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Nestle Marketing Plan

Company Name: Nestle Dreyer‟s Ice Cream

Tiffany Ton

BUS 103 (sect. #021)

12 June 2019

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Executive Summary

Nestle, as a whole, is one of the largest and most successful companies in the world, owning a

large variety of brands that spread throughout the food and beverage category. Brands range

from baby foods like Gerber‟ cereals like Cookie Crisp; coffees like Nescafe; ice creams, such as

Haagen-Dazs; and even Petcare, such as Alpo and Cat Chow. Currently, it is rated #69 on the

Fortune 500 list, with $133,819 in assets as well as 323,000 employees worldwide. This Swedish

company continues to thrive, and expand their company to reach more variety of people and

markets. One of the most popular brands owned by the company is “Dreyer‟s” ice cream, which

reside in the ice cream industry. Dreyer‟s ice cream provides many different flavors, from

vanilla, to French silk and Eggnog. The company continuously searches for ways to adapt to new

consumer preferences, which has led to their slow-churned ice-cream with fewer calories and fat,

and even their fruit bars to match society‟s optimistic values.

The product faces much competition, such as with Breyer‟s and Ben & Jerry‟s ice cream brands.

Their campaigns for Dreyer‟s tend to revolve around enjoying the ice cream with family, and

making their products a family activity for people to bond together. Though Dreyer‟s has a

variety of different ice creams, they always fall under their theme of family bonding, which

brings in their target market of families – young children and adults alike.

Current Marketing Situation

Nestle is doing well currently, financially as well as socially. Stocks continue to be high, and

sales continue to increase yearly. Their Dreyer‟s brand specifically has hit the shelves of almost

every grocery and drug store up to date, and many have bought their ice cream containers due to

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the constant sales and competitive pricing. Their family-oriented brand has caught the eyes of

many. In the midst of their maturity state, they continue to uphold their position as well as adapt

to new trends.

Financial Review

Table 1 Five-Year Financial Overview

(Numbers above taken from Mergent Online, Statistic.com, Yahoo! Finance, and Nestlé’s

Financial Statements)

Based on the numbers above, we see that Nestle tend to show numbers that increase yearly, with

the exception of 2014-2015, where revenue, net income, and net profit declined a small amount.

This was speculated to be due to the strength of their competition, Swiss Franc, and their weak

numbers in sales for the cosmetic company, L‟Oreal, in which they share ownership in. Also,

percentage in profitability has been inconsistent over years; however, there was a large increase

2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

Total Revenue 91,750 M 90,121 M 89,786 M 89,083 M 91,865 M

Net Profit 10,468 M 7,538 M 8,883 M 9,467 M 14,904 M

Profitability 11.05% 7.97% 9.50% 10.18% 15.74%

Net Income 10.14 B 7.18 B 8.53 B 9.07 B 14.46 B

Stock Price 80.78 83.23 68.22 74.00 73.48

Cost of

Marketing

20,003 M 19,818 M 21,485 M 20,744 M 19,651 M

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from 2017 to 2018, with the percentage rising by 3.08%. This shows that the company has been

doing better in terms of profit this recent year. Apart from that, total revenue continued to

increase yearly. Net income and net profit has shown to be a little bit shaky; however by 2018,

their numbers have grown to be larger than it has in the last three years. Cost of marketing has

been almost consistent, and a substantial amount has been used each year. There is no direct

correlation between cost of marketing and the other numbers. Stock prices continue to remain

high, showing that there is consistent trust and satisfaction in their investors. The growth rates

between 2017 and 2018 remain strong and larger compared to past years, and prospective

outlook for them seem optimistic.

Market Description

Nestle is a part of the food processing industry, while their Dreyer‟s products specifically fall

underneath the ice cream industry. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, there

is a large market for ice cream worldwide. Particularly in the United States, the ice cream

industry was able to contribute over $39 billion dollars to the national economy, and create over

188,000 jobs. Sales tend to peak in the summer, particularly June and July, because of the

summer heat. The market still holds strong, and many ice cream companies and businesses have

been alive for over 50 years. This also leads to much competition for the company, such as

popular brands: Ben & Jerry‟s, Breyer‟s, and Blue Bunny.

