Market Description-Segments and Target Market,
Kona Gold Coffees
In a preopening market study conducted by David Cooper over ten-month period
and using information gathered from our trade organization and retailers, we
developed the following market data.
The total coffee market is primarily segmented by price point for standard
coffees, but specifically by sales channels and target consumer groups for
gourmet coffee. Basically, Kona Gold Coffees has two target markets: our
retailers who buy from us and the end users who buys from our retailers and
directly from us via Internet and direct-mail sales. For the retailers, we focus on
those that can best reach and serve our end user, so it is our end user who
commands most of our market focus. The end-user market for coffee can be
broken into three basic segments: the high-end segment for consumers who are
more interested in higher quality or specific varietals and are less concerned
about price, the midrange segment for consumers who want to strike a balance
between quality and price, and the majority segment of consumers, who are
mostly concerned about price.
For gourmet coffee, the local (Hawaiian) market is primarily the high-end
consumer with some overlap of the midrange segment. Grouped together as
buyers of high-end coffee, these are segmented:
Basic
market Hawaiian market
segments
Gourmet
coffee
45%
drinkers
Tourist
40%
Image buyers
15%
Mainland market
Internet and mail
45%
75%
25%
30%
0%
25%
In addition to the types of end users, the market can also be segmented by sales
channels. The consumer will purchase our products through resort shops, coffee
bars, kiosks, supermarket delis, restaurants and other non-resort gift shops.
These retailers and mail-order and Internet consumers represent a complete
cross section of our target market of customer types.
Customer analyses:
Retail
Consumers:
Hawaii retailers
32%
Mainland retailers
43%
Consumer, internet and mail
25%
Mail order
5%
Internet
20%
Total
100%
Our preopening marketing
demographics:
Sex:
Male
Female
Income:
Under$40,000
$40,000-$59,999
$60,000-$79,999
Over $80,000
Age:
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55+
Marital status: Married
Single
Education: Under 12yrs.
12-14 yrs.
15-16 yrs.
More than 16 yrs
also
discovered
the
following
consumer
46.2%
53.8%
12.1%
26.8%
38.3%
22.8%
4.1%
27.5%
32%
26.3%
10.1%
63.4%
36.6%
7.1%
15.3%
63.2%
14.4%
Our Primary Consumer Profile
From the market research we can describe our primary consumer profile in term
of the following:
Gourmet coffee drinkers
Female 53.8%
Age 35-44
Household income $60,000-$79,999
Married
Education 15-16 yrs.
Both deliberate and impulse buyers
Social responsibility and hedonistic
Liberal
Environmentally aware
Brand-conscious
Trend-setter
Homemaker
Technologically adept
Primary purchases from Oahu in Hawaii and Los Angeles on the mainland
We intend to focus very narrowly on one particular market niche: gourmet coffee
lovers of this profile who are not price-conscious. Buyers and potential buyers
with these needs have not been specifically targeted by another company,
except with one product, not a product mix. While this market niche is small
enough to attract a lot of attention from national corporations, it is large enough
for us to realize our growth expectations for the next 5-10 years. It is also a niche
that we believed our company will be uniquely qualified to address because of
our excellent positioning in the heart of Kona.