Planet Shrimp Essay

Evaluation

If the partnerships that Planet Shrimp have created are continuing to experience growth, Planet Shrimp should re-assess their marketing strategy. They should evaluate their tactics against key performance indicators such as cost, return on investment, whether the tactics are still aligned with their values, and if they are failing to meet, meeting or exceeding demand. They should also watch their various promotional mix to understand how much exposure they have gained, whether consumer awareness, comprehension and attitude has increased or decreased, and the impact on their sales. From there, Planet Shrimp should consider developing a customer relationship management or database system to anticipate and exceed the expectations of their consumers. Although feedback during the implementation should be gathered and addressed, a thorough evaluation should be conducted for three months to best understand the current market segments’ response to Planet Shrimp and allow for adjustments to be made in future marketing plans. The evaluation period also serves to gather information and begin a projection of which areas of growth Planet Shrimp should focus on.

Timeline of Implementation Plan

(March 2017 – Feb 2018)

Marketing Mix

Price

After a thorough analysis of the marketplace and its competitive set, Planet Shrimp should sell its shrimp for $18/lb.

Consumers must understand the vision and values of Planet Shrimp to increase their willingness-to-pay. Planet Shrimp should focus on targeting market segments with a higher willingness-to-pay for their product to build brand awareness. The marketing plans to target high-end grocery stores and upscale restaurants will have limited costs because it is concentrated in specific segments. However, Planet Shrimp will incur some costs in providing samples and marketing promotion for restaurants and grocery

stores.
Place
The two main distribution channels will consist of higher end specialty grocery stores and upscale specialty restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area, specifically in downtown Toronto. This current segments of shrimp consumers are North Americans consuming shrimp from overseas. Entering the new market of local, clean shrimp in Ontario is possibly through leveraging Planet Shrimp’s unique brand and its high level of recommendation by Ocean Wise.
Promotion
The communication strategies are of utmost important to market the relatively unknown brand of Planet Shrimp. There will be a short-term focus on brand awareness and exposure while Planet Shrimp begins to understand the marketplace better. To do so, Planet Shrimp should promote its brand through opinion leaders and idea champions, people who exert social influence on others. This can be done through strategic partnerships with restaurants and grocers with pre-existing brands centered around sustainability. Consumers who believe in the brand promise have the potential to become brand loyal. In turn, this will contribute to long-term, sustainable growth.
Product
The cleanliness and sustainability, as well as the local availability of Planet Shrimp, are its unique selling points. Offering an environmentally sustainable alternative to existing products in the market is the overall goal of Planet Shrimp. Planet Shrimp can be an industry leader because they are aiming to produce such a high volume of sustainably farmed shrimp. This unique product can be used as a platform for chefs in specialty restaurants to create a dialogue around sustainable seafood and change the perception of farmed seafood.
Conclusion
Planet Shrimp has a strong opportunity to succeed in the both the restaurant and the retail grocery store segments. However, there are several internal and external risks that must be addressed and mitigated. Planet Shrimp should conduct more research into whether shrimp should be sold head-off or head-on since there is a difference between the needs and wants of consumers and chefs. This marketing plan is based on selling all shrimp head-on. There is a possibility that consumers and chefs will have the same preference for this; however, this would be beneficial to know in order to market more precisely. Additionally, it would be helpful to know if it is best to sell shrimp by the piece or by the pound. The current market operates in pounds, but Planet Shrimp is interested in selling by the piece. Although this could be advantageous, Planet Shrimp is a start-up in a relatively new industry where all companies sell by piece, and they can currently gain more profit by selling by the pound (Appendix I). Thus, Planet Shrimp should continue observing changes in market and industry. Their business model has received high praise from industry professionals, such as Ocean Wise Executive Chef Ned Bell, who believes that their business may be one of the most sustainable seafood businesses he has seen to date (N. Bell, personal communication, February 7, 2017). With the prevalence and growing awareness of sustainable seafood in society, if Planet Shrimp continues to be driven by its vision and values, it is certain to make an impact in the market.
Education
Overview
Planet Shrimp wants to use ‘clean’ shrimp as their main point of differentiation, highlighting their closed-loop aquaculture process that does not involve toxins and ensures environmental sustainability throughout. As consumers are continually concerned about knowing where their food comes from, the safety of their food and price point, Planet Shrimp should understand how to educate the public about the ‘clean’ shrimp movement (The Canadian Press, 2014a). To achieve this, Planet Shrimp must answer the question:
How should Planet Shrimp educate consumers about the benefits of clean shrimp without shortcomings of current products being associated with their brand?
Strategy #1
Partner with universities and government bodies to publish academic research and government-backed publications
Tactics:
- University published papers on the health benefits of domestically farmed shrimp
- Published articles in reputable print media (Consumer Reports, Maclean’s)
- Issued provincial and national government publications (i.e. annual industry reports) to educate public about clean shrimp (ex. Ministry of Agriculture)
Advantages
Disadvantages
- University, peer-reviewed journals are credible
- Relatively easy to carry out tactics (shrimp available for analysis)
- Boost reputation for clean shrimp
- Possibility of media communicating news to general public
- Study could take a lengthy period of time
- Could negatively affiliate them with ‘dirty’ shrimp in study

Strategy #2
Create partnerships with major players in the culinary industry to leverage sustainable seafood
This strategy allows Planet Shrimp to partner with chefs and food writers to understand and champion the benefits of clean, sustainable shrimp. It is a pre-existing platform that Planet Shrimp can leverage to its advantage in terms of creating a dialogue about the importance of sustainable seafood.
Tactics
- Promote clean shrimp at foodie events like Winterlicious or Ocean Wise’s ‘Toast to the Coast’
- Promote clean shrimp through Restaurant Canada trade show, Seafood Expo,
- Magazines (in-flight, Canadian, food) (i.e. Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine, Restaurants Canada, Maclean’s, Consumer Reports)
- Food section in newspapers
- Chef-affiliations (TV, cookbooks)
- Food bloggers
Advantages
Disadvantages
- Memorable, relatable (chef-inspired recipes)
- Celebrity endorsement
- People can form own opinions on farmed shrimp
- Pre-existing demographic of foodies
- Brand aligned with current trend of local, sustainable seafood
- Existing partnerships with Ocean Wise and Ned Bell (Chefs for Oceans)

- Can be expensive
- Short-lived if not covered in media for lengthy period of time
- May receive negative associations with wrong chefs

Strategy #3
Create a shrimp farmers’ association in North America
- Forming alliances with the numerous other shrimp farmers in North America would create a strong group for public relations in education, lobbying and publishing information
- Becoming accredited and demonstrating credibility through various certifications creates a new industry standard (ex. all members must be ASC, Ocean Wise and Sea Choice certified)

Advantages
Disadvantages
- Alliance with like-minded people
- Accreditation gives them reliability/credibility
- Strong network of restaurants, grocers and other partners
- International alliance could be difficult in changing political times
- May be biased
- Some companies trash imported shrimp on their websites
- Direct competitors with one another

Decision Matrix for Education Platform

Memorability (/20)
Cost effective (/20)
Reach (sphere of influence) (/35)
Durability (short vs. long-term) (/25)
Total (/100)
Strategy #1:
Universities and government publications
15/20
18/20
30/35
15/25
78/100
Strategy #2: Partnerships in the restaurant industry
18/20
15/20
30/35
25/25
88/100
Strategy #3: Shrimp farmer’s association
10/20
10/20
25/35
20/25
65/100