Product Review

Dreyer‟s targets families, and makes it known that their product is meant to bring families

together, and to continuously create new ways to satisfy families ever-changing needs. For

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example, in 2005 they created the “Dreyer‟s Slow Churned Light Ice Cream” when people began

to worry more about their health and about having a well-balanced diet. This new product of

theirs tasted mostly the same as their regular ice cream, but with a fraction of the fat and the

calories. Then, Dreyer‟s recently created the “Outshine Fruit Bars” that give a more optimistic

feel for this new positive view in their consumers. Dreyer‟s gives a variety of ice cream flavors,

and emphasizes family on their website and ice cream products by giving simple recipes that can

be made with their products, giving families a chance to bond over creating desserts.

Overall, however, Nestlé‟s key points include:

Having quality ingredients

Emphasizing nutrition and health

Consistently creating new ice cream flavor combinations and products to retain

consumer‟s interest

Ensuring trusted, great-tasting brands for the entire family

Offering low to average competitive prices at generally $4.19 for 48 oz

Competitive Review

Competitor Costs Features Positioning

Ben &

Jerry‟s

Pint - $5.49 -Made with non-GMO sourced

ingredients and cage free eggs

- Kosher certified

- Uses responsibly sourced

packaging

- Quirky ice cream names,

such as Chunky Monkey

Positions itself to be a very

socially responsible and

inclusive ice cream brand that

supports people of all groups.

They pay attention to politics,

and use their brand to help

spread social awareness in

issues.

Breyer‟s 48 oz (3 pints) -

$6.49

-Has many choice to gluten-

free, non-gmo, reduced or low-

fat, lactose free, no sugar

Positions itself to be a family

company, and a business that

uses only the highest quality

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added, gluten free, etc. ingredients.

Blue Bunny 48 oz: $3.97 -Lots of creative ice cream

flavor, 70 unique flavors

-Has an established, cute “Blue

Bunny” mascot

Positions itself as a brand that

promotes happiness, smiles, and

optimism in every bite. Their

products are unique and sweet,

made with high quality

ingredients.

Ben & Jerry‟s, Breyer‟s, and Blue Bunny are some of Nestle‟s “Dreyer‟s” competitors. Because

of its competitive pricing, Nestle‟s ice cream brand has an advantage because it is cheaper than

most, apart from Blue Bunny. Positioning of these brands are similar; however Ben & Jerry‟s

position stand out more as it positions itself to also be socially responsible whereas Dreyer‟s

position as a family oriented company, as well as a „happy lifestyle‟ company, tend to be like

most other ice cream companies. (This, however, does give Ben & Jerry‟s controversy.) They all

claim to use the highest-quality ingredients, and give options to many different flavors. Dreyer‟s,

however, does have different ice cream flavors as well, which sets themselves apart from their

competitor‟s ice cream flavors.

Channels and Logistics Review

Since ice cream can melt, there is no direct selling, or ice cream delivery from the company to

someone‟s home. Instead, the company uses a level three channel distribution, meaning it has

manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. This works well for them because it allows Dreyer‟s to

be conveniently placed and available worldwide in both grocery and drug stores. Target,

Walmart, and CVS are a few of the many stores that sell Dreyer‟s ice cream. The company also

utilizes the internet as much as they can by adding a “store locator” to allow consumers to find a

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store near them that sells their preferred flavor of Dreyer‟s ice cream. There are also Dreyer‟s ice

cream parlors and shops in various locations, such as shopping malls, piers, and amusement

parks. This gives them the advantage of promoting, and giving consumers of option of ease and

convenience.

SWOT Analysis

Positive Negative

Internal

Strengths

Strong presence

Quality ingredients

Reasonable pricing

Variety of flavors and ice

cream products

Recognizable brown and

yellow containers

Social responsibility

Weaknesses

Online/social media

presence

Advertisements

Positioning

External

Opportunities

Technology

Social media

E-commerce

Markets with large groups,

such as companies, schools,

etc.

