The Bakery Industry-Tastykake
The commercial Bakery industry has been in existence for decades. Commercial baking industry began during the industrial revolution. As societies became more urbanized, innovations and inventions also increased. Among the inventions was the mass production of baked goods. The industry ordinarily bakeries have been established close to the consumers due to the perishable nature of the final products. The breads, cakes, doughnuts etc are highly perishable are preferred when they are fresh. The hurdle of proximity to the consumers was among the first hurdles that the commercial bakery industry had to overcome. Bakeries were established across different regions so as to overcome the barrier constraint.
By late 2000s it was estimated that there were over 4000 commercial bakeries in the US. The bakery industry had now grown to an industry to reckon with as it also becomes a reliable source of employment for close to 115,000 workers (Tasty Baking Company, 2012). Bread and cakes accounted for the highest baked products that were being manufactured by most bakeries. Second in popularity of production were the doughnuts.
There are numerous bakeries that have been established. One of them is the Tastykake. Tastykake refers to snacks that are made by the Tasty Baking Company. Established in 1914 Tastykake initially began by serving its local population in Philadelphia. Recently, the sales of the company have been plummeting. In the third quarters of 2009, the gross sales stood at $74.1. By the third quarter of 2010 the gross sales had further dropped to $68.2. This was a -7.9% decline. By early 2011 the company continued to experience plummeting sales and the shares of the company also dropped (Tasty Baking Company, 2012).
Sales, usage and availability of baked product vary by locale. Tastykake serves the mid Atlantic and the northern United States. This is to say that the populations in these areas are well served by the baking industry. In contrast those not within these geographical regions are not easily reached by the products of the company. Brand Development Index (BDI) refers to the strength of a brand within a specific market (Tasty Baking Company, 2012). Tastykake main market is in Philadelphia as it is its headquarters.
There is need for the company to look into ways of expanding its geographical locations so as to reach more potential markets. Category Development Index (CDI) refers to the sales strength of a specific product. At Tasykake products such as their cupcakes, Krimpets and Candy cakes are the favorite of all other products. There is thus need for the company to look into the products that are not performing in terms of sales and revamp them to remove them entirely from the catalog list.
Tastykake has been looking into sports and other family focused properties so as to easily venture into new markets such as the eastern regions. The company has engaged ions several sponsorship programs such as sponsorship of numerous sports teams as well as raising funds so as fight cancer. The numerous sponsorship programs enable the company to roll out its products to new markets for instance the Latino communities. With increased consumer awareness, the opportunity to increase its sales goes up.
Promotions are also common in Tastykake (Tasty Baking Company, 2012). Consumers of any of the company’s brand snacks stand a chance to win various items such as tickets to an oncoming match, T-shirts etc. Tastykake has also managed to create a sustainable consumer loyalty. This is due to the Tastykake fresh product that they roll out in the market. This situation is particularly felt in Philadelphia where the company is headquartered.
Reference
Tasty Baking Company, (2012). Home Page. Retrieved from http://www.tastykake.com/aboutus/pressreleases
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