Towards the end of 1994 the management team in Irish Biscuits Ltd identified the need to strengthen its marketing function. By July 1995 the marketing department had doubled in size and the marketing budget was increased to £2.5 million. The new team was charged with the task of upgrading the company's corporate image and focusing on the development of new products. Biscuits are one of the biggest markets in the Irish grocery trade, with a current market value of IR £125 million.
[...] AN ADAPTED STRATEGY Irish Biscuits has got a strategy adapted to the various markets. In fact, the Groupe Danone plays an important part concerning the strategy of Irish biscuits. But it is always the Irish Biscuits director who decides for the strategy. The advantage of being a subsidiary of a multinational such as Danone is that it gives immediate access to distribution systems around the world (outside Europe the group also sells into US, Canada and the Middle East) as well as the opportunity to tender for production contracts for other Danone products . [...]
[...] signals of the health dimension in the biscuit market. Indulgence: Higher standards of' living and the importance placed on rewarding oneself hand children are growing phenomena. Within the biscuit market new personalised biscuits, individually wrapped, reflect this trend. Various promotions KIMBERLEY BRAND Heavyweight TV campaign Local radio promotions, PR including Late Night Show, Sampling, Dump displays. THE PRICE The prices vary according to the products but IDL tries to have a very good segmentation for all these products. For example CHOCOLATE KIMBERLEY : Retail Selling Price 89p for pack of six. [...]
[...] Its corporate strategy involves investing in strong businesses rather than trying to reinforce weak ones and operations typically have very strong competitive positions and cost leadership. The biscuit division is the third largest division with in the Danone group accounting for of sales and 11.41 of profits in 1995. Danone is also Europe's leading biscuit manufacturer with annual production of 570,000 tones in 1994. GROUPE DANONE BISCUITS SALES & PROFITS 1993-1999E THE MARKET THE BISCUIT MARKET IN IRELAND: Biscuits are one of the biggest markets in the Irish grocery trade, with a current market value of IR £125 million. [...]
[...] Irish Biscuits LTD This case examines the impact of Groupe Danone parentage on IBL and the effect of' two significant product launches in 1996 on the future direction of the company. It also explores the increasing pressure on the marketing team to make sense of a very complex market place as the traditional market boundaries between biscuits, cakes, confectionery and snack foods begin to blur with changing consumer and retailing trends. In 1966, when Ireland was on the verge of EC membership, W & R Jacob's acquired the biscuit interests of Bolands, a large flour milling and biscuit manufacturing company, and Irish Biscuits Limited was formed. [...]
