Synerg

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aily Solution for
Great F
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TEAM:SYNERGYMARKETING
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12th January. 2021
Prepared for:
Synergy Meal kits
Prepared by:
Nafiz Fuad Ayan (Product and
Marketing Manager) 2031687630
Avipshito Roudra (Marketing
Researcher) 2012342030 Md
Mostakim Nabil (Marketing
Researcher) 1931362030 Sadia
Hossain (Promotions Manager)
1411190020 Wazed Bin Waker
2013016030
TA B LE O FC O NTE NTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1 INTRODUCT
ION Logo,
Mission
statement, Tag
line
2
STP
STRATEGIES
Segmentation,
Targeting,
6 11 Positioning, Value
Proposition

MARKETING
MIX
STRATEGIES
Product, Price,

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Place and
 Promotion Strategy, Brand
expansion
strategy, SWOT
analysis
STRATEGIC
APPLICATIO
NS
CONCLUSIO
Future Prospects, N
Expansion
Acknowledgement:

We are first very grateful towards all the team members who have worked on this product
diligently and patiently to complete it on time. We are also immensely grateful to our instructor
Ms. Farhana Habib Zinnia (FHZ) for giving us the opportunity to prepare this plan. We are
exceptionally grateful to her and it was an honor to have her as our instructor.
Executive summary:

We founded Synergy as an easy solution to at-home cooking, especially for individuals

struggling to balance their daily household activities, such as cooking with their busy work
schedules in Bangladesh. As a start-up, we plan to operate through a niche and provide high
quality meal kits to our target segments inside Dhaka. Our product portfolio consists of a few
meal options customers can choose from.

Due to being a small and new company, Synergy will be facing some significant challenges
highlighted through our SWOT analysis. At the same time, we have identified possible
opportunities in the upcoming years of operation. Therefore, with the marketing mix we have
created, we will tackle those and take advantage of any opportunities that arise.

Currently, there is little to no competition in the meal-kit industry. Since the market is still new,
we will focus on surviving and trying to ensure that our idea is well received by customers. Our
competitors will be mostly indirect, meaning other food delivery apps. Therefore, we will be
positioning ourselves as the ‘much healthier option’.

This proposed marketing plan for the start-up Synergy will elaborately explain the first year
operation plan, a marketing mix breakdown, pricing strategies, external factors and a broad STP
(segment, target, position) analysis. All the strategies have been converted to detailed action
plans in order to execute them smoothly by still remaining in the budget Tk. 500,000.

The research and plan itself is highly customer focused, therefore, our value proposition has been
built up based on that goal as well. We have analyzed both the situation of the business and the
current market to devise a marketing plan through which our meal-kit company will be able to
solidify its relationship with target customers, encourage repeated usage in the future and achieve
its main objectives.
Introduction:
Synergy is a meal kit service new to Bangladesh, offering a ready-to-prepare meal service to
individuals who admire an easier cooking process. Synergy meal kits include ingredients freshly
acquired from the best of local vendors, packaged into a recyclable cardboard box and delivered
to your doorstep just in time, every week. With nutritious and equally delicious meals, Synergy
is easier, healthier and better.

Fig: Synergy Meal Kit official Logo

To ensure ease, Synergy’s ordering process has been broken down to simplicity. First, customers
choose from its three meal plan options; Single, Couple and Family. Followed by that is the
options of meals. Customers are able to see ingredients, calories and details on the website and
choose meals in 3, 4 or 5 per week. Lastly, the customer is asked to fill in their address and other
necessary details and the payment is done online via credit/debit card or through cash on
delivery. Upon delivery, all the customer has to do is read the instructions and cook the meal
with the help of our elaborate recipe cards.

OUR VALUES

Mission statement: Synergy is a new food provider, aiming to reduce the time, planning and
hassle required to cook a wholesome meal. As a sustainable business, Synergy aims to provide
delicious meals in the most environmentally friendly way by promoting recycling, reusing and
zero wastage while still ensuring customers are able to enjoy food that they like.

