Plan de marketing - Mars

Mars UK Ltd is one of the UK’s top confectionery groups. Mars merged its UK food and petcare businesses, Mars Confectionery and Pedigree Masterfoods, to form Masterfoods, a division of Mars UK Ltd.

The UK confectionery market, generated sales of £5.32bn at retail selling price in 2004. The market has shown consistent growth and year-to-year increase in market value has been ahead of inflationary increase, since 2000. Chocolate confectionery accounts for the largest share (69%) of the total confectionery market, while the sugar confectionery sector was worth £1.65bn, an increase of 2.7% on 2003.

Mars’ brand of chocolate confectionery includes Mars Bar, Snickers, Twix, Maltersers, and sugar confectionery brand includes Starburst, Joosters and Tunes.

Mars’s main target is the women market, as almost two-thirds of all confectionery is purchased by them; but they eat just over a half of what they buy, while the men purchase just under a third of all confectionery. Another important segment are the children, who eat 38% of all the confectionery, but they buy only 20% of what they eat.

Being concern of the health of their consumers and their change towards healthy eating, the company has been making research into the health benefits of cocoa, which suggests that it contains high levels of flavanoids, compounds that are said to help to reduce the risk of heart attack and certain cancers.

Mars’ main rival in confectionary is Cadbury Schweppes Plc. Cadbury’s chocolate confectionery sales grew by 10% in 2004 as a result of aggressive marketing, but sugar confectionery sales decreased by 0.5% as brands such as Halls, Bassett’s and Liquorice Allsorts suffered from an old-fashioned image.

Another competitor is Nestlé Holdings Plc, and its main chocolate brands include KitKat, Lion Bar and After Eight, and Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums are included under sugar confectionery brands.

It is estimated that in 2004, Mars’ sales increased by 6% with a turn over of £1.55bn. Successful diversification of key brands into new segments, based on innovative product development, helped sales to increase. The confectionery market grew by 8% over the 2001-2004 period, driven by a variety of factors. In the more developed markets where confectionery volumes have stalled thanks to maturity and increased health concerns, the company drove growth by encouraging consumers to trade up to premium-priced products. This has been done by repositioning chocolate in particular as an adult indulgence. Mars is well placed to continue this strategy, and has launched a number of line extensions with its Galaxy and Dove brands that support premium prices.

MARS

Introduction

Mars UK Ltd is one of the UK’s top confectionery groups. In November 2001, Mars merged its UK food and petcare businesses, Mars Confectionery and Pedigree Masterfoods, to form Masterfoods, a division of Mars UK Ltd. This move has enabled Mars to become a more aggressive competitor. Brand of chocolate confectionery include Mars Bar, Snickers, Twix, Maltesers, and sugar confectionery brand include Starburst, Joosters and Tunes.

The company

Mars is active in snacks and confectionery, pet food, drinks, IT and electronics and other foods. Mars’s original business activity, the confectionery and snack foods division, reported a strong performance in 2004, with sales growth of 6%. Confectionary showed the strongest growth, justified by ongoing product development in the company’s core brands.

Mars’s ownership of several of the world’s leading brands, is a key strengths as it was one of the first companies to be seen to globalise it’s brands with the renaming of Marathon to Snickers and Opal Fruits to Starburst during the 1990s. Since this time it’s main focus was on extension into new product areas and innovation as well as looking at the changes in consumer trends.

Being concern of the health of their consumers, the company has been making inroads into scientific research into the health benefits of cocoa, which suggests it contains high levels of antioxidants and launched CocoaVia , a range of chocolate snack that contains antioxidants, vitamins, calcium and folic acid.

This report will focus on the confectionery market in the UK, where Mars has a top position, along with Cadbury and Nestlé.

Financial report

As a private company, Mars Inc does not publish any financial results. But it is estimated that in 2004, the company’s sales increased by 6%. Successful diversification of key brands into new segments, based on innovative product development, helped sales to increase.

• Turn over of £1.56bn

• Pre-tax profit of £171.5m

• Profit of £146.1

The market environment

The total UK confectionery market has shown consistent growth and year-to-year increase in market value has been ahead of inflationary increase, since 2000.In 2004, the UK confectionery market was worth £5.32bn at retail selling price, a rise of 3% on 2003, as it is estimated.

The chocolate confectionery market is a highly competitive and saturated place to be and the market leaders are feeling the pressure to hold onto their top spots in the face of new product development competition.

Chocolate confectionary accounts for the largest share (69%) of the total confectionery market. The introduction of new recipes, including premium product, as well as successful brand activity have contributed towards developing the market. Sugar confectionery sector was worth £1.65bn, an increase of 2.7% on 2003.