The Young Writers’ Club is a collaborative learning platform for teens. Generally, we absorb information from the news and then ponder over it in our discussions. Last week, we decided to flip it around. Why not be the news in an imaginary world?
For a change we chose to play the role of a marketing team of a well established coffee company entering the chocolate space.
In the imaginary world, we played the role of a marketing team employed by a well established coffee company which is currently venturing into the chocolate space.
The teens at the Young Writers’ Club love looking at any subject from different angles. They don’t take on an assigned role blindly but ponder about its prospects and the objective. As a result we drew up a debate board- listed the pros and cons of a well established coffee company’s decision to enter the chocolate space.
Good prospects
They could leverage on their expertise in coffee- They could use the established brand to gradually move into the chocolate space. Perhaps they could introduce the a new combination of coffee and chocolate- variations here such as coffee and milk chocolate for those who like milk chocolate and for those who love dark chocolate a hint of coffee.
They could use the established brand to gradually move into the chocolate space.
Counter arguments
That’s a risky move as if the new product does not impress the regular customers, it is possible that it impacts the brand image of the coffee company as a whole. Maggie for instance received backlash when it tried to venture into pasta which was terrible. They tried different variations and learnt the hard way that it is best to stay to the same old Maggi that generations have come to love.
Maggie for instance received backlash when it tried to venture into pasta which was terrible.
Variations help cater to different types of customers: There may be customers who love experimenting- what if the new combination works brilliantly well and this set of customers love it? Could it help the customer base to grow? There may be customers who are content with what they are used to and may not want to try anything new. But can they be tempted if they keep hearing a lot about the new combination from the experimental and bold clientele? The same is true with those with very strong preferences. Maybe hard to convince but if a winning combination becomes famous, could their behavior change too?
Prospect of a winning combination is high: Theobromine is a common chemical between coffee and chocolate- experts should be able to come up with a winning combination.
Theobromine is a common chemical between coffee and chocolate- experts should be able to come up with a winning combination.
Not a great idea to diversify
Why choose to diversify? This company has been successful in the coffee space. So why take the risk of entering a totally new space?
So why take the risk of entering a totally new space?
Counter arguments
Risk is a part of business- we must diversify to handle competition better- have a back up. Chocolate is a time tested market- make good chocolate and you are set. A coffee company could create a unique chocolate that could take this industry by a storm!
Risk is a part of business- we must diversify to handle competition better- have a back up.
Piggybacking on the same successful brand is a bad idea. One fails the other product also will get hit.
One fails the other product also will get hit.
Counter arguments
May not be a totally bad idea to piggyback on a known brand. Take the example of Amul. It is known primarily for milk and milk products such as butter and ghee. Amul entering the ice cream space and highlighting its special feature - “Amul ice creams, made with real milk” gives Amul ice creams a unique brand image given that they are produced by a milk cooperative.
(Facilitator’s contribution here) Eg. of Akshayakalpa a milk producing company based out of Karnataka has expanded its offering from milk and milk products alone to even other farm produce such as vegetables and fruits.
If the risk of failure and its impact on the coffee brand is a concern why not enter chocolate space with a new name- A new company?
But creating a new name and new company is an uphill task- creating a brand new identity is going to be super hard.
We ran out of time to conclude the debate. Stay tuned for the next week’s newsletter for the conclusion.
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Both weekday and weekend batches are available at the Young Readers' Club. While this program is for the 8-12 age group, the Young Writers' Club program for the 13-15 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.
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