Tag line: Your Daily Solution for Great Food

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Sustainability: Synergy aims to be an advocate for re-use, recycle and zero wastage. Hence, we
provide ingredients that have been measured in advance to allow customers to use just the
amount they need, no more, no less. With our cardboard box and paper bag packaging that
decompose eventually, we remain a friend to the environment. To ensure the lowest use of
plastic, our smaller ingredients come in zip-lock bags that can be washed and used multiple times
before throwing it away.

Health: Another value that is highly important to us is the health of customers. We, as a
company, believe in the physical well-being of our customers and hence, we provide meal plans
that are low in calories and contain the right balance of nutrients.

STP STRATEGIES:
Number Name of the segmentation ✓/X

1 Demographic ✓

2 Psychological ✓

3 Behavioral ✓

4 Geographical ✓

Segmentation Process used:

 Fig: Demographic factors

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Demographic segmentation: Income will be one of our segmentation variables. As mentioned,
our product will be targeted to a slightly higher income group (in areas such as Gulshan, Banani
etc.) as opposed to medium income groups (in areas such as Uttara, Motijheel etc.). Synergy
meal kits are not going to be marketed as a commodity, or something that everyone should have,
at least not in the early years of operation, but rather as a bit of a luxury. Therefore, income will
be one of the concrete variables we will primarily use.

Another variable is age. Age groups of 25 - 45 will be preferable as individuals in these groups
are either married, have a family and/or have a stable job, allowing them to afford and enjoy the
variety of meal options we offer.
 Fig: Behavioral factors
Behavioral segmentation: One of the most important factors here would be the response to the
product by potential customers. For instance, the easy process of preparing a meal through a
meal kit may inspire customers to take up the habit of cooking (something they have not
indulged in yet).

Another variable would be the benefits sought which in this case is the convenience received by
saving time and getting proper deliveries. Lastly, another variable would be user rates. As the

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meal kits are weekly subscriptions, it is safe to assume that most of our users will become
“heavy-users” with time, as they realize the convenience and quality we are offering.

Psychographic segmentation: Synergy meal kits are designed in a way that blends with the
lifestyle of its consumers. The time-saving aspect of our product allows individuals with busy
lifestyles to enjoy filling meals every week. Similarly, health-conscious customers will be able to
appreciate the health and low-calorie aspect of meal kits.

Geographical segmentation: Our geographical segmentation is mainly inside Dhaka as with

limited resources, and being a start-up, Synergy will try to utilize our resources as effectively and
efficiently as possible. Dhaka being the country’s main city is the main reason behind this choice.
Although we’ve elaborately explained how each type of segmentation helps us, the main
variables we will be;

✓ Age (25-45 years)

✓ Income (relatively higher income groups)
✓ Geographical location (all over Dhaka, but more specifically Banani, Gulshan etc.)

These variables will allow us to operate in a very small, but concentrated niche. As a business,
we will also be able to be more receptive towards consumer needs if our segment if extremely
focused.

Targeting

It is important for Synergy to use the right target market to promote and sell their product or else
our product would fail without even getting started. Dedicating resources and time into segments
that won’t provide fruitful results would mean we are wasting the resources of the business.

It is impossible to meet the needs of every single niche, hence, as a customer-focused business,
Synergy will dedicate its products/services to one/two targeted segments. After evaluating all the
perks of different market segments, it would be reasonable for Synergy to cater its meal kit to
people with a busy work life with substantial income in Dhaka.
These characteristics of the chosen segments have been specifically chosen in order to serve
customers in the best possible way while still enabling our start-up to have a sustainable business

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goal. Keeping this in mind the best possible targeting strategy for Synergy would be to use
Concentrated targeting strategy. This means that we will be providing a niche service to our
customers because it won't be affordable to people who don’t fall under the income group of our
segment.

As our product is a new one and we have limited resources, it would be smart to use
concentrated targeting instead of undifferentiated targeting strategy because appealing to a mass
market would be quite costly to pursue. The same can be said about differentiated marketing
because it would be expensive and irrational to produce different types of products for various,
distinct segments at the beginning of its product life-cycle. Although a difference could be made
when the product is in a more mature stage of its life-cycle.
An important aspect about targeting is the attractiveness of the segment. The main reason why
our meal kits will appeal to our chosen segments is because they receive the opportunity of
getting portioned ingredients delivered to them with the convenience of cooking their desired
dishes faster without taking away the essence of a warm home cooked meal. At the same time,
the affordability factor is present. With a lack of competitors, these segments are even more easy
to pursue. Lastly, the segment size and growth are substantial, allowing us to have a strong
potential customer base from the initial stages of operation and reducing operational risks.

