Fall 2015 MBA Marketing Management 1

Dr. Rodriquez

Case Analysis

Snapple

Presented by: Ketsia Dornevil

October 20, 2015

Fall 2015-MBA Marketing Management

Dr. Rodriguez
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Dr. Rodriquez

Brand Overview

Snapple came into formation with minds of three individuals: Arnie Greenberg, Leonard Marsh, and

Hyman Golden. In 1972, they went into business selling all natural apple juice with the brand name

entitled Snapple. The brand achieved high popularity by the 1980s on both coasts of the United States.

Marketing Strategy - In the late 1980s, the founders hired Carl Gilman to handle sales and marketing.

The advertising budget was increased to $1 million and its promotion strategy was mixed with public

relations and advertising. Wendy Kaufman was hired to be the spokes model for the brand. The fun and

upbeat of the brand brought it to booming sales by 1974. The graph below depicts Snapple’s success.

Supermarket Brand Shares, 1997

Others
29% Snapple
35%

Arizona
11% Ocean Spray
Lipton Nestea 12%
9% 4%

Growth in Annual Sales Revenue

800
Sales in Millions

600
400
200
0
1989 1992 1993 1994
Snapshot of Years
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Company Timeline – After reaching its peak sales, Snapple was sold to Quaker, a food company with

four main areas of business: grain-based foods, bean-based foods, pet foods, and beverages. After

changing the image of Snapple did not work, the brand was sold to Triarc in 1997.

Issues/Problems

After acquiring Snapple in 1994, Quaker had plans of expanding its beverage portfolio. The company

decided to avert from Snapple’s unique strategic position. The fun, upbeat fashion style was replaced

with a certain lifestyle motto to reflect the same image as Gatorade, its first beverage. As two

completely different brands, it is clear as to why consumers did not respond to this change in a positive

way. After the brand image was changed, consumers felt that Snapple wasn’t Snapple any longer. Their

conception of the brand was spoiled. They believed that “Snapple is Crapple”. With Snapple as Triarc’s

new acquisition, the company needs to question what strategy should be taken to revitalize brand image.

SWOT Analyses

Strengths – Despite is decline in sales, Snapple has strong brand awareness. The brand was once the

leader in the Alternative Beverages industry. Because of the knowledge of the brand, consumers are

aware of the taste. That much does not need to change to gain the trust of its consumers once more.

A fresh start may also be strength for the company. This allows the brand to explore more strategies that

can revive their market share.

Weaknesses – Snapple suffers from the image it now has with its consumers. The lost in trust of the

product can be a setback for them. Another weakness can be contributed to the flavors. Over 50 flavors

would be good if they were all putting in a healthy share. But, Triarc needs to wonder if they have too

many of the flavors that their loyal consumers do not even like. Loss in revenue should be a reason to
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cut back on flavors. More and more money is being put into making flavors that are not bought

frequently. The fact that there is not a specific target market is a weakness. Every group of people is

different so marketing needs to be fit to a certain group. Marketing to “everyone with a mouth” may

portray a confusing marketing strategy.

Opportunities – Snapple has an opportunity to grow in more market. With a fresh start a reach to new

markets can provide them with more shares. More distribution channels can also increase shares. New

youth markets can help the company promote on-the-go strategies that can be expressed through the

growing use of social media.

Threats – Snapple is threated by its competitors that once were behind the game and gained glory during

Snapple’s rough patch. Many organic beverages are emerging in markets so Triarc may need to

strategize round them as well.

Evaluation of Options

There are a few things that Snapple must do to find its way to the top. They need to revitalize its brand,

regain consumer loyalty and trust, and utilize many distribution channels. Snapple has the option of

going back to its originality. The Snapple experience that consumers loved might be the way to win

them back. Revitalizing the brand should implement flavor cuts. A study can be done to determine

which flavors are not bringing in a healthy share. Also, asking consumers what they love is always a

good option. This will take a lot of attention. Getting rid of the wrong flavors can be detrimental.

Gaining consumer loyalty can be done through advertising via many channels including radio, TV, and

social media. Fun promotional activities can be done to engage consumers and keep them excited. Some

may include Snapple bottle deals (e.g. buy two, get one free), collecting Snapple bottles for a grand

prize.
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Lastly, Snapple can take advantage of distribution channels. This can include but is not limited to

restaurants, public transportation venues, cold channels, supermarkets, street vendors, and kiosks. The

more that Snapple is readily available, the easier its consumers can get a hold of it.

Recommendations

The best recommendation for Mike Weinstein is to revisit the image Snapple had during its glory days.

Mirroring it exactly may not be the best option right now because we are building from the ground up.

We need to start slow and I believe the best way to do that is to cut flavors and gain back loyalty. Once

Snapple shows some increase in sales more avenues can be explored.