Introduction

The UK chocolate market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period
(2021-2016). The main driving force of the market is the increase in demand for chocolate
products among the general public mainly since gluten-free products are now widely available.
However pandemic has tightened the competition among premium brands as demand in that
sector has fallen due to low consumer spending on premium products. But as the pandemic
settles the demand for premium brands would rise again.
Striving for growth is inevitable for any organization to sustain for longer periods. Organizations
deploy different strategies for growth. Developing a new product and then marketing it to gain
market share is one of them. The market is filled with too many options for consumers to choose
from. Therefore new product must have something new to offer to attract customer attention. The
areas to focus on should be product development and marketing. But developing and launching a
new product is a challenging task. Developing a new product requires a good amount of research
and planning.
Box ‘O’ Choc Ltd. intends to grow by new product launch. They require a well-established
strategy to make it successful. The research would focus on the areas like product development
and marketing.

Statement of Research Question

The importance of devising a clear strategy for growth is a decisive factor between success
and failure. Leaving loopholes in formulating a strategy would lead to its ineffectiveness and
eventually failure. As most of the times research strategy gets skewed by the wrong questions,
therefore it is important to ask the right questions. It will give clarity about what needs to be
done to meet the objectives of the organization.
1) Box ‘O’ Choc Ltd. intends to grow by launching a new product. They must study the
market to identify ways by which they can target customers to successfully launch their
product as most of the product launches fail.
2) Box ‘O’ Choc Ltd. needs to increase the shelf-life of products but that needs to be done
without affecting the taste. Product development and design is the single most important
area as failing this would render all other steps ineffective.
3) After finishing designing the product an effective marketing campaign needs to be
organized so that sales can be generated.
4) Performance measurement must be put in place so that growth can be tracked.
By looking at the Box ‘O’ Choc Ltd.’s situation, the following research question must be
answered to formulate a successful research strategy:
What are the techniques for developing a premium chocolate product and ways to successfully
market it?
Objectives
The long-term objective of the research is to formulate a strategy of growth for Box ‘O’ Choc
Ltd. Business growth is defined as a process by which organizations seek to generate more
profits by expanding their operations. Growth is important for the long-term survival of the
company. It is the driving force behind profits and performance. The objective of the current
research is to formulate a comprehensive strategy and business framework for long-term growth.
Particularly, the underlying research has the following objectives:
1) To understand consumer behavior towards premium chocolate brands.
2) To formulate a comprehensive plan for product development so that products can fit
consumer preferences and have a prolonged shelf-life without compromising on their
taste and quality.
3) To make a marketing strategy so that product can penetrate the market and make sales.
4) Simulation of a proposed marketing campaign to test its effectiveness.
5) To formulate KPIs for performance measurement.
The result of this study will be valuable in formulating a strategy that will help Box ‘O’ Choc
Ltd. to successfully implement its growth plan.

Preliminary Literature Review

The literature on determining consumer behavior is extensive as it is the most researched
topic in marketing. It started by using simple statistics and nowadays is focused on advanced
data analytics to predict and assess market and consumer behavior and preferences.
The past studies in product design and development are based on activity-based models and
stage-based models. Later these were superseded by decision-based models. This research
would rely upon decision-based techniques. The most common one is the use of a decision
tree. One of its use is the assessment of many possibilities and finding the best course of action
among them.
The research would try to build on the latest trends that are prevalent in the market.