Positioning

After we have filtered through all possible segments to find our target market, our next task
would be to position ourselves.

Due to the lack of strong, direct competition, our positioning will focus more on providing
customers with something they see as a perfect ‘solution’ to their problems. Positioning, also
termed as ‘creating an image in the customer’s mind’, will help us leverage the features and
services that come with our product, making it a ‘one-stop’ solution.

Services and Product differentiation: Although at the beginning, we will not be positioning for
competitive advantage, as a company, Synergy would still be prepared for any future competitive
threats. Our product already has a USP (unique selling proposition). Hence, by focusing on
promoting the unique product features we have such as;

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✓ Being one of the first meal kit services in Bangladesh
✓ Having endless healthy meal options
✓ Sustainable packaging
✓ Being a reliable food provider
✓ Serving food of quality

In addition, since all our operations will mostly be in house such as marketing, delivery service,
taking feedback, etc., we will be highlighting that to paint a picture in consumer perception that
we are all they need. Therefore, this will serve as “services differentiation” and “channel
differentiation” as we will have the spotlight on the direct communication and convenience our
integrated channel serves.

Value Proposition: The easiest way to order quality food to your doorstep, every week

MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES

Product

Synergy is a meal subscription service, providing pre-prepared meals with accurately measured
ingredients and a step-by-step recipe card. This amalgamates a system of providing both a
product and service by first acquiring high-quality fresh ingredients and creating a recipe as the
product and then and delivering a box on a weekly basis to the customer’s doorsteps as a
service.

The meal plan offers both a veg and non-veg option provided in different portions which extend
to - Single plan (1 person), Couple plan (2 people) and a Family plan (4 people). Each plan offers
a range of recipes each week. The recipes save time by allowing the customer to prepare a
delicious meal within a time span of 20-30 mins. Furthermore, the ingredients for the recipes are
already chopped up and provided in the exact measurements needed by the consumer so that they
can add everything together and cook faster, saving them the trouble of organizing, measuring
and assembling the ingredients.

Our ingredients will be acquired from vendors, especially for vegetables and rice. Other
ingredients such as spices, will be acquired from partnership with local grocery stores. Since the

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ingredients are measured exactly based on what the recipe demands, there is no wastage. All
ingredients that have to be preserved arrive in suitable conditions such as zip-lock bags, ice bags
etc. In addition, the meal subscription does not require a customer to fully commit. They are able
to cancel 3 days prior to the delivery if they don’t wish to cook a pre-prepared meal that certain
week.
 Fig: Packaging

Bangladesh has yet to be introduced to such diversified meal subscription kits catering to the
needs of different people. Although Synergy has almost no direct competitors, Lean Nation a
pre-cooked meal plan service may be the closest in the field of competition. Providing meals on
the day of consumption, Lean Nation’s meal plans may be fast, but they do not provide meals on
a week-basis like Synergy. Unlike Lean Nation, Synergy focuses on the health of its potential
and existing customers by catering to their specific preferences, while allowing them to preserve
the meals and remain stress-free for 7 days. Other companies such as food delivery apps
(HungryNaki, Foodpanda, etc.) may also qualify as distant competitors, but similarly, Synergy
stands out and is able to differentiate itself by providing food that doesn’t fall heavy on the
wallet and does not cause considerable damage to a customer’s health.

In terms of packaging, the meal’s ingredients will arrive in a cardboard box, with a logo of the
company imprinted on it, that can be reused and recycled - further reducing waste. Inside the
box, the ingredients will be packaged in a brown, paper bag and smaller ingredients such as

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spices will be provided with zip-lock bags that can also be reused later on. A recipe card for each
recipe will be included in the box with the names of the dishes, ingredients and pictures of how
the dish would look after it is cooked. The other side of the recipe card will include specific
details of the nutritional value for every recipe and a step-by-step guide of the cooking process.

For after sales service, Synergy will be sending out surveys via email to the subscribed members
in order to gather feedback on a one week/two week basis. The website of Synergy will also have
a live chat feature which the members can use to contact a customer care representative to
inquire about ingredients, ask for suggestions of file complaints related to deliveries.

