Carleton University

Sprott School of Business

Course Assignment Module 3: Target Market & Positioning for Bald Baker’s
Sweet Challenge

Submitted by,

Md Abu Sayed

Student ID: 101361431

Submitted to: Kareem Roberts

Date of Submission :21st July 2024

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 Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 3

2. Identification / Evaluation of Target Market Options ........................................................... 3

3. Situation Analysis ............................................................................................................. 5

4. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 7

5. Citation ............................................................................................................................ 9

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1.0 Executive Summary

A company might have a dream to sell everything to everybody. However, it is almost impossible to

achieve this dream. Also, serving all consumers, means the entire market, is very expensive. So,

grouping consumers into segments enables the company to customize their product while still

retaining sufficient economies of scale to be practical1. Targeting the correct segments of

consumers is very critical for a business to be successful. All the company needs do develop a

strategy to identify the appropriate target market means understanding what the needs and wants

are of the potential consumers. Bald Baker's Sweet offers high quality and natural products to fulfill

the consumers sweet tooth cravings without using sugar2. The provided data shows that Bald Baker

is a growing company in terms of revenue and products. However, its revenue is very low compared

to the other competitors. For a company to be successful, Bald Baker must first identify the viable

market options available for their business and assess the relative merits of those markets. After

that the correct target market will be recommended and finally to develop a positioning strategy

which will appeal to its potential consumers.

2.0 Identification / Evaluation of Target Market Options

As sugar-conscious and vegan bakery company, Bald Baker has numerous market option because

of the rise of low of low-sugar and vegan dessert market3. Below are some of the options.

One of the target markets for Bald Bakers could be health-conscious people who are looking for

healthy and convenient option. Health- conscious people tend to choose vegan and low-sugar

snacks. This product category is becoming popular over time4. This product allows them to control

their calories intake along with nutrition. The owner of the Bald Baker company has a passion for

this product too. On the other hand, although low calories and sugar free, health-conscious people

avoid baked products because they want to have a higher protein intake to build body muscle. It

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can either be a hit or a miss with this market option because eventually the consumer's mindset

shapes their purchasing behavior5.

Bald and Baker could target vegetarian consumers because they have been growing massively

since 20176. A new concept of ‘plant-based’, was introduced first by Dr. T. Colin Campbell7 is getting

popular. A Nielsen Global survey in 2018 reported that 23 percent of consumers wanted more

plant-based products8. The sugar free market is expected to reach US $73 billion by 2021 in North

America6. People are increasingly becoming aware of what they want to consume and the healthier

options available in the market. Canada is in number 18 among the top 20 countries in the world

with highest vegetarians rates9. Because of the huge vegan market and growing steadily every year,

the problem is that there are several competitors in the market. If something does not suit the

tastebuds of vegans, then they are quick to replace another brand. Although it is a little tricky to

please this segment but with consistent efforts Bald Bakers can build a loyal customer line off this

segment alone.

Because of having low sugar products, Bald Baker could target the market of diabetic people.

Almost 1.5 million Ontarians have diabetes10, and another 3.1 million have prediabetes11 - a huge

market. Diabetes Canada said one in three Canadians lives with diagnosed diabetes or

"prediabetes" and about 60 percent of Canadians adults were overweight1. Moreover, the father of

the Owner had diabetic. So, he understands the needs of this target market. Targeting this market is

hard compared to the other options because diabetic consumers are commonly low on income

and have low prosperity12. Although this segment was not attracted by the experts, there is a

potential for huge growth for Bald Bakers. Less competitors are in this segment and people usually

tend to avoid it because they believe it will not be profitable. Since there is less exposure it is

difficult to agree with the opinions of the industry experts.

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Bald Baker is currently generating revenue from 25-44 year-old women1. Besides, the company

could target people in the age group 25-44. They tend to use social media more than other age

groups, grounded in their everyday realities of life and hyper aware of food trends, intelligent about

their culinary choices. Additionally, this age group tends to have more disposable income and they

usually are attracted by the products of low-sugar as well as vegan and/or gluten-free. If the product

is according to their liking, they tend to become loyal customers. Although this market is very active

on social media, and they follow social media trends closely the down part about this market is

constantly change of mood or wanting to try different things. Making them a consistent or repeating

customer could require a lot of effort, especially considering several products and aggressive social

media marketing.

3.0 Target Market Recommendation

Section 1.1 discusses different target consumer market options and carefully assesses their merits

and demerits. It would be wise to recommend that Bald Baker should keep focusing on the vegan

consumer market. Currently, Bald Baker is earning revenue mainly from age group of 25-44 year-

olds women who either consider themselves vegan, gluten-free, keto or a combination of these1.

This age group of people are health conscious too. Bald Baker could target men in this age group

along with women. These age group are not only hyper aware of the food trends, but they are also

attracted to the products that are either low-sugar, gluten- free, ketogenic and/or vegan. As shown

before, the vegan market is growing constantly every year and there is no doubt that Bald Bakers

can generate a significant amount of revenue by targeting these consumer groups. In addition, this

targeting group, both men and women, is active user of social media platforms. People who are 35-

44 year-olds are actively using Facebook and 25-44 year old are active users of Instagram1. So,

these people can be reached undoubtedly through social media marketing. An aggressive social

media marketing campaign of Bald Bakers can easily attract these consumers and potentially turn

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them into loyal customers. Bald Baker can use the allocated CA$50,000 for this campaign. In this

way, the company could their aggressive sales target as the CEO mentioned.

