Ice Cream Project

India’s contribution to the modern world may not be signed in numbers, but whatever contribution made worth wise is absolutely great. One of the contributions in the desert category “THE KULFI”

Kulfi Kulfi is a popular South Asian, ice cream made with boiled milk typically from water buffalo. It comes in many flavors, including pistachio, malai, mango, cardamom (elaichi), and saffron (kesar). Kulfi differs from western ice cream in that it is richer in taste and creamier in texture. As well, where western ice creams are whipped with air or overrun, kulfi contains no air; it is solid dense frozen milk. It is made by boiling milk until it is reduced to half. Then sugar is added and the mixture is boiled for another ten minutes. Then flavorings, dried fruits, cardamom, etc. are added. The mixture is then put in moulds and frozen. One can eat kulfi plain as is or it can be garnished with ground cardamom, saffron, or pistachio nuts. As well, Kulfi is also served with Falooda vermicelli noodles. But since the kulfi could not become world famous, with the concept of kulfi, ice-cream was started in 1981 in India. Then onwards it has been one big journey……. on the road. Now, Ice Age – The Healthy Ice Cream Parlor brings to you the new generation of Ice Creams….

The Evolution of Ice Cream Ice cream's origins are not known to reach back as far as the second century B.C., although no specific date of origin nor has inventor been undisputable credited with its discovery. We know that Alexander the Great enjoyed snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. Biblical references also show that King Solomon was fond of iced drinks during harvesting. During the Roman Empire, Nero Claudius Caesar (A.D. 54-86) frequently sent runners into the mountains for snow, which was then flavored with fruits and juices. Over a thousand years later, Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East with a recipe that closely resembled what is now called sherbet. Historians estimate that this recipe evolved into ice cream sometime in the 16th century. England seems to have discovered ice cream at the same time, or perhaps even earlier than the Italians. "Cream Ice," as it was called, appeared regularly at the table of Charles I during the 17th century. France was introduced to similar frozen desserts in 1553 by the Italian Catherine de Medici when she became the wife of Henry II of France. It wasn't until 1660 that ice cream was made available to the general public. The Sicilian Procope introduced a recipe blending milk, cream, butter and eggs at Caf Procope, the first caf in Paris.

Ice Cream for America

The first official account of ice cream in the New World comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen. The first advertisement for ice cream in this country appeared in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777, when confectioner Philip Lenzi announced that ice cream was available "almost every day." Records kept by a Chatham Street, New York, merchant show that President George Washington spent approximately $200 for ice cream during the summer of 1790. Inventory records of Mount Vernon taken after Washington's death revealed "two pewter ice cream pots." President Thomas Jefferson was said to have a favorite 18-step recipe for an ice cream delicacy that resembled a modern-day Baked Alaska. In 1812, Dolley Madison served a magnificent strawberry ice cream creation at President Madison's second inaugural banquet at the White House. Until 1800, ice cream remained a rare and exotic dessert enjoyed mostly by the elite. Around 1800, insulated ice houses were invented. Manufacturing ice cream soon became an industry in America, pioneered in 1851 by a Baltimore milk dealer named Jacob Fussell. Like other American industries, ice cream production increased because of technological innovations, including steam power, mechanical refrigeration, the homogenizer, electric power and motors, packing machines, and new freezing processes and equipment. In addition, motorized delivery vehicles dramatically changed the industry. Due to ongoing technological advances, today's total frozen dairy annual production in the United States is more than 1.6 billion gallons. Wide availability of ice cream in the late 19th century led to new creations. In 1874, the American soda fountain shop and the profession of the "soda jerk" emerged with the invention of the ice cream soda. In response to religious criticism for eating "sinfully" rich ice cream sodas on Sundays, ice cream merchants left out the carbonated water and invented the ice cream "Sunday" in the late 1890's. The name was eventually changed to "sundae" to remove any connection with the Sabbath. Ice cream became an edible morale symbol during World War II. Each branch of the military tried to outdo the others in serving ice