Brand sponsorship: As for the sponsorship of the brand Synergy aims to be self-sufficient in its
sponsorship as we would be manufacturing our own product and taking responsibility for how
we would promote our meal kits and selling it through our own website. Not being reliant on a
third party would give us more control over our product and bring about changes more rapidly
when required.

Pricing

Synergy’s target market would be people who earn a remunerative income and are living a busy
lifestyle. For Synergy’s meal kits, we will be using a New Product pricing strategy. Market
skimming will be our choice of pricing as our product is new and unique. The benefits provided
to customers by our meal kits will be beyond functional, as it also serves as a potential product,
saving time and giving customers a feeling as it “they are taken care of” while they engage in
their fast-paced lifestyle. Our food would also allow them to take a break from their tiring
schedule and enjoy our delightful meals to not only calm themselves down but also give them
energy to continue with their work. Therefore, customers will be on board with paying a high
price. At the same time, as customers subscribe for more weeks, an increase in sales volume will
allow our costs to fall, giving us the benefit of economies of scale.

An extension in our pricing strategy would be product line pricing. Since we offer a few
versions of our meal kits, a product line pricing strategy would help to differentiate the various
products under the same line. These would be significantly based on cost and feature differences.
For instance, the couple’s kit would cost more than the single kit as it serves one extra person
and contains more in terms of proportion.

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Based on the factors to consider when setting prices, our first priority would be customer needs.
Therefore, based on consumer’s value perceptions, we will be deciding on prices. For the same
reason, we will also be focused on positioning. The third factor to consider is costs because we
will maintain at least a small profit in the first few years of operations so that we can reinvest
that for the future. At the same time, taking costs into consideration will help us adjust prices
over the years. Similarly, since competition at present is significantly low, we hold the freedom
of adjusting the price in a way that benefits us but is still affordable and attractive to customers.

Price Chart:
Name of Number of meals Number of Number of Price (taka/=)
Plan (per week, per meals meals
person) (per week, (per week,
per person) per person)

Single 3 4 5 1200/1500/190
0

Couple 3 4 5 2400/3000/370
0

Family 3 4 5 4600/6000/730
0

Our costs:
Ingredients (on average) 350/=

Packaging (all meals for 1 week) 50/=

Delivery 50/=

Place

Location Strategies: Synergy’s office will be in Gulshan at the center of the metropolitan’s busy
corporate location where all the weekly orders would be assembled and discharged for delivery
after they have been prepared and checked thoroughly. All our fresh ingredients and packaging
material directly arrive at this location, reducing the overall time needed to assemble a package.

Although we will have a place to assemble our packages and run other necessary operations,
most of the order process will be done through one channel of distribution - our official Synergy
website.

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Our website gives customers easy access to their Synergy account for free at any time of the day.
Through this account, customers browse, select and pay for meals. Furthermore, our website will
make the whole process easier on both ends. Customers will be able to place orders hassle free
and with the help of computer technology, all our orders will be in a computerized system that is
easily manageable. At the same time, using a website reduces our costs of having a retail outlet
big enough to accommodate people and plenty of boxes.

The website will also allow customers to track their orders with the help of Google Maps.
Similarly, in case someone is unable to receive a package, they can use the Live Chat option on
our website to let us know so that we can store the package in appropriate conditions until they
are available to receive it. Customers can also cancel 3 days prior to the delivery if they don’t
wish to cook certain week and we will adjust our deliveries accordingly.

The only way we will be distributing our meal kit to customers is through our very own delivery
system. Van drivers will be picking up scheduled orders for the current day from our office along
with the list of addresses to deliver the kits on time. Using our own delivery service gives us the
freedom to control deliveries better and handle issues of late deliveries.

Promotion

Once we've sorted out our product mix, we will ensure we are able to communicate our full
offerings effectively through the right choices under our Marketing Communications mix. One
single form of promotion will most certainly not be sufficient for us, hence, we will be using an
integrated marketing communications mix to send out a clear message to our targeted customer
base - a combination of Advertising, Personal selling, Public relations, Direct Marketing and
Sales Promotion.

