General Food: Opportunities in Dog Food Market Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Introduction

The case “General Food: Opportunities in Dog Food Market” basically discusses the situation of the dog food market in the United States, which has been a lucrative market for the dog food manufacturers. The reason is simple; the people of the country have been accustomed of keeping dog as the pet.

The reason for keeping the pet however differ amongst different set of people, but the main objective has remained the same for all the people. Moreover, the case also indicates that most of the high end market people tend to keep dog as their pet which makes them less sensitive to the pricing model of the food.

The customer spending pattern is increasing rapidly, which indicates that the food market is quite a competitive market. The dry food market has also been a growing market for dog foods, which has its own specific set of customers that are segmented accordingly.

Market Segmentation

The dry dog food market is predominantly dominated by the Ralston-Purina, which accumulates a total market share of 40% with sales revenue of over $285 million.Second to this brand have been the General Foods products which are the Gravy Train and the Gaines Meal, which are generating a total of 15% revenue or the profits.

As the case states, the dry dog food market has been increasing at a rapid pace of 10% which indicates that the market is highly beneficial and lucrative for the players such as the General Foods. As per Exhibit 2 in the case study, the total household income of people purchasing dry dog food is around 33% with the central city population of the people purchasing dry dog food is also quite high in lower income population.

Moreover, the market opportunity for dry dog food market in large cans is 34% which is most when compared with other segments or markets. As per the exhibit 12 in the case study, dry dog food market sales has increased quite rapidly in the past three years.

The sales for dry dog food market in the year 1965 was $185 million, it has increased to $205 million in 1966. The sales for dry dog food have increased to $275 million in 1967 and the sales in the current year have reached to $285 million. The major dog food brands in the dry food market have been Alpo, Ken0L-Ration, KalKan, Rival, Vets, Laddie Boy, etc.

All of them have been competing in the market where each player has been looking to gauge in maximum customers. The major customers for dry dog food have been the wives. They have been the major buyers for dog food; therefore the company should target them more frequently.

The sales for the company and the market share for the fry dog food market has been quite a competitive market where the company can actually integrate in the market where the sales can be increased for the companies in the market.

The customer segment purchasing the dry dog food has been the wives and the bachelors who regularly visit grocery and super markets to purchase the dry dog food. Moreover, since the customers in this market are low price sensitive, therefore the companies in the market have been looking for more quality and specific ingredients that are preferred by the customers who purchase dog food for their pets.

Conclusion

In the end, it can be said that dry dog food market is highly profitable one because it has the market potential to generate decent profits. The customer base is also quite strong for this category which makes the dog food or the dry food market a competitive one.

Since General Foods has two leading brands for this category, in the future the company can focus more so on this category and increase the customer base. The customers or the market segment is also quite committed to pay higher prices with the market quite well placed for the customers. Moreover, dry food market for dogs has the potential to become market leader because of the longitivity of the freshness.

Based on the information provided, it would be a feasible option for the companies to ensure that they offer varied dry dog food products for the different categories of the market................................

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