cream to its troops. In 1945, the first "floating ice cream parlor" was built for sailors in the western Pacific. When the war ended, and dairy product rationing was lifted, America celebrated its victory with ice cream. Americans consumed over 20 quarts of ice cream per person in 1946. In the 1940's through the 70s, ice cream production was relatively constant in the United States. As more prepackaged ice cream was sold through supermarkets, traditional ice cream parlors and soda fountains started to disappear. Now, specialty ice cream stores and unique restaurants that feature ice cream dishes have surged in popularity. These stores and restaurants are popular with those who remember the ice cream shops and soda fountains of days past, as well as with new generations of ice cream fans. According to legend, Marco Polo brought the secrets of ice cream with him from the Orient, together with other sundry savories. There is, however, no proof of that, although there is some evidence that the Chinese indulged in iced drinks and desserts, which gives some weight to the Marco Polo theory. The Chinese did, however, teach Arab traders how to combine syrups and snow, to make an early version of the sherbet. Arab traders proceeded to show Venetians, then Romans, how to make this frozen delight. The Emperor Nero was quite fond of pureed fruit, sweetened with honey, and then mixed with snow--so much so that he had special cold rooms built underneath the imperial residence in order to store snow. In the 1500s, Catherine de Medici brought the concept of the sorbet to the French, who were soon to make a great improvement on it. As you will have noted, the above are frozen desserts, not ice cream. That invention awaited the development of the custard, then the discovery that freezing it would create a delectable dessert. This notable event occurred in 1775 in France, and was shortly followed by the invention of an ice cream machine, which did a much better job of creating a light and fluffy frozen custard than beating by hand could do.

Thomas Jefferson, who imitated Nero in having a special cold room for storing snow, provides us with the first recipe for ice cream found in the United States. Not to be outdone, George Washington invested in one of the ice cream machines. Until 1851, ice cream (or, more frequently, cream ice) was solely made at home. But an intrepid man from Baltimore, named Jacob Fussell changed all that by opening the first ice cream factory. Near the turn of the century, the ice cream soda was created, although by who seems to be in question--either James W. Tuff or Robert Green. It does seem to have been done by accident, however--a scoop of ice cream falling in a glass of flavored soda water. At any rate, the drink became a national craze, and many a girl and boy went courting over an ice cream soda. So many, in fact, that many municipalities passes laws forbidding the sale of soda water on Sunday. Quickly afterwards, the 'sundae' was invented--it contained the ice cream, syrup, and whipped cream of the soda, but without the evil influence of soda water. Numerous variations existed. The next ice cream craze with the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis. Charles Menches was doing a lively business selling scoops of ice cream in dishes, all the way up to the point that he ran out of dishes. Frustrated, but determined to still find a way to make a profit, he lighted upon his friend Ernest Hamwi, who was selling a wafer-like cookie called zalabia (a Syrian treat). The combination proved irrestible.

HISTORY OF THE ICE CREAM CONE For over a century, Americans have been enjoying ice cream on a cone. Whether it's a waffle cone, a sugar cone or a wafer cone, what better way to enjoy a double scoop of your favorite flavor?

Making Its Appearance The first ice cream cone was produced in 1896 by Italo Marchiony. Marchiony, who emigrated from Italy in the late 1800s, invented his ice cream cone in New York City. He was granted a patent in December 1903. Although Marchiony is credited with the invention of the cone, a similar creation was independently introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair by Ernest A. Hamwi, a Syrian concessionaire. Hamwi was selling a crisp, waffle-like pastry -- zalabis -- in a booth right next to an ice cream vendor. Because of ice cream's popularity, the vendor ran out of dishes. Hamwi saw an easy solution to the ice cream vendor's problem: he quickly rolled one of his wafer-like waffles in the shape of a cone, or cornucopia, and gave it to the ice cream vendor. The cone cooled in a few seconds, the vendor put some ice cream in it, the customers were happy and the cone was on its way to becoming the great American institution that it is today.

A Business Is Born St. Louis, a foundry town, quickly capitalized on the cone's success. Enterprising people invented special baking equipment for making the World's Fair cornucopia cones.

Stephen Sullivan of Sullivan, Missouri, was one of the first known independent operators in the ice cream cone business. In 1906, Sullivan served ice cream cones (or cornucopias, as they were still called) at the Modern Woodmen of America Frisco Log Rolling in Sullivan, Missouri. At the same time, Hamwi was busy with the Cornucopia Waffle Company. In 1910, he founded the Missouri Cone Company, later known as the Western Cone Company. As the modern ice cream cone developed, two distinct types of cones emerged. The rolled cone was a waffle, baked in a round shape and rolled (first by hand, later mechanically) as soon as it came off the griddle. In a few seconds, it hardened in the form of a crisp cone. The second type of cone was molded either by pouring batter into a shell, inserting a core on which the cone was baked, and then removing the core; or pouring the batter into a mold, baking it and then splitting the mold so the cone could be removed with little difficulty. In the 1920s, the cone business expanded. Cone production in 1924 reached a record 245 million. Slight changes in automatic machinery have led to the ice cream cone we know today. Now, millions of rolled cones are turned out on machines that are capable of producing about 150,000 cones every 24 hours.

