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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
Berry, F. (2015, October 05). Nestle confirms in talks to merge international ice cream ops with
R&R. Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nestleice-cream-r-
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/
Nestle Dreyer's Ice Cream. (2019). Retrieved June 7, 2019, from
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
Nestle's Financial Statements. (2019). Retrieved June 7, 2019, from
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-
brands-2/#706c36dd5a89
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