Marketing strategy for dairy products

Sedentary lifestyle and pandemic caused an increase in obesity in the country. According to the data of the Federal State Statistics Service 40+% Russians are overweight, 20,6% are obese. During the period from 1995 to 2022, teenage obesity had increased by 6 times.
Customers caring about health and figure carefully study the food consumed. They check and search for information on social networks, the Internet, and television… Benefits, health, taste, pleasure are most important. The value and reputation of the brand are significant.
Search queries confirm an interest in a healthy lifestyle, probiotics, prebiotics, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and weight loss. According to analysts, the global probiotic market will continue to grow and expand in the medium and long term.
The current conditions are pushing manufacturers of fermented milk products to develop probiotics, to convey their value through useful content and advertising. Lacto- and bifidobacteria added to dairy products improve digestion and enhance immunity.
Market changes do not only affect the population: manufacturers and distributors have to adjust to new consumer preferences and anticipate needs.
Let's consider a marketing revitalisation project for a company with its own manufacture, selling products in Primorsky Krai through three retail chains.
It all started out ordinary: we conducted an analysis of sales channels and promotion methods, studied the packaging of 29 yogurt cups, analyzed the market and search terms.
It turned out that the marketing plan had not been changed for ten years and was very limited: the owner personally promoted the product on one social network. The design of the profile and the published content were amateur, there was no corporate identity and systematic posting.
Texts contained mistakes, letters merged, and in some places the content of the posts did not match the subject. The narrative style was periodically disrupted: "I" was interspersed with "we" in the recordings. All this was misleading subscribers and newcomers.
In addition to the above, there were "aggressive" posts in the form of protest and censure of competitors' ingredients. The engagement rate had broken anti-records over the past year - 1.642%. Advertising was absent, weak and publicly available tags were selected.
The site hadn’t seen the updates for ten years: two dozen pages have retained the aesthetic charm of the web resources of 2010. Finally, people have seen the logo on it and read about the company: the benefits of the yogurt composition were served in strict dried text, like powdered cow's milk.
The icing on the cake was a startling discovery: content has been spinning in circles like the Big Wheel for years. We found abandoned VK and YouTube profiles: their careers ended seven years ago.
In addition to online, the owner promoted the product offline: he gave lectures "on living microorganisms in yogurts" to children in kindergartens and schools. The theory was generously supported by free treats.
We studied the product packaging - the first thing a customer looks at. The background of the container is white, the color palette is dim compared to its analogues. On the foil lids of four cups, brand characters were depicted, reflecting a hint of composition by the name.
We easily found information about the nutritional value: net weight 150 g, protein 3 g, fat content 3 g. To find the expiration date was more difficult – we felt like detectives: the shelf life is 30 days.
The duration that guarantees the suspicions of biogurmans accustomed to 14–20 days of storing live yogurts.
There was no logo on the package. The manufacturer's name and price were printed in a small font: it seemed as if we were reading the instructions for the medicine. We noticed the differences in shape: the narrow, high container visually lost to the neighboring ones on the shelf – it felt smaller in size.
The next step was to study ten variants of the milk products of the main competitor. The logo was noticeable on all of them, the brand name is striking. The elements combined well, the composition and benefits were easy to read. The volume is 50 g more, the cost, fat content and shelf life were less.
The competitor was better at marketing: all positions were presented on the site, a description of the company was added, photos of production, awards and certificates were posted.
Articles were published and other dairy products were described. The problems in social networks are similar: there are dead groups.
To complete the picture, we reviewed 12 more probiotic yogurts from various manufacturers.
The elements of packaging and products were identified, which occur in 80% of cases:

1. Net weight – from 200 g, fat content – up to 2.5%, expiration date – up to 20 days.
2. Information: fat, protein, "sugar-free" – facial attributes.
3. There is a corporate identity, the logo is noticeable, the font is readable.
4. The color scheme is dominated by white and green colors.
5. A wide glass visually seems larger than a narrow one.
6. Two production dates prevail.
7. An additional ingredient is cereals.
8. Context – digestion and sports.

Consumers are interested in naturalness, protein, calories, fats, vitamins according to reviews and search queries for bio-yogurt in Vladivostok.
During the sales analysis, the paucity of the assortment and the shortage of bio-yogurts in discounters food chain were revealed. The owner considered the placement proposals, but the idea was abandoned due to the issue of prestige and nuances of contractual obligations.
The Company's goods were often placed in stores close to the main competitor – they were similar in appearance. During the surveys, it was found out that some of the customers did not see any differences, they perceived production as from the same manufacturer.
The company's ten-year history gave advantages over new players, but it was poorly implemented without positioning, marketing and promotion. The transformation should be done gradually so as not to lose long-time loyalists of the company's products.
As a result, we have got 40 recommendations: the work was divided into two stages. Key points:

1. Use the technical capabilities of production to expand nomenclature. Drinking yogurts are popular: the main competitor introduced two new products in a year.
2. Carry out a minor rebranding: put the logo and brand name on the container. We were inspired by examples of the transformation of global brands over the past three years.
3. Make products for a different price segment. A new design under another brand name for 30 low-price stores interested in bio-yogurts.
4. Reveal the advantages of products through systematic publications and professional content: to delegate promotion to specialists.
5. Talk about achievements: publish reviews, recovery stories, photos from corporate events, awards, research results from nutritionists.
6. Add media channels for promotion, create a content plan, and coordinate a marketing strategy for online activity.
7. Change the cups supplier. The containers were purchased in the center of the country: the long logistics chain led to unnecessary expenses and waiting.
8. Add the volume of the popular series.
9. Add a souvenir-gift to the tastings: a children's spoon with a brand character. The hero will remind one about the product every day.