Edible Arrangement - Segmentation & Product Strategy

Edible Arrangements knows exactly what it wants. And according to their mission statement it’s simply to “WOW you” (the consumer). This company recognizes the customer’s need to send a gift that leaves a lasting impression and with this said, Edible Arrangements credits each arrangement using only the freshest fruits to make it “WOW” credible.

In order to evaluate Edible Arrangement’s Product and Branding strategy, the first step is to understand its market segmentation. According to Kotler and Keller, market segmentation divides a market into well-defined slices; a market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of needs and wants (p., 100). Kotler and Keller also state that a company may define its segments by looking at descriptive characteristics such as geographic, demographic and psychographic and then examine whether these customer segments exhibit different needs or product responses (p., 100). Because market segmentation is a critical element of every marketing strategy, and is the basis for developing the positioning and targeting strategy which determines marketing mix, the responsibility as an Edible Arrangements marketing executive is to identify its consumer segments and the appropriate number and nature of these segments to decide which one(s) to target in order to be successful.

In a recent interview, Business Pundit Online talked to Tariq Farid, CEO of Edible Arrangements to find out more about Edible Arrangements’ consumer segmentation strategy. Farid stated that in the beginning, the company’s consumer segment could probably be narrowed down to one segment: corporate individuals, where Edible Arrangements focus was corporate gifts. But according to Farid, when 2001 rolled around, his corporate customers cut back their spending dramatically. So Farid had to go back to the drawing board and identify additional consumer segments. “We learned quickly at that point how to go after the consumer market," he said. Today, their...