Advertising: The best way to advertise for Synergy’s meal kit would be to sponsor the videos or
blogs of influential food bloggers to have them promote our meal kits and put forward our
mission to their audience. This needs to be done carefully as the influencers to be sponsored need
to be selected after thorough research. Their major audience should be from Dhaka and not only
be a large one but also one that consists of the people in the age group of 25-45 years old, which
is our target audience. Influencers charge Tk. 15,000-20,000/= on average for these types of
posts and sponsorship and given our budget, Synergy would be sponsoring 5 videos in order to

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grow the brand and get more exposure towards its target market. Although this isn’t the cheapest
form of advertising, it is an affordable one for Synergy and gives us an opportunity to
communicate to our audience that we are ready to provide them with healthy and delicious food
of the highest quality without taking away the core values associated with home cooking.

Sales promotion: An effective way of increasing our sales would be to encourage our current
customers to influence potential customers to purchase our products. Synergy aims to do this by
offering a 15% discount to customers who refer to Synergy's meal kits. Customers would be
made aware of this through email and will be given different referral links. Once the referred
person joins our program through the link, the current customer who originally made them aware
of our product would get 15% off on the next two weeks of their meal plan. Although this could
affect our short term profits, it also gives us an opportunity to gain brand exposure and promote
the benefits provided by our meal kits through word of mouth of our customers. Synergy will be
running this sales promotion a month after that the referral links would expire and the members
would be notified through email.

Direct marketing: The best and most convenient way to directly connect with our target market
would be through email which would be easily accessible to us because they would need to use
their email to create their account on the Synergy websites. We could use this opportunity to
keep our customers up-to-date with our new offers. Links of new recipes offered in our website
and for surveys could be sent to these emails too, which can be tracked when someone clicks on
them using various email software allowing to keep track of how many consumers have actually
engaged with our links. This does not cost the business any money so this is the most viable
option to communicate with customers and maintain a healthy relationship with them, which
could help create a lasting relationship between Synergy and its customers.

STRATEGIC APPLICATIONS

Using the Product/Market Expansion Grid, we will be able to anticipate the future prospects for
Synergy. Our strategies for growth will be determined partially by the use of the grid as it gives
us 4 options to analyze.

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 Fig: Ansoff’s Matrix/Product/Market Expansion Grid

Based on this grid, our future prospects lie in Product development and Market Development.

Currently, our product portfolio is still quite simple. Therefore, we will use this opportunity to
expand our portfolio by adding new versions and modifications to the product, creating
something new and unique. For instance, we can introduce vegetable smoothies and dessert
options as a part of the meal kits. This would be a new product/product extension on the existing
market we are operating in.

Another area is Market Development, where we will be selling our existing meal kits into newer
geographical areas such as Chittagong, which would be a completely new market for us. This
will only be done once we have successfully covered the most demanding places in Dhaka city
and our popularity among customers will be booming.

Brand extension strategy: The Synergy website has a vast array of delectable and healthy recipes
for its members to enjoy and cook whenever they want. These recipes could be published in cook
books in the future as a brand extension strategy for Synergy in order to make them available for
the non-members so that they too can enjoy our palatable recipes, This could in turn attract
potential customers to our original product, who would want the newest and most exclusive
recipes available on our website. This will help our initial brand grow even further.

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Strengths Weaknesses

• Low cost of production (low prices • Risks associated by being a start-up

charged by local vendors, economies company (financial and non
of scale) financial)
• Flexible subscription • Potential high costs of
• Environmentally friendly and advertisement
sustainable • New business (yet to gain the trust
• Premium Quality ingredients of employees regarding their
• Zero wastage policy daily meals)

Opportunities Threats

• Expand outside Dhaka • Ingredients’ prices are subject to

• Diversification (cook books, dessert inflation (creates cost
options, other types of recipes, uncertainty)
snack • Idea can be easily copied
packs, etc.)

Fig: SWOT analysis

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Conclusion

We have included a full description of our product along with a customer-focused marketing
plan. We believe this report will allow us to stay on track and fully utilize the product’s strengths
to the fullest in order to have a successful launch as well as remain fully aware of possible threats
and weaknesses. This marketing plan will serve as a guideline and we as business owners can
use it to adjust our strategies as our business grows.
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