Threats

Abundance of innovative

competition

Strengths: The company has a strong presence, as the brand is in many retail stores, such as

Target and Walmart, amusement parks, tourist attractions, and shopping malls. Dreyer‟s uses

quality ingredients and shows its social responsibilities by implementing many programs, such as

nutrition and education programs for kids. It also has lots a variety of flavors, such as Rocky

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Road to Pumpkin Pie, and continuously gives out new flavors to maintain people‟s interest. Its

pricing is reasonable when compared to other competition, and its brand is very recognizable

with its yellow and brown containers.

Weaknesses: Though its positioning of being family friendly and healthy is great, having two

separate positions may be confusing to consumers and give the grand two different perceptions

rather than one whole. Also, in this age of technology, Dreyer‟s has had a small online and

online presence, which gives them a disadvantage.

Opportunities: There are many opportunities out there for Dreyer‟s to use, most of which

include technology. They can also enter the market for bigger groups, such as schools and

businesses, by selling wholesale ice cream in big bulks rather than smaller containers.

Threats: There is a lot of competition in the industry. Other than that, however, the market for

ice cream continues to stay strong.

Objectives and Issues

First Year Objective

The company should increase its social media following by at least 8K followers on Instagram

and Twitter to catch up to competitors. A popular and emotional promo video with a celebrity

endorsement should be made by now. By setting this goal, we will see that Dreyer‟s reached a

stronger online presence.

Stock price should be at least 83.4. In 2018, the stock price was 80.78, a decrease from 2017‟s

83.23. By implementing the marketing plan, the company should have a stronger market

presence, as well as create more revenue, hopefully raising stocks back up again.

Second Year Objective

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The company‟s following should increase by 4K more after first year, and posts/tweets should

continue to be consistent. Since the ice cream industry is most likely not to be interrupted by new

substitutes or other external factors, stock prices, hopefully, should continue to shoot up. The

goal for the stock price will be 85.16.

Issues and How to Overcome Them

Nestle is a huge corporation, with 2000 brands in over 150 countries. In frozen desserts alone,

there are more than 20 different brands, and Dreyer‟s is only one of the few brands under the

company‟s watch. Because of its wide range of varieties and brands, Nestle‟s attention to detail

for every brand has decreased, and this includes Dreyer‟s. This is also in consideration that

Dreyer‟s itself has its own line extensions of ice cream: the regular ones, the Slow-Churned, and

the fruit bars. This means that the focus to detail and marketing in these products are not super

significant. This is not great because Dreyer‟s is one of the oldest and long-lasting ice cream

brands, and its products will most likely never go out of “style.” To fix this, the company must

put more emphasis in keeping this brand alive and popular.

Also, another issue is that the brand goes by Dreyer‟s in some places and Edy‟s in other places.

This makes it confusing for people in different areas. This can be fixed by merging the two and

having only one social media accounts for both, and using both names at the same time until it

gets easier for people to understand that both brands are the same. This is important because it

makes it easier for people to have a perception of the brands and not two separate ones.

Marketing Strategy

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Although Dreyer‟s has already made a name for itself, it is important to adapt and continuously

find new ways to market in order to maintain their success and relevancy. Dreyer‟s marketing

strategy will focus on attracting people‟s interest through each of the following: positioning,

product, pricing, distribution, and marketing communications.

Positioning

Dreyer‟s will be positioned as a “togetherness” company, where families and friends can enjoy

frozen desserts during or after spending a happy day together. This is because no matter the time

or age, people will always love the idea of bonding and being together with their loved ones.

Having this position in the market will give people a very warm and positive image of the

company. This will also line up with Dreyer‟s previous positions.

Nestle‟s current main positioning in the market is being family-oriented. Because Dreyer‟s is one

of Nestle‟s brands, it only makes sense for it to be positioned in the same way: as a family-

friendly company. However, as Dreyer‟s extended their line to “Slow-Churned Ice Cream” and

fruit bars, the company started to promote a happy and healthy lifestyle. These two positions

separate will be better combined as “togetherness,” where the latter can still promote nutrition,

but still underneath the idea of “togetherness” in mind. This way, the two ideas merge and people

will have one rather than two different perceptions of the company‟s brand.