Targeting only one consumer group is not a practical strategic plan for an emerging company like

Bald Baker. In this report, a second target group is recommended. This target group is the

consumers who are diabetic. The reason for this recommendation is not only because the original

inspiration behind the creation of Bald Baker was CEO's father was diabetic but also because a

smaller number of competitors are targeting this market. Industry professionals recommend that

companies should stay away from this market. Despite, there is a lot of potential for growth for Bald

Baker if they focus on this segment. It is mentioned that the competitors have been in this market

for a while and have already built a significant customer base. However, they still do not target

specifically the diabetic consumers as they do not have products created fully for diabetic people.

Low sugar products do not generally mean that they are sugar free and diabetic friendly or safe. As a

result, Bald Baker has an advantage of going after these people and potentially building a loyal

customer line. The diabetic consumers market is generally lower on income scale and having low

propensity to spend on luxury goods is merely a misconception or assumption created by industry

professionals. There is no significant research that justifies this conception. Going after a market

which is neglected by other companies could give Bald Baker a huge advantage because they will

be one of the first companies to focus on the needs specifically for diabetic consumers. Not in vain

the idea of Bald Baker products was born of the concept of providing sugar conscious treats since

the father of the founder is a diabetic person, and his wife is a personal trainer.

This decision criteria fulfil the theoretical aspects of market size, market growth, profitability,

competitive intensity, risk, fit with Bald Bakers goal and abilities and brand values (Class

Presentation).

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3.0 Positioning Strategy

For good positioning a brand a few strategies need to be

addressed. Considering the customers, the competitors and

the company itself are very important. Also, some attributes

need to be considered (Fig besides). A detailed discussion

is done in the previous sections. Bald Baker needs to

position the Brand strategically to differentiate themself from its competitors. There are several

brands offering low or sugar free products but none of them were created due to inspiration from a

family member.

Instead of using plain craft boxes for packaging Bald Baker can sell their products with packaging

which tells the story of the Brand. This package will make the Brand visible to the consumers.

Packaging can include animated presentation of the CEO with his father offering him the exact

product which the package holds and have an animated bubble communicating "we did it, finally

we made diabetic friendly cookie". This could be a very effective marketing campaign and will

communicate the inspiration behind the product which can draw out the emotions of the

individuals who are purchasing the products. The idea behind this campaign would be "a place

where family matters" because the CEO’s concern for his father's condition led him to develop the

company. This is something no other company or competitor of Bald Baker can steal because it is

unique with the Brand itself. Additionally, Bald Baker can position themselves as a company that

serves all health-conscious people because it is sugar-conscious as well as vegan, gluten free, egg

free, dairy free and above all it is worry free1.

Other low sugar companies either offer their products as sugar conscious or sugar conscious and

vegan. There are not a lot of brands that keep allergic people as priority because that involves a lot

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of additional work in the production, and it also costs more but Bald Baker has an advantage of

fitting with the needs of every customer.

By taking into consideration the recommendations and the strategy provided Bald Baker can

position itself as a premium natural Brand who keeps in mind the needs of everyone and provides

them worry free products.

4.0 Conclusion

From the above study it can be concluded that a low sugar or sugar free bakery company Bald Baker

has a great future to stay in the bakery market. There are a number of consumer segments Bald

Baker can target including vegan consumers, vegetarian, diabetic people and people of the age

group 25-44 years old. This report finds that targeting the vegan consumer group will be most viable

for the company because this population is growing fast, and Bald Baker has the potential to

compete with other competitors. Besides, Bald Baker can target the diabetic people too. The CEO

has a personal history of diabetic involvement and passion for addressing diabetic people. That can

lead Bald Baker to a attractive company for diabetic people.

Finally, if Bald Baker makes their kraft packages attractive to the customers and position the

products available for vegan and diabetic people, it can be a premium natural Brand in the bakery

industry, especially low sugar or sugar free market.

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5.0 Works Cited

1. Kenton, W. (2024, June 20). Economies of Scale: What Are They and How Are They Used? Access
on 13 July 2024. [Link]

2. Mazehari, E., & Tofighi, M. (2021, July 26). BALD BAKER'S SWEET CHALLENGE. Ivey Business
School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208.

3. Daniela Coppola, “Sales Value of Cookies in Canada from 2013 to 2018 (in Million Canadian
Dollars)”, Statista, November 30, 2020, accessed March 10, 2021,
[Link]

4. Peter Leighton, “Marketing Healthy Snacks,” Natural Products Insider, September 1, 2016,
accessed January 13, 2021, [Link]
marketing/marketing-healthy-snacks.

5. Murphy M.C and Carol S. D. (2016). Mindsets shape consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer
Psychology. Volume 26, Issue 1, January 2016, Pages 127-136.

6. Global Sugar-Free Food and Beverages Market Size to Reach USD 72.37 Billion by 2021:
Technavio,” Business Wire, March 1, 2017, accessed January 13, 2021,
[Link]
Beverages-Market-Size-to-Reach-USD-72.37-Billion-by-2021-Technavio.

7. Dr. T. Colin Campbell (2019), History of the Term ‘Whole Food, Plant-Based’. Access 13 July 2024.
[Link]

8. “Nielson: Dollar Share for Plant-Based Proteins Grows in North America,” Innovopro, August 1,
2018, accessed April 27, 2021, [Link]
proteins-grows-in-north-america//.

9. Ijaz, S., (2023, July 23). 20 Countries With Highest Rates Of Vegetarians. Access on 20 July 2024.
[Link]

10. †Government of Ontario. Preventing and living with diabetes. Access on 13 July 2024.
[Link]

11. Diabetes Canada. Diabetes in Ontario. Access on 13 July 2023.

12. Diabetes Canada (2024). Estimated Prevalence and Cost of Diabetes. Diabetes in Canada.
Access on 20 July 2024. [Link]
and-provincial-backgrounders/diabetes-in-canada.