Research Plan
The research would start from assessing the market and consumer behavior then would
move to product development and testing, after that it would address the marketing campaign
and its effectiveness. In the end, it would determine KPIs to measure performance. The whole
process would start from xx-xx-20xx and would end on xx-xx-20xx.
Research methodology
For any research finding the best research methodology is the most important criteria to
decide before conducting actual research. Research methods can be:
a) Descriptive vs analytical
b) Qualitative vs quantitative
c) Conceptual vs empirical
d) Applied vs fundamental
e) Field setting vs laboratory testing research
Out of all these research methods, descriptive research methodology best fits the Box ‘O’
Choc Ltd. requirement. Its main focus is on the present state of things and then based on these
conditions we can decide; what’s the best course of action to be taken to reach the desired
outcome? In business, it is the industry practice to use descriptive research methodology.
Descriptive research methods include surveys and facts, inquiring about things. It gives
researchers no control over variables thus enabling them to find out what is happening at
present or what has happened?
The data collection method would be cross-sectional ethnography. It collects data from
different points/individuals at a single point in time. The variables get observed without the
researcher having any control over them.
The research sequence would be;
1) Research on understanding consumer behavior.
2) Research on the development of the new product.
3) Research on the effectiveness of the market campaign.
4) Research on developing KPIs for performance measurement.
The research would start from research on determining consumer behavior. This would involve
segmentation of the market and then collecting data on the target segment. Segmentation of
the market means dividing the market into smaller more identifiable segments. It divides the
market into groups of similar characteristics such as age, gender, demographics, etc. Analysis of
that data on each segment will determine consumer preferences and trends in that segment.
The next stage would be researching on development of the new product. This part would
involve idea screening which helps to generate and evaluate new ideas. This involves testing
ideas against criteria such as relevance, budget, risk, constraints, etc. After that, the ideas can
be ranked by using scoring models and checklists, and ideas that come on top would then be
considered for further testing.
After product development based on the best-selected idea, the research would focus on the
idea of concept testing to evaluate consumer response before product launch. It is defined as
asking consumers questions about your product ideas and then evaluating their response to
determine the best course of action. The most common method used for concept testing is the
use of surveys. In Concept testing we will use the following survey techniques:
1) Comparison Testing
2) Monadic Testing
3) Sequential Monadic Testing
Comparison Testing involves presenting two or more concepts to the respondent. The
respondent compares these two either by mere random selection or by using ratings or
rankings. This is very useful in determining consumer behavior.
Monadic testing involves breaking down the audience into smaller groups. Each group gets to
respond to one idea only. After that, the researcher asks the follow-up question which is the
same for every group. As each group focuses on one idea only so it is possible to go into much
depth in a short period. This type of survey helps check the validity of the underlying idea.
Sequential monadic testing is the same as monadic testing in a way that audience is divided into
smaller groups. However, each group is presented with all the concepts but in a random order
to avoid bias. After the audience has responded, each group is asked the same follow-up
question to get further inside. This type of survey is very helpful for testing all the ideas on
every segment of the market.
The research would use a mix of all these above-mentioned survey techniques to conduct the
research.
After the product development phase starts the marketing campaign testing stage. This stage
would require strategies like standard test market and controlled test marketing. The standard
test market is used before a new product launch. It involves the selection of a small number of
cities to test the marketing campaign before launching it the whole.
While controlled test marketing focuses on the selection of certain stores where the company
asks these stores to display their products in return for a fee. The company decided on pricing,
display position, shelf position, etc. These strategies will fulfill the marketing campaign’s
effectiveness goal.
While conducting research primary focus groups and secondary focus groups must be
segregated to correctly analyze data. Some data collection might also be collected through
conducting interviews.
All of the research objectives would require primary research but if needed secondary research
can also be employed.
After all these steps research would focus on developing KPIs for performance measurement.
The goal is to set appropriate performance indicators that are well-matched with goals. For
example, continued sales growth can be a good indicator of the success of the overall strategy.
A critical Reflection on advantages and limitations
A clear, well-documented, and well-communicated strategy for growth is inevitable in
reaching the desired goal. The research would help Box ‘O’ Choc Ltd. to devise a strategy as it
would communicate to them about the way they should devise the intended strategy. The
research would guide them at every step of their planning and execution.
The limitations they can have are opinion biases, the limited amount of data they can collect,
cost-efficiency, and data relevancy.
Opinion biases are caused by audiences’ personal experiences. It can also be caused by the
audience deliberately not responding in the way they perceive things. It’s a huge constraint in
finding the market reality. If remained unchecked it can have serious implications on research
and hence planning. One way of removing it is choosing the right audience for surveys and
interviews for market research. Professional evaluators can also be hired to completely avoid
opinion bias. But doing so can cause research costs to rise therefore professional judgment is
required to properly evaluate the appropriate course of action.
Another constraint while conducting research is the limitation on data collection. The researcher
has to rely on sample data as analysis of the whole population is not practical. If the sample is
not selected carefully it can have serious implications on the amount of data collected. It can
cause results to be skewed and eventually wrong decision making. It can be mitigated by
choosing the right sample size and an appropriate sampling method.
While conducting research cost control is an essential factor to consider. Research cost should be
lesser than its benefits otherwise it's of no use. The goal of every business entity is to make
profits and lower costs. Research is cost-efficient if the benefit it generates is bigger than the cost
incurred on it. Research activities should be selected in a matter that lowers the overall cost of
research. This means finding smart solutions to research problems and use of less costly methods
of conducting research. There should be the right balance between research quality and the cost it
is incurring.
Data relevancy is an important factor in assessing research quality. Irrelevant data not only
skews the research results but also adds an extra cost that affects the overall research quality.
Therefore while collecting data SOP’s must be made and followed to collect data that is relevant
to the research question.
However, these limitations can be avoided by deploying the right course of action while going
through these stages of research.