Product Strategy

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Because of its position as a company that encourages togetherness, which includes family and

nutrition, the product should also emphasize these qualities. Though the product itself is already

made with quality ingredients, and low-fat and low-calorie ones for the Slow-Churned,

consumers do not necessarily see that health value or the togetherness aspect right away. This is

why, starting 2019, each box of Dreyer‟s ice cream container will contain a small recipe to create

with that particular ice cream flavor, along with a note saying: Find more fun recipes to make

with your friends and family at www.dreyers.com. These recipes, which already exist on the

company‟s website, will make its way easily into consumers‟ view. It will also make it more

appealing to families and friends, as they see that the ice cream brand is not just ice cream, but

an activity and a way to bond.

These recipes, which will have options to reduce sugar or high-fat content, will include their

most popular recipes:

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream in Cookie Bowls

Dreyer‟s Super Sunday Brownie Bowl

Mint Ice Cream Cookie Cups

Their “happy and healthy” values are already shown through their Slow Churned ice cream,

which has half the fat and sugar, as well as their fruit bars. However, the company will

emphasize this quality more to be perceived as a better alternative to other competitors‟ ice

cream health-wise. This will happen by having fun facts on nutrition underneath the lids of these

boxes, or for the fruit bars, on the sticks of the popsicles. These fun facts will be educating

people, as well as be interesting enough for people to be excited to read them.

Pricing Strategy

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Dreyer‟s uses and will continue to use valued-based and competitive pricing, where the company

will base their prices on how much value the ice cream gives to the consumers, as well as how

much competitors are pricing their products. This is due to the abundance of competition in the

industry. Competition also explains why penetration, the method of initially issuing a low price

and slowly raising it, was used during the growth of the company‟s business – to allow them to

look attractive in a competitive market.

Current regular prices of the products are shown in the table below:

Dreyer‟s Regular 48 oz Dreyer‟s Slow Churned 48 oz Dreyer‟s Fruit Bars (6 count)

$4.19 $4.19 $2.89

Distribution Strategy

Dreyer‟s will continue to use a level three distribution channel, which is common for companies

with multi-national markets, where the products will go from manufacturer, wholesaler, and

retailer because it allows the channels to share the costs of shipping, resulting in lower costs.

Also, the large amount of retailers allows the product to have many places of sale, which then

results in convenience for consumers. So as the product reaches retailers, the consumer may visit

these stores to buy the ice cream products, or go online and pick it up in person. It is quick and

easy. With the rise in technology, e-commerce is a large opportunity. However, with ice cream,

e-commerce is still tricky because of delivery. As the company grows in popularity and demand

increases apart from buying from convenience, the company can see to penetrate into the e-

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commerce market after much market and logistical research. However, for now, the strategy is to

maintain the regular level three distribution channel as it has shown to be effective.

Marketing Communications Strategy

The company‟s marketing mix will focus more on improving their advertising and public

relations while utilizing social media and the Internet to its fullest. In advertising, Dreyer‟s

consistently had difficulty maintaining interesting and relevant content, resulting in a weak

online presence. As of June 7, 2019, Dreyer‟s ice cream had 2.1K followers, compared to Ben

and Jerry‟s 899K followers. As for Facebook and Twitter, posts are inconsistent with very few

likes and re-Tweets, generally in the single digit numbers. To increase their online presence, and

create a better online presence, the company will consistently post pictures and short videos with

clever captions. The pictures will consist of, but not limited to: families and friends doing

activities together; promotional deals; people happily eating their ice cream; celebrity

endorsements; and recipes. The main point of these posts will be to advertise deals and

promotions, as well as tell a story in what the company is about: being happy and being together.

These posts will be relevant to today‟s world and keep up with modern trends and attitudes.

In addition to social media advertisements, Dreyer‟s will continue with their public relations

strategy. The company has done well with building a good reputation for themselves with their

position as a company that encourages family and nutrition. Also, they have kept up with their

social responsibility in many different ways including:

Wellness programs

MILO Sports Programs

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Food and medical programs in third world countries

Recycling, reusing, and reducing

To make their good deeds well known, there will be some celebrity endorsements. After market

research, the company will see which celebrities fit the corporate image and would be willing to

endorse the product to increase sales and popularity.

