Reflection 9 - Research Paper Example

4 November Q Ans. I agree that the cereal companies should focus on new product innovations rather than repackaging the same old products in new ways. Repackaging in new ways might be a short term solution to the problem, but the long term success can only be achieved by making products that consumers actually value. The case study discusses several ways in which the cereal companies have reinvented their products e.g. flavored cereals, cereals with fruits, and weight-loss cereals. Such cereals already have the scope to be popular, though they might take some time.

Cereal making companies should consider new marketing and advertising strategies in addition to reinventing their products rather than repackaging them in different ways. Q.2: Ans. Three different kinds of new cereal packaging for traditional cereal can be zippered plastic bags, metalized bag lining, or selling the cereal in air-tight jars. The common factor among all three types of packaging is that they are useful for the customers even when the cereal is finished. For example, zippered plastic bags can be used to carry fresh vegetables like spinach from the grocery store to the home, or to carry salad from home to school.

Such a packaging is very useful in the present age when the use of plastic shopping bags is discouraged. Metallized bags are even more useful than the plastic bags since they help keep the food fresh and safe from the moisture and the outside odors. Air-tight jars are also very useful for storing bakery items and confectionaries like biscuits and cookies. My favorite cereal packaging amongst the three is zipped plastic bags because their use surpasses the use of other two options in everyday life.

In addition, they are the most cost-effective option for the cereal companies to avail. Q.3: Ans. The Canadian people are very fond of biscuits. The cereal makers should consider making biscuits with cereals. The cereal makers should analyze which of their flavors have acquired maximum sales in the past and the same can be converted into biscuits. Another kind of cereal can be spicy and salty cereals. These days, there is a growing trend among the Canadian consumers to eat flavored and fried pulses.

Traditionally, cereals are very mildly flavored and the spicy flavor is particularly hard to find. So the cereal makers should try their luck with the fried and spicy range of cereals. Another kind of cereal can be chocolates. The weight-conscious Canadian consumers crave chocolate and can never have enough of it despite their awareness that it is a very high-calorie food item and they should principally avoid it. Incorporating cereal into the chocolates as filling not only adds a nice complimentary flavor to the chocolates but also provides the chocolate makers with a way to reduce the calorie count of the chocolates so that their sale among the contemporary weight-conscious consumers can be enhanced.

To achieve this, cereal makers can either make their own chocolate bars or form alliance with a willing chocolate company in the market.