Case Study

Since 1965 Popkoff’s had been exclusively sold and marketed to a very traditional ethnic consumer base located in San Francisco. When new owners acquired the brand in 2011 they envisioned bringing their delicious Russian Dumplings into the traditional mainstream consumer market, but were unsure how to proceed. In January 2014 Popkoff’s was only being self distributed and sold to approximately 30 Mom & Pop type stores in a very small geographic region of Northern California. They had a dated website that was not dedicated to their dumplings and nothing else in the way of social media presence or marketing materials. Their packaging was unremarkable and not appropriate for the conventional marketplace they wished to enter. The quality of the products was good, but there was nothing that made the Popkoff’s brand unique. The recipes in which they used to present their products were very traditional and appealed to their very traditional clientele.

Reveal Brands was retained to create and implement a “Go-to-Market” strategy aimed at penetrating the conventional US consumer market and more specifically National chains like Whole Foods.

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Step 1- Market Analysis

• US Category review and assessment– Identification of category gaps and opportunities– Analyst market research reports detailing sales by segment– Photographs of competition packaging– Matrix of competition pricing

• Competitive product positioning market messages– Determine strength and defining characteristics

MRS. T’So Location: Wal-Mart, o Differentiator: Family size = 2 lb., low fat, home cooked in minutes Boil, Sauté, Bake, Deep Fry, Grillo Packaging = 32 oz. bag / photo of prepared mealo Frozen

PELMEN FOODSo www.pelmen.com (store locator = Toronto / recipes to-come)o Differentiator: family owned and operated since 1996, 100% natural

ingredients authentic flavors = potato w/ fried onions, sauerkraut, spinach & feta, (below)o Note spelling: perogies & pelmenio Packaging = bag / photo of prepared mealo “A taste of tradition”

KASIA’S DELIo www.kasiadeli.com, (Chicago)o Differentiator: Kosher certified / “Made with all natural ingredients”o Newsweek featured as “top 15 small food companies” voted “Chicago’s Best” / served on United Airlines o Packaging = sealed carton with product window / 14 oz. = $4.99o (does not sell pelmeni)

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Consumer Survey

• Questionnaire survey– Quantitative research methodology– Understand how consumers perceive the product categories– Learn about purchasing and usage behavior– Explore potential naming and headline positioning

• Objectives– Determine target market– Identify appealing factors for the broad market– Research pricing and purchasing preferences

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Popkoff’s Market Research

• Must have household with more than 1 person.– 2 people (30%), 3 people (27%), 4 people (27%), 5+ people (16%)– 62% have children under 18 years old

• Must have purchased either of the following frozen food items within the last 6 months:– Pasta Entrees (stuffed: ravioli, pierogies, dumplings, tortellini, pot

stickers)– Vegetables (carrots, potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms)

• Must be primary shopper and make choices regarding brands to purchase.

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Are you familiar with the following items? Have you prepared them at home?

Pelmeni & Vareniki• 75% of participants have never heard of them• About 15% know of them but have never cooked it• About 9% have bought and prepared them

Others:o 49% have bought and prepared pierogieso 73% have bought and prepared tortellinio 89% have bought and prepared raviolio 86% have bought and prepared Hot Pockets / pasty

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Most important when deciding upon meals to feed your family?

A majority found these factors “important/very important”:– Flavorful (90%)– Healthy (79%)– Price (76%)– Easy to Prepare (67%)– Hearty (55%)– 100% all natural ingredients (54%)

• Low Sodium (49%)*• Known Brand (46%)*

Top responses with selection of “not important”:– Gluten Free (41%)– Fat-Free (17%)– Organic (17%)

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How do you learn about NEW food items at the markets where you shop?

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Are you familiar with these food products with Eastern European origins?

Are you familiar with these items or people with Russian origins?

The most recognized:- Vodka (94%)

- Sochi Olympics (90%)

- Tolstoy’s War & Peace (75%)

- Red Square (71%)

- Maria Sharapova (70%)

- Tchaikovsky (70%)

- Faberge Eggs (68%)

- Nesting Dolls (67%)

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What do you consider a reasonable price for the 4-serving, 16 ounce package?

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Recommendations

• Determine if product names need to be changed or modified positioning / messaging

• Determine strengths and defining characteristics for brand• Brand, category and product positioning

– Identify optimal positioning and messaging options– Develop messaging and positioning matrix to serve as the foundation for all

sales / marketing / corporate communications– Leverage market data, focus groups, and questionnaires – Define trade-focused and consumer-focused product attributes– Develop tagline and packaging grammar/content for U.S. market

• Establish the brand’s core values and characteristics• Create foundation for product story • Create packaging design and comps for initial presentation• Top-level research for trademark and URL availability

– All name options will be vetted through top-level trademark search• Recommendation for legal team to execute final trademark

Popkoff’s Story

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Mr. Popkoff’s - before

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Mr. Popkoff’s After

Packaging- before

Packaging- after

New Positioning

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Website - before

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Website - after

Photoshoot

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Go-to-Market Planning

• Based on consumer data and market research findings, develop a comprehensive “Go-to-Market” strategy

• Develop strategic sales and marketing plan• Create marketing budget, timelines and objectives• Develop sales and distribution strategy and objectives

Social Media and PR Launch

Media Coverage

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Channel Distribution and Sales

Why Reveal Brands?

Today Popkoff’s is the No. 1 selling brand of Pelmeni in the United States. Popkoff’s is now being distributed by KeHe, C&S, Burris, SYSCO, PFG, Bozzuto’s and more; and sold by some of the country’s largest and most recognized chains across the country. Popkoff’s can be found in nearly 1800 stores like Whole Foods, Safeway, ACME and SuperValu in 20 plus states around the country. New content is being posted daily to social media outlets, bloggers, Instagram and Facebook. Popkoff’s is now featured regularly on QVC and being shown to consumers in every state across the country. Popkoff’s sales have grown exponentially over the last two years and the owners have built and brand new 55,000 square foot state of the art production facility and are capable of producing nearly 10,000,000 pounds of product per month.

Reveal Brands has been responsible for the oversight and implementation of Popkoff’s “Go-to-Market” strategy from day one developing its long term strategy, training staff, retaining brokers and distributors, negotiating contracts with sourcing partners, packaging design, FDA labeling, project management, GSFI certification, USDA requirements, HACCP planning and more.