Marketing Research

The company has a feedback survey on their company website, and will be maintaining that

aspect in order to understand what consumers like and dislike. Surveys will be sent out through

email and other online mediums to understand consumers‟ perception of the company, and to see

the reason why the brand is so popular but online presence is lacking. Personal interviews will

also be conducted to regular consumers and people part of the target market to analyze whether

or not any part of the marketing plan, such as more particular positioning and celebrity

endorsements, will increase sales and popularity. Those who are regular, loyal customers, who

can be sought out through email subscriptions, cashier observations, and social media, can

potentially offer insights that can be beneficial to the development of the company. This is the

same with those who are not loyal because those people would have their reasons not to buy the

product, which can also give the company valuable information on what to do and not to do.

Action Programs

First Month

July 2019 – Intensive amounts of market research will be conducted to find out whether people

will changes, and what kind. A redesign of to include recipes on the ice cream containers will be

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created. The company will start looking for a small to medium priced celebrity endorsement.

New social media content will be slowly starting to flow out.

Second Month

August 2019 – Market research will continue. The company will begin to produce ice cream

containers and popsicle sticks with recipes and nutritional fun facts. The new ice cream

packaging will slowing start making its way into retail stores. The older ones will still be sold

and not taken away. A celebrity endorsement will be found.

Third Month

September 2019 -- Dreyer‟s will begin to prepare a short ad campaign on their ice cream

products which will eventually air on many platforms such as YouTube and TV commercials.

Social media content will be starting to flow out more consistently.

Budgets

Social Media Marketing

Twitter - $1,000 a month

Facebook - $2,500 a month

Instagram and Snapchat - $4,000 a month

Total: $108,000 a year

Commercial Marketing

Celebrity endorsement - $100,000

Commercial filming - $15,000

Total: $115,000

Marketing Research Team and Basic Redesign of Products:

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Personal Interviews - $500

Everything else - $15,000

Total: $15,500

Total Budget: $238,000 dollars

The total budget a year for marketing costs will be about $238,000. This will be in addition to

regular marketing costs of about 20.003 M. This will not make a dent in net income and profit,

and will only benefit the company. Marketing has already been doing very well with placements,

pricing, distribution, and position, and adding a larger social media following and online

presence would barely make a dent in their budget. This marketing plan will only improve what

the company already has.

Controls

Dreyer‟s will continue to control the brand image and promise by making sure that any

advertisements and promotions does not tatter the reputation of the company and what they stand

for. Social responsibility programs will continue take place, and it will be ensured that the

company does not stop at any point. Public relations and celebrity endorsements will keep their

image up. If the celebrity endorsement gets into a scandal and does something that the company

does not tolerate, the company will have the right to drop them, which will be stated in the

contract beforehand. There will be open communication between customers and the company

through the phone, website, and social media in order to make sure the company is keeping

customer satisfaction.

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Works Cited

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r-m-a-exclusive/nestle-confirms-in-talks-to-merge-international-ice-cream-ops-with-rr-

idUSKCN0RZ0Z720151005

Duncan, E. (n.d.). Topic: Nestlé. Retrieved June 13, 2019, from

https://www.statista.com/topics/1439/nestle/

Hitesh, B. (2018, December 31). Marketing Mix of Nestle - 4 Ps of Nestle - Nestle Product

marketing mix. Retrieved June 13, 2019, from https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-

mix-nestle/

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https://www.nestleusa.com/asset-library/Documents/Media/NestleDreyersIceCream.pdf

NESTLE SA (NSRGY) Stock Price, Quote, History & News. (2019, June 13). Retrieved June 7,

2019, from https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/nsrgy?ltr=1

Nestle SA. (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2019, from

https://www.mergentonline.com/companydetail.php?compnumber=15267&pagetype=syn

opsis

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https://www.nestle.com/asset-

library/documents/library/documents/financial_statements/2018-financial-statements-

en.pdf

Nestlé Dreyer's Introduces First National Line of Fruit and Vegetable Frozen Bars. (n.d.).

Retrieved June 7, 2019, from

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https://www.nestleusa.com/media/pressreleases/nestl%C3%A9-dreyer%E2%80%99s-

introduces-first-national-line-of-fruit-and-vegetable-frozen-bars-

Zhu, Y. (2016, June 21). The World's Top-Selling Ice Cream Brands. Retrieved June 7, 2019,

from https://www.forbes.com/sites/yehongzhu/2016/06/21/the-worlds-top-selling-ice-cream-

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