Project Description

“Develop a market entry strategy for a market launch in China”

THE CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH

A major French Charcuteries Manufacturer wanted UniqueView to help them develop a market strategy for their market launch in the coming months in Mainland China. The client distributes products and brands in France and wanted to localize the right marketing mix & offer to fit Chinese consumers. In order to do that they needed to obtain a solid understanding of Chinese consumer’s true needs, expectations and purchase drivers regrading pork meat category. They also wanted to identify the key information for brand promotion, including pack design, communication and POS/POP material.

OVERVIEW

A two-phase Exploratory and Build Protocol was used for this study.

PHASE 1 – Accompanied shop & In-depth home interview

Accompanied shop visits allowed our client to observe closely the interactions the target respondents have with packed pork meat:

  • their impressions of the sector
  • their expectations and concerns of the product
  • their criteria for choosing the product
  • their views on the brand and its impact on their choice

In-depth home interviews are particularly relevant for this project as the interview involved observing the respondent in their home environment and the food storage and inventories in their refrigerator, our client was able to conduct a more detailed discussion with the target respondent about the role pork meat played in their daily life, the factors that could affect their consumption and their motivations for purchase.

From this stage of study, our client was able to obtain valuable insights into how the product can be better introduced to their end users.

PHASE 2: Focus Groups

Our team organized four focus group discussions in Shanghai and Beijing with both high quality driven consumers and quality/value balanced consumers participating to

  • test the value proposition of their product in Chinese market based on attitudinal criteria related to food Safety/Quality vs. Value Quality/Safety considerations.    
  • determine the most appealing packaging design and brand logo of the product to Chinese consumers.

Clear ideas were provided by the target respondents regarding what they liked and disliked about the product based on their visual impressions and why. There was a generally overall consensus in the end as to which of the four logos and packaging designs was the most appealing. Particular care was taken to make sure respondents’ spontaneous reactions and perceptions were captured, and true individual opinions were given free of the influence of the group to avoid a tendency to go along with the group opinion for social acceptance.

CONCLUSION

The research findings provided our client with a comprehension of Chinese consumers’ needs, expectations and consumption habits regarding the packed pork meat products. The key findings of the study helped them determine the most appealing packaging, content, range and communication to Chinese consumers, which enabled them to more precisely define in Chinese market.