a lack of energy with food products instead of beverages like coffee and energy drinks. And the form that has been the most popular for Awake Chocolate has been with chocolate bar type products.
When taste is not a clear advantage, often Awake will shy away from pushing new products to the market with an offering that does not engage their customers. Awake is continually looking at innovative ways to solve consumer problems, and this is often in the form of different forms of delivery in this case a bite-sized candy instead of the more traditional Awake chocolate bar.
“Imagine if Awake was like an M&M type product, but better.” And Awake realized through various trials and tribulations (like granola) that the main deciding factor for consumers will be taste. When looking for food and drink, consumers aim to achieve benefits that go beyond simply satisfying thirst and hunger. Consumers today have so many different alternatives that they can look for multiple benefits. For Awake, the inclusion of energy into a chocolate bar was the “aha” moment that caught the attention of Canadians from Dragons to regular consumers.
When looking at consumers’ needs, it is important to look at the ways and environment environments in which they are will solve problems to meet their needs. For example, when consumers go to the movie theatre, they are tempted by a number of food and beverage choices. While the prices of these products seem exorbitant, there is the temptation that comes along with movie-watching
experience. Awake Chocolate tried a pilot program in movie theatres to see how consumers enjoyed their products. The pilot was not very successful, largely because the format of pilot product did not suit the environment in which consumers were making decisions. Adam said, “I think we were trying to sell them the wrong product. We were selling them our full-sized caramel chocolate bar. And I think that something that is a little more bite sized and snackable, I think that’s the right application there. … “Because if you just look at what people are buying in movie theatres, it’s generally not chocolate bars. It’s usually bags of bite sized chocolate pieces, or candies or popcorn.”products.
When taste is not a clear advantage, often Awake will shy away from pushing new products to the market with an offering that does not engage their customers. Awake is continually looking at innovative ways to solve consumer problems, and this is often in the form of different forms of delivery-in this case a bite-sized candy instead of the more traditional Awake chocolate bar.
“Imagine if Awake was like an M&M type product, but better.” And Awake realized through various trials and tribulations (like granola) that the main deciding factor for consumers will be taste. When looking for food and drink, consumers aim to achieve benefits that go beyond simply satisfying thirst and hunger. Consumers today have so many different alternatives that they can look for multiple benefits. For Awake, the inclusion of energy into a chocolate bar was the “aha” moment that caught the attention of Canadians from Dragons to regular consumers.
When looking at consumers’ needs, it is important to look at the ways and environment environments in which they are will solve problems to meet their needs. For example, when consumers go to the movie theatre, they are tempted by a number of food and beverage choices. While the prices of these products seem exorbitant, there is the temptation that comes along with movie-watching
experience. Awake Chocolate tried a pilot program in movie theatres to see how consumers enjoyed their products. The pilot was not very successful, largely because the format of pilot product did not suit the environment in which consumers were making decisions. Adam said, “I think we were trying to sell them the wrong product. We were selling them our full-sized caramel chocolate bar. And I think that something that is a little more bite sized and snackable, I think that’s the right application there. … “Because if you just look at what people are buying in movie theatres, it’s generally not chocolate bars. It’s usually bags of bite sized chocolate pieces, or candies or popcorn.”
So when Awake introduced “Bites,” bite-sized individually wrapped chocolates with a caffeine equivalent of a half cup of coffee, its use in the workplace and on campus made a lot of sense given the portability and ease of consumption. These two factors are significant in another setting the movie theatre. And Awake Chocolate hopes to one day have the chance to sell the candy-coated treat in theatres.
Questions
Make a defence of the following statement: “Awake Chocolate is unique in the food marketplace because, unlike other new products in this area, it is truly an engineered need.”
Describe how psychological factors identified in this chapter may prevent some consumers loyal to existing products like M&Ms from trying the new
Awake bite-sized candy products once they enter the market.
Using the concepts from this chapter, provide clear justification that Awake products are a more involved purchase than traditional chocolate bars and candies.