FROM THE COW TO THE CONE How Ice Cream Is Made Everybody has a favorite flavor or brand of ice cream, and the debate over whose ice cream is the best rages on each year. While each manufacturer develops its own special recipes, ice cream production basics are basically the same everywhere. The most important ice cream ingredients come from milk. The dairy ingredients are crucial in determining the characteristics of the final frozen product. Federal regulations state that ice cream must have at least 10% milk fat, the single most critical ingredient. The use of varying percentages of milk fat affects the palatability, smoothness, color, texture and food value of the finished product. Gourmet or super premium ice creams contain at least 12% milk fat, usually more. Ice cream contains nonfat solids (the non-fat, protein part of the milk), which contribute nutritional value (protein, calcium, minerals and vitamins). Nonfat dry milk, skim milk and whole milk are the usual sources of nonfat solids.

The sweeteners used in ice cream vary from cane or beet sugar to corn sweeteners or honey. Stabilizers, such as plant derivatives, are commonly used in small amounts to prevent the formation of large ice crystals and to make a smoother ice cream. Emulsifiers, such as lecithin and mono- and diglycerides, are also used in small amounts. They provide uniform whipping qualities to the ice cream during freezing, as well as a smoother and drier body and texture in the frozen form. These basic ingredients are agitated and blended in a mixing tank. The mixture is then pumped into a pasteurizer, where it is heated and held at a predetermined temperature. The hot mixture is then "shot" through a homogenizer, where pressure of 2,000 to 2,500 pounds per square inch breaks the milk fat down into smaller particles, allowing the mixture to stay smooth and creamy. The mix is then quick-cooled to about 40°F and frozen via the "continuous freezer" method (the "batch freezer" method) that uses a steady flow of mix that freezes a set quantity of ice cream one batch at a time. During freezing, the mix is aerated by "dashers," revolving blades in the freezer. The small air cells that are incorporated by this whipping action prevent ice cream from becoming a solid mass of frozen ingredients. The amount of aeration is called "overrun," and is limited by the federal standard that requires the finished product must not weigh less than 4.5 pounds per gallon. The next step is the addition of bulky flavorings, such as fruits, nuts and chocolate chips. The ingredients are either "dropped" or "shot" into the semi-solid ice cream after it leaves the freezer. After the flavoring additions are completed, the ice cream can be packaged in a variety of containers, cups or molds. It is moved quickly to a "hardening room," where sub-zero temperatures freeze the product to its final state for storage and distribution.

ICE CREAM LABELING - WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? There are many choices in today's ice cream case to suit a wide variety of consumer tastes. There is plenty of information on food labels, but what does it really mean? Here, the International Ice Cream Association sheds some light on how ice cream and related products are labeled.

Labeling Definitions The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets standards of identity for many foods so that consumers will get a consistent product, no matter what brand or type they buy. For ice cream, FDA permits the use of nutrient descriptors such as "light," "reduced fat" and "low fat" so that consumers know exactly what they're selecting in terms of nutritional content. These FDA standards follow the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), which governs all food labeling. Here are some of the terms consumers are seeing in the supermarket, and exactly what those terms mean: Ice cream is a frozen food made from a mixture of dairy products, containing at least 10% milk fat. "Reduced fat" ice cream contains at least 25% less total fat than the referenced product (either an average of leading brands, or the company's own brand.) "Light" ice cream contains at least 50% less total fat or 33% fewer calories than the referenced product (the average of leading regional or national brands.) "Low fat" ice cream contains a maximum of 3 grams of total fat per serving "Nonfat" ice cream contains less than 0.5 grams of total fat per serving.

Quality Segments In addition, there are commonly used marketing phrases that describe ice cream products in terms of quality segments, such as "super premium," "premium" and "economy." Several factors can contribute to a product's quality segment, such as price, brand positioning, product packaging, quality of ingredients and the amount of overrun (air) in the product. Overrun refers to the amount of aeration the ice cream undergoes during its manufacture that keeps the mixture from becoming an inedible frozen mass. Overrun is governed by federal standards in that the finished product must not weigh less than 4.5 pounds per gallon. "Super-premium ice cream tends to have very low overrun and high fat content, and the manufacturer uses the best quality ingredients. "Premium" ice cream tends to have low overrun and higher fat content than regular ice cream, and the manufacturer uses higher quality ingredients. "Regular" ice cream meets the overrun required for the federal ice cream standard. "Economy" ice cream meets required overrun and generally sells for a lower price than regular ice cream.

