MBA Marketing Management Work from Home Assignment

Atlas Skill Tech University

BLUE TRIBE
___________________________________________________________________________

Mr. Sandip is a worried man these days. His Blue Tribe Foods Company which
ventured into plant based meat products is still taking time to kick off. With the
pandemic hitting the country badly, the consumers are in no mood to try innovative
products, with the fear of getting hospitalized or side effects thereafter. Some friends
suggested that he should wait till the Pandemic is over and no more troublesome for
the country and then kick start the venture. But, as they say, the show must go on. Mr.
Sandip is in no mood to wait, and wants to kick-start the venture by tapping the B2C
segment, but convincing the customer to try the products will be the biggest challenge
for him and his company.

About Blue Tribe:

Blue Tribe is a venture co-founded by Sandeep Singh, MD and promoter of Alkem

“The market for plant-based meats has grown in the West with companies like JUST,
Beyond Meat, and Impossible. They have shown that it is possible to have a company that
is good for business and good for the environment. That’s the kind of success model we
want to bring to India,” says Sandip.
MBA Marketing Management Work from Home Assignment

Blue Tribe started working on R&D out of a lab in Mumbai in 2019, and is focused
on replicating the characteristics of meat protein and fat via plant-based proteins extracted
from plants such as soybean, peas, pulses, etc. Blue Tribe’s plant-based chicken nugget is
made up of a blend of protein isolated from soybean and peas, as well as a fibre that helps
give it a chicken meat-like texture. Typically, each type of live meat comprises protein at
the most basic level, which, when combined with animal fat, gives it a characteristic taste,
texture and flavour. “Our R&D breaks down the protein to its constituents, which we can
then replicate from a plant-based source. Since each meat's protein is different, we use
different plant-based proteins to replicate the properties of the animal protein best,”
Sandeep explains.

The alt-meat contains almost the same nutritional value as live meat, and is actually better
because it is free of cholesterol, animal cruelty, antibiotic, and, of course, guilt. Apart from
nuggets, the start-up plans to add plant protein-based kebabs, sausages, and burger patties,
among others, to its pipeline. It will launch its minced chicken-alternative soon.

Blue Tribe says its target audience is non-vegetarian consumers who want to make better
choices for themselves by staying away from antibiotic and steroid-loaded meats, but don’t
want to give up the taste of meat.

At present selling directly to customers in Mumbai and via some e-grocers, the start-up has
seen demand from luxury hotel chains, HORECA Segment, and QSRs. It plans to tap all
formats of supply to increase its reach and accelerate growth.

“We want to get bigger and more approachable to everyone in the market,” Sandeep says.

The bootstrapped start-up says its biggest competitor is the animal meat market. However,
the same population makes for a potential clientele in the company, Sandeep adds.

The United Nations’ Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that
we have until 2030 to prevent global temperatures rising by 1.5 degree centigrade, after
which severe impacts of climate change, such as prolonged droughts, floods, and climate
refugee migration increase substantially.
MBA Marketing Management Work from Home Assignment

With researchers estimating that the global plant-based meat market will grow at a CAGR
of 12 percent to $3.39 billion by 2025, from $1.63 billion in 2019, the growth could allay
some climate change concerns that stem from the livestock industry.

Blue Tribe wants to formulate an effective marketing strategy to attract health conscious
consumers. For this purpose a survey was conducted as more and more consumers are
becoming health conscious and prefer to consume foods that are healthy and nutritious. The
goal of the survey was to collect information about food habits and attitude of the consumers
towards different food items.

On the basis of the survey the consumers were divided into three categories:-
 Old Consumers (elderly people)
Old Consumers: They were health conscious, Brand loyal and highly involved in buying
food items. This is due to their medical considerations, restricted choice of food and fixed
eating schedules. They do not prefer to eat outside and are very cautious while buying new
products.
 Young Consumers (teenagers, unmarried, working singles)
Young Consumers: They are less health conscious and less brand loyal than older people and
have less involvement in buying food items. They prefer food on-the-go and like
convenience/fast food more than cooking for themselves. They are more influenced by
product appeals than the brand name or price of the product.
 Middle Aged Consumers (Big Families, Married Couples)
Middle Aged Consumers: They are moderately health conscious, moderate brand loyal and
are very particular about their purchases of food items. They prefer to cook their own food
and their purchases are restricted by a fixed budget. They focus more on the brand, quality,
quantity and price of a product rather than product appeals. This segment usually consists of
big families and married couples with kids who look for value of money products.

Consumer Adoption:

Consumer adoption deals with the purchase behaviour of consumers relating to a product
after they have become aware of it. When a new product is introduced in a market, some
consumers buy (adopt) it very quickly, some consumers wait for assurances from early users
to make their first purchase, while a majority of consumers buy it only when the product is
MBA Marketing Management Work from Home Assignment

tried and tested in the market or only when it is necessary for them to buy it. Marketers
constantly try to influence customers to adopt new products and services, therefore it is
necessary for them to identify and understand the behaviour of the various groups of
customers, on the basis of how slow or fast do they adopt a product or service or how much
time do they take to adopt a new product or service?

Classification of Adopters:

Consumers can be divided into five groups on the basis on time taken by them to adopt to
new product or service during their life cycle. They are as follows:

 Innovators (2.5%) –Innovators amount for only 2.5% of the consumers. Innovators
are early buyers and risk takers, they are the first to purchase the product at the
beginning of its life cycle. They are adventurous people, who like to try new products
and stay updated with the latest products and trends, they do not hesitate to pay a
premium price for the benefit and are always eager to learn more about latest products
from magazines, T.V, Internet.
 Early Adopters (13.5%) –The next 13.5% purchasers are early adopters who take
calculated risks before buying a new product. They are generally opinion leaders of a
group and the success of the product greatly lies upon their adoption of the product.
Early adopts weighs the pros and cons of the product before buying it and upon
satisfaction help the product to become socially acceptable by providing information
to their social groups.
 Early Majority (34%) –The early majority are cautious people who only buy a
product when it has been accepted by the early adopters and innovators. They are
well-educated buyers who do not have the time or resources to research a product and
rely on personal sources for information regarding products and services. They do not
buy the product until it is socially acceptable and successful.
 Late Majority (34%) –It consists of 34% of the late consumers who adopt a new
product only due to social pressures or non-availability. These consumers are less
educated and therefore are very sceptical in nature. They rely on informal sources for
information and make a purchase only after the majority has already purchased it.
 Laggards (16%) –The last 16% of the buyers are traditional or elderly people with
little or no social interaction, who show great resistance towards adopting a new
MBA Marketing Management Work from Home Assignment

product. Some laggards never purchase a product while others purchase it at the end
of its life cycle. They are uneducated people with low status and earnings and they
purchase a product only when the existing product is out of use (broken and cannot be
repaired).

Conclusion: Blue Tribe aims to identify and focus on innovators and early adopters
and offer price promotions or free trials or samples backed by extensive promotions for
these groups of potential customers. Early adopters work as change agents for the product
and help to overcome resistance from the public and can influence others to adopt or buy the
products. Therefore, marketers first focus on early adopters. How will Blue Tribe change the
Consumer Behaviour and make potential customers adopt to its Plant based Meat products
will be a challenge the company has to overcome and convince the market that its products
are better than non-vegetarian products? Only time will tell…..

Questions:
1. Write the Synopsis of the Case Study?
2. How can Blue Tribe alter the mind-set of Indians to consume Plant based Meat
products?
3. Which segment of customers do you think Blue Tribe should target?
4. How can Blue Tribe create awareness to its customers on the importance of the plant
based meats? Give at least 3 strategies, which can be effective in the success for this brand
(including digital marketing)?

Instructions:

1) This is strictly a Group Assignment. Individual students are not allowed to work
on this assignment. The Assignment date is 4th October, 2021.
2) The groups have to read the Case Study from 2pm to 3.30pm. From 4pm
onwards, they need to work on a Presentation to be sent either in Canva / Prezi
or PowerPoint mode not exceeding more than 15 slides or not below 10 slides.
3) The major emphasis would be on how to address the issues faced by Blue Tribe.
MBA Marketing Management Work from Home Assignment

4) The groups have to upload the Assignment in the Google Classroom sharp by
5.30pm. No extension of time will be allowed.
5) The last slide should have the details of the group members for this assignment.

WISHING YOU THE VERY BEST!!