Tastykake Sensables Case

Tastykake Sensables Case Study Questions: (1) How does the Sensables process compare with the new products process discussed in this chapter? (2) Would you question anything Tastykake did? (3) Do you think the Sensables line will succeed? Why or why not? (4) Can you modify the product development phase-diagram as specified in the HBR article to what you find relevant to this case? You can redraw or explain the diagram in context of this case 1. How does the Sensables process compare with the new products process discussed in this chapter? a. I believe the Sensables process honestly directly coincides with the New Products Process. As the buzz around a new (at the time) health wave of low-carb treats began to circulate around the market due to the Atkins diet, Tastykake instantly had an opportunity to create a new low-carb treat to boost sales based off of trend (Opportunity Identification/Selection Phase). After taking the provocative steps forward into the health-conscious market, through rigorous research and trials, Tastykake had the first few samples of their low-carb line ready for taste tests in less than a month (Concept Generation). As samples were given, some were approved and moved forward and some were denied due to taste, appearance, etc. (Concept/Project Evaluation). After evaluation of the products, Tastykake had to make sure they followed FDA guidelines to be available for purchase as well as assess certain product attributes such as shelf life (Development). Finally, once Tastykakes got the “okay” from the FDA and made sure everything else was in place, they launched their Sensables low sugar/low carb line on August 10th, 2004 (Launch). 2. Would you question anything Tastykake did? a. Personally, I do not know how ethical their decision was to make their product a “no sugar” product because of tough “low-carb” restraints. According to the case study, prior to the launch of Sensables, the FDA claimed that low carb products were going to be monitored much more heavily, thus making it tougher for companies to use the claim of low/no carb. Because of this, Tastykakes decided to list the “low-carb” aspect as the 2nd product attribute and sugar-free as the first attribute in order to avoid any FDA violations. This product will be positioned with other healthy products on the shelves; and when companies make claims/find loopholes in certain sanctions to get their product out, it can create misconceptions on the consumers’ end. 3. Do you think the Sensables line will succeed? a. Personally, I think it will succeed short-term, not so much long term. As stated in the case study, the trend of healthy living/choices is a wave. Our generation is based on looks, and obviously in order for one to look good, they will make health choices that coincide with that goal (buying Sensables instead of regular Tastykakes). But what happens when people start to realize that although Sensables are in fact low-sugar and low-carb, there are several unnecessary additives that are added to these products? Also, what happens when someone who is heavily into the health wave decides to “hop-off” the wave due to misleading nutrition facts and the ridiculous high prices of these “healthier options”? I have done several market research projects, during my time here at ISU, regarding health trends and have found that most people who engage in healthy lifestyle choices/are in shape have college degrees and have a household income of $100,000. This makes it much tougher for these types of products (branch offs of unhealthy food brands) to market to masses because the average person probably would not spend $5 extra (estimate, not real $ figure on products) for a “healthier” snack, when they can get a better tasting product for $5 less? After all, most people actually eat for taste - which brings on another topic of discussion with the success of Sensables. Typically, the healthier foods tend to be much blander in taste than the usual store-bought snacks. So, a huge portion of the equation of Sensable’s success has to be whether the consumers can tolerate the taste (i.e. does it taste good enough for people to actually enjoy the healthier version?). Either way, Sensable’s will have a period of success due to current health wave. But, I truly believe the amount of success (possibly short term i.m.o.) will be based off of differentiating trends, price to the masses, and the overall level of taste. 4. Can you modify the product development phase-diagram as specified in the HBR article (posted above) to what you find relevant to this case? You can redraw or explain the diagram in context of this case. a. As the new product development phased is ran off of a “holistic” or “rugby” approach, I feel as though Tastykake could have possibly produced this product if they involved more communication/action between different product teams. For example, although Tastykake was able to quickly find another sugar alternative after finding out that some people are sensitive to maltitol, this could have been avoided if ingredient team members were able to create different batches with different sugar alternatives from the start; meaning, if there was an overlap between all teams responsible for the Sensables (Exhibit C in article), communication/suggestions could have been made in order for this problem to not occur. Other than that, given the fact that the production team was given such a short time frame, the efficiency of the overall production deemed to be successful.