1.

Why was Cucina Fresca pasta successful? How would you compare pizza opportunity
to that for pasta? How would you compare actual product development process for each?

Answer:

In 1980s demand for healthy gourmet products grew sharply, and TruEarth observed a

segment of the market shift away from highly processed foods towards home meal
replacements which were semi prepared, considerably easier than a home cooked meal.
Cucina Fresca was the first fresh whole grain pasta meal kit, which came in to the market in
2006. Because of home meal replacement trend coupled with time poverty, it was designed
to be consumed in a single meal of two. It was manufactured with a new manufacturing
equipment. They decided to move towards the fresh refrigerated pastas that had previously
been unachievable for technological reasons. It had a good market penetration. TruEarth
was able to also add fresh tortellini, and ravioli to their product offering which helped gain
their position in the market. It was also successful because of its calculated risk based on
significant market research, where they were pitted against big companies such as Nestle
and Kraft.
The opportunity to the pizza to be launched is high than that of the pasta. The facts that

support the opportunities are that 77% of consumers ate pizza at least once a month. Storebought refrigerated pasta had 11% of sales i.e. $5.8B and refrigerated pasta had $4.4B.
The TruEarth had a product development team which is working before 2007. The company
has established itself from 1993, to a startup company with nothing to lose at start and not
affecting the overall production to a company which gives tough competition to even Nestle
and Kraft with is invention. Also it is taken that TruEarth now have a greater distribution
channel than that of the channel when it launched the whole grain pasta.

2.

Using the forecast model for pasta shown in Exhibit 5, what is your forecast of the demand
for pizza? Hints:
The necessary data is contained in Table B and Exhibit 7. the optional excel

supplements provided in the learning notes might prove useful

There is a significant difference in the "likeliness to buy" results for pasta customers

and non-customers. Actual penetration of the Cucina Fresca parent brand may range from
5% to 15%, so sensitivity analysis will be useful

3.

What can the TruEarth team learn from Exhibit 6 about how consumers view pizza?

Answer:

The consumers agree that the product TruEarth Pizza is better than the refrigerated pizza on

all the attributes of usage, taste and quality.

But the opinion for the TruEarth Pizza with respect to the takeout pizza (past experience) on

different attributes varies slightly. On the usage factors of the TruEarth pizza, takeout pizza
was considered more convenient. However, it was considered to be easy to prepare.
On the taste attributes, the takeout pizza scores more than the TruEarth pizza.
But on the quality attributes, TruEarth pizza is considered containing more healthy

ingredients than any other pizza.

When it comes to substitution, if the product is launched in markets, it will definitely capture

the takeout pizza consumers segment, restaurant pizza consumer segment. When it comes
to refrigerated pizza and frozen pizza over TruEarth pizza, more people prefer the former
than the later.
The reason being, the consumers i.e. the young, and old consumers do not want to
compromise on the quality. And the middle aged consumers prefer taste.

4.

How do the pizza concept test results (Exhibits 7 & 8) compare with the findings for pasta
(Exhibits 3 and 4)?
The customer reaction looks bit low for the pizza than for pasta. The lower percentage of
customers willing to defiantly or probably purchase the product should not be all that
alarming. The reason for this lies in the fact that the market we are looking to enter is larger.
Thus from the prospective of gross revenue and units purchased we can reasonably assume
that a slightly lower percentage of a higher number will yield similar if not better results. This
test is to be taken as a good sign that the things that are trying to be achieved are things that
will resonate well with consumers of the product in general. The majority of individual will
have a positive reaction to the product concept and the product details. They value healthy,
fresh, modular make your own pizza

5.

Is there a first-mover advantage in pizza similar to fresh pasta?

The first mover advantage TruEarth had with pasta was in fact a real first mover advantage.

The fresh pasta space was just opening up and they were the only ones with a viable wholewheat option for customers that also tasted good.
In case of the pizza the market already has substitutes as the takeout pizza. The only

attribute where the TruEarth pizza scores is on the quality grounds.

The TruEarth brand name is also favorable for them.
The first mover factor will not be there for a long time. They can monopoly the market for a
very low time as the competitors are also in the process of launching the same. But in case
of the pasta it was different as the next substitute was launched almost after a year.

6.

How do you interpret the findings in Exhibits 9 and 10 to evaluate interest in pizza?

With the exhibit 9 and 10 it is clearly visible that most of the people who tested the product for home
trial felt that the price is too high. Also to note that the total number of consumers who felt the
product favorable were two times to that of unfavorable. The major issue that is seen here is the
price. As many think that the product price is too high they might hesitate to get the product after we
launch. The favorable mean price is $10.75 and the unfavorable mean price is $8.86. So taking both
the figures into consideration the price if set between the two then we can gather the margins of both
type of consumers. This could affect the profit margin at initial point. But after stabilizing in the
market the price can be increased. Also many suggestions to improve the product taste/ flavor,
sausage improvement, and crust less chewy should be worked on before the launch, so that it can
satisfy more number of consumer market.
7.

Would you launch the pizza?

I would launch the product in the market. With all the efforts used to develop and test the product
and taking the views of the consumers, with some changes in the product I would launch the product
in the market. But will try to launch the product as soon as possible. Because the competitors are
also trying the same kind of product to launch. By launching the product in the market I would not
really get the credit of first mover fully, as there are supplementary products available in the market
which the consumers are using. But launching it first I can get the time of occupying the market
space completely before the competitors launch. With the market development in the years, there
are more opportunities to make reach the product reach consumers.