Company profile: Name: Ice Age The Healthy Ice Cream Parlor Date of Launch: 20th September 2006 Promoters: Justin D’costa Phinsy Chirayath Rahul Mahapatra Shruti Saraf Aaron D’souza Fizzah S.J Product: Sugar free and Fat free healthy Ice Creams. Health conscious desert.

Proposed Flavors: World famous Vanilla and 20 different mouth watering flavors. Project: Manufacturing and selling of healthy sugar free and fat free Ice Creams. Specially made for health conscious and sweet tooth people.

Head of department/ management: Justin D’costa Phinsy Chirayath Rahul Mahapatra Shruti Saraf Aaron D’souza Fizzah S.J :

: Finance : Public Relation : Marketing : Product Testing : Human Resources Outlet manager

Investments: Total capital investment required: 7 crore Borrowed capital (loan from IDBI bank): 3 crore Total partners investment: 4 crore Each partners capital: 70 lakhs

All the six promoters and administrators of Ice Age Ltd... will be equal partners and the profits sharing ratio between them will be equal.

Introduction. Founded in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Ice Age Ltd.. company is setting up an Ice Cream manufacturing and selling parlor. The project will have great significance in the present day context of increasing weight and illness among the youth as well as adults due to increasing fat and sugar intake due to increasing content of sweetener in the Ice Creams and juices. The manufacturing of all types of ice creams will be done at its production site and then will be transported to its parlors established in the heart of the city. Ice Age Ltd.. is entering the Indian market with an aim of establishing its brand as a necessity of the Indian buyers. The company will follow a strategic positioning approach for the target market. Ice Age Ltd.. has kept into account the income and behavioral factor of the Indian buyers while designing the products. It is important for the company to understand the consumer behaviour before it goes into such a market. The Indian consumer for the first time will have a premium product which is eco-friendly, healthy and affordable.

Business strategy Our business strategy will include the determination of the most beneficial product market in term of establishing itself in this new product segment. The most important factor for the success of Ice Age Ltd. brand is the perception of the consumer and to what extent it can build a positive image in the consumer’s mind. The intensity of the business environment, the sustainable

Range competitive advantageProduct of a quality product will give it a strong base to build the market.

Internal Analysis

It is important for us to adopt a different strategy for the Indian market since it is composed of quality buyers as well as those who will buy for their family. Thus, we shall introduce some new

External Analysis

strategies so as to establish our self in the Indian market and develop a strong customer base.

Competitors Analysis The Model used for preparing the marketing strategy by Ice Market

Environment Analysis

Marketing Strategies

Future Plans

Conclusion

Age Ltd.. in the Indian

The first growth vector will involves gaining penetration with the existing product-market Ice Age Ltd. will attempt to attract customers from competitors through its strategic positioning and will establish strong brand equity. The second growth vector will involves product expansion while staying in the current market. Ice Age Ltd. will then offer a new product. It will be aimed not only for the existing market but also for the price conscious segment. The third growth vector will apply the same products to the new markets. The fourth growth vector will be to diversify into new product markets. We shall concentrate on the second growth vector and study the strategy with respect to the Ice Cream market.

According to the recent studies, most of the newly launched product or services fail due to improper analysis of their internal and external needs. A company should most effectively and efficiently take care of all the internal matters and needs.

Since internal analysis is so use full and the life cycle as well as pricing is totally depended upon this analysis, Ice Age Ltd.. has taken proper and fully effective steps in analyzing all the need and requirements of the company. During internal analysis the promoter should take care of the following things: • Raw material requirement • Power supply • Labour requirement • Working force • Capital • Working capital • Internal rules and regulations • Proper management • Proper material handling

The Indian market with its vast size and demand base offers great opportunities to marketers. Two-thirds of countries consumers live in rural areas and almost half of the national income is generated here. It is only natural that rural markets form an important part of the total market of India though the urban market is increasing drastically. Our nation is classified in around 450 districts, and approximately 630000 villages, which can be sorted in different parameters such as literacy levels, accessibility, income levels, penetration, distances from nearest towns, etc. The rural bazaar is booming beyond everyone's expectation. This has been primarily attributed to a spurt in the purchasing capacity of farmers now enjoying an increasing marketable surplus of farm produce. In addition, an estimated induction of Rs 140 billion in the rural sector through the government's rural development schemes in the Seventh Plan and about Rs 300 billion in the Eighth Plan is also believed to have significantly contributed to the rapid growth in demand. The high incomes combined with low cost of living in the villages have meant more money to spend. And with the market providing those options, trends and tastes are also changing. Thus Ice Age Ltd.. has decided to enter this market with the basic idea of tapping the upper middle class which had established itself as a huge tapped market in the perception of a lot of

national and multinational players who were then trying forages into the Indian market.

NEED OF COMPARISION ℑ Consumer Mindset The consumers always have a different loyalty status for different brands. Sometimes they buy some brand due to the price or sometimes due to the features. Studying the consumer’s mindset is of vital importance as perception of individuals at the buying stage of various brands is unpredictable and ever changing. ℑ Market Share The market share of the players in the two wheeler auto market needs to be studied to know which company is in the booming stage and which company is in its closure stage. Also the advertisement and promotional share needs to be studied. Thus, market share helps us know the current market leader and market follower so that our company can develop an efficient marketing strategy for its product range after analyzing the current market player’s position. ℑ SWOT Analysis

The SWOT Analysis i.e. the Analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the company products and its competitors at a glance. It needs to be compared to get an overall analysis of all companies

and

to

know

the

company

the major

having

better

strengths, more opportunities and on the other hand the company having more of weaknesses and threats.

45 40 natural

35 30

baskin and robbins gelato

25 20 15 10

others

5 0

1st Qtr

The above diagram represents the sales of the famous Ice Cream parlors in Mumbai and their sales before Ice Age entered the market

35 30 25

natural ice age gelato baskin and robbins others

20 15 10 5 0

1st Qtr

This diagram represents the sales pattern of all the Ice Cream parlors in Mumbai including Ice Age Ice Cream Parlor after one year from the launch of Ice Age Ltd... (Estimated)

High initial launch cost There is a large front-ended investment made in new products including cost of product development, market research, test marketing and most importantly its launch. To create awareness and develop franchise for a new brand requires enormous initial expenditure is required on launch advertisements, free samples and product promotions. Launch costs are as high as 50-100% of revenue in the first year and these costs progressively reduce as the brand matures, gains consumer acceptance and turnover rises. For established brands, advertisement expenditure varies

from 5 - 12% depending on the categories. It is common to give occasional push by re-launches, which involves repositioning of brands with sizable marketing support.

Market research Customers purchase decisions are based on perceptions about brands. They also keep on changing with fashion, income and changes in lifestyle. Unlike industrial products, it is difficult to differentiate products on technical or functional grounds. With increasing competition, companies spend enormous sums on product launches. Market research and test marketing become inevitable. The business rests on the two aspects that are brand equity and distribution network.

Marketing driven In relative terms, marketing function has greater importance in the Ice Cream industry. The players have to reach out to mass population and compete with several other brands. The perceived differences are greater than the real differences in the product.

Brand equity Brand equity refers to the intangible asset in the form of brand names. The consumer's loyalty for a particular brand is due to the perception that the product has distinctively superior and consistent quality, satisfies his/ her specific needs and provides

better value for money than other competing brands. A successful brand generates strong cash flow which enables the owner of the brand to reinvest a part of it in the form of aggressive advertisement/ promotion to reinforce the perceived superiority of the brand. The worth of a brand is manifested in the consumer's insistence on a particular brand or willingness to pay a price premium for the preferred brand.

Distribution network In this sector, one of the most critical success factors is the ability to build, develop, and maintain a robust distribution network. Availability near the customer is vital for wider penetration as most products are high value products. It takes enormous time and effort to build a chain of stockiest, retailers; dealers etc and establish their loyalties. There are entry barriers for a new entrant as a new product is typically slow moving and has lesser consumer demand. Therefore dealers/ retailers are reluctant to allocate resources and time. Established players use their clout to inhibit new entrants. However, when a product offers a strong breakthrough, equity build up rapidly and so does the distribution network.

The major problems faced while marketing in the Indian market:

a.Underdeveloped People and Underdeveloped Markets: The number of people below poverty line has not decreased in any appreciable manner. Thus underdeveloped people and consequently underdeveloped market by and large characterize the Indian markets. b.

Many Languages and Dialects: The number of languages and dialects vary widely from state to state, region to region and probably from district to district. The messages have to be delivered in the local languages and dialects. Even though the numbers of recognized languