Digna Patel
Snapple Case study
June 1, 2017
A. In the period of 1972 to 1993, why do you think that Snapple flourished when so
many small startup premium fruit drinks stayed small or disappeared? Explore
each of the four Ps (as you decide where to give credit).
Snapple succeeded in the period of 1972 to 1993 because of “100% Natural”
mantra to promote its product. The business grew slowly using internally generated
funds. They broadened their product line to keep distributors occupied. Many of its
successful competitors during this time were sold to larger distribution companies
allowing Snapple to create a brand image and distribution alliance for them. “The
distribution system grew until Snapple had a network of 300 small, predominantly
family-owned distributors servicing convenience chains, pizza stores, food service
vendors, gasoline stations, and so-called mom-and-pop stores.”
Product: Snapple focused mainly on brand recognition and brand image. They
marketed their product as “100% natural.” They became successful by launching
innovative product line such as carbonated drinks, fruit-flavored iced teas, diet
juices, seltzers, an isotonic sports drink, and even a Vitamin Supreme. “Some
succeeded and many failed, but premium pricing on the successful products covered
losses on the failures.”
Price: Snapple offered its product with premium pricing. Their 24 ounce case costs
$24 from retailer, which was quite expensive. Snapple’s price is not significantly
cheaper or more expensive than substitute products. So they did not have any
significant advantage in this area. However, they were able to keep the product
profitable, despite of several failing product flavors.
Advertising and Promotion - $2
Cost of goods sold - $6
Manufacturers selling price to distributor - $10
Distributors selling price to retailer - $15 to supermarket, $19 to street
Retailers price to consumer - $19 in supermarket, $24 on street
Profit before general and administrative costs- $2
Promotion: “Snapple’s promotion was an offbeat blend of public relations and
advertising.” Their famous mantra was “100% Natural” product which appealed to
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Digna Patel
Snapple Case study
June 1, 2017
many customers. They used various distribution channels to reach their market.
Their primary focus was to market in moms and pops shops. It outsourced
production and product development and built a network of distributors across New
York City. Supermarkets accounted for about 20% of Snapple’s sales. “Advertising
agency Kirshenbaum, Bond & Partners created a spokes model for the brand in the
form of Wendy Kaufman, a former truck dispatcher with a brash New York attitude.
Wendy received paid exposure in the brand’s advertising, but her eccentric
personality also attracted unpaid media attention. She made appearances at retail
stores, and accepted invitations to sleepovers, Bar Mitzvahs, and prom dates.”
Place: They were close to New York City which proved them beneficial in the
marketing business project. “It outsourced production and product development and
built a network of distributors across New York City.” This helped in the marketing of
their product. They were able to access the media and celebrity to launch their
beverage line.
B. Now look at the period from 1994 to 1997. Did Quaker make an error in buying
Snapple or did they manage it badly?
I think Quaker did not manage Snapple properly because the owners of
Quaker thought of it as a “fashion” brand. Their annual sales went up at $674 million
in 1994 and declined each year until by 1997 to $440 million. Several changes in
management did not help reverse the trend. They wanted to change Snapple from
fashion drink to lifestyle drink like Gatorade. This did not go well because Snapple
was already making successful sales and the change declined the sales. “Teams went
out to the 300 distributors to propose that they cede Snapple’s supermarket
accounts to Quaker in exchange for the right to distribute Gatorade to the rest of
their accounts.” However, distributors denied Quaker’s proposals. If they had left
Snapple to grow with same strategy, it would have been more successful.
C. Roll forward to 1998. What can Triarc’s managers learn from Quaker’s experience?
What can they apply from their own experience? Is Snapple’s target market” anyone
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Digna Patel
Snapple Case study
June 1, 2017
with lips?” Is it ok that Snapple “ends up meaning lots of different things to lots of
different people?” What are the risks and rewards of leaving “what the brand stands
for” open to consumer’ interpretations rather than a strong positioning on it? And
what does it mean to say that Snapple is a fashion brand?
The research study shows enough evidence that the Snapple brand had
connected strongly with the consumers in its early years because of their simple and
realistic advertising techniques. They were able to connect with the brand because
of its simplicity. When Quaker took over Snapple, they changed the marketing
techniques and went directly against these principles of being real. Consumers had
felt betrayed, because Snapple was sold out to Quaker. I think that Triarc’s managers
should go back to its old strategy and gain consumers trust because success is
dependent on the consumers preference. Snapple’s target market is anyone with
lips as consumers have different choices and they will know when they have
options. It is ok if Snapple means different things to different people because their
interpretations will allow to identify what to produce based in the needs of different
people. Snapple is fashion brand because it appeals to a distinct non-mainstream
soda drinker with a premium price, better quality, and more expensive price.
D. Identify the three highest priority initiatives you would start with tomorrow if you
were in Mike Weinstein’s shoes. Justify them.
The three highest priority initiatives I would start with tomorrow if I was in Mike
Weinstein’s shoes are:
1. Marketing technique- I would not try any new marketing technique for
Snapple because it was doing great before Quaker bought over. Consumers
loved the brand and they were happy with its offering.
2. Distribution Channel- Snapple has a network of 300 small family owned
distributors servicing convenience chains, Pizza stores, food service vendors,
gasoline stations, and moms and pops shops. I would not get it into
supermarket as they want allowances and service calls which can cause the
decline in profit.
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Digna Patel
Snapple Case study
June 1, 2017
3. Brand- Snapple was considered a fashion brand with 100% natural mantra.
Everything should be natural and real. I would not change the quality of the
product to make it a lifestyle brand.
E. Is Snapple currently using the social media a part of its marketing strategy? If yes,
how is it being used? If no, what would you suggest that they do?
Yes, Snapple uses the social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
as a part of its marketing strategy. Snapple uses twitter facts page where they posts a
picture of a back of a Snapple cap with a fun real fact of different stuff. For example,
“Sloths only seem slow because they are” or “Global warming was created by Ben and
Jerry’s to sell more ice creams and branded T-shirts.” Recently, Dr Pepper Snapple
Group’s boosted its multichannel strategy by betting on programmatic mobile ads
that helped drive 213,000 in-store visits to more than 1,000 grocery store locations
and placed its products in 25,000 new households. “The #LoveSnapple campaign is
pulling out all the stops on social media using video advertisements starring Nick
Cannon and Jimmy Fallon, a campaign hub located on Tumblr that serves as an
aggregate page for all related posts from users and fans and official pages on all
social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. The Tumblr
page offers easy participation with links to post and share content on user’s personal
social media pages.” Snapple has 98,764 thousand followers on Twitter, 3,540,790
million fan following on Facebook, and 17.1 thousand followers on Instagram. They
posts various professional beautiful designed pictures of Snapple drinks to attract
customers and show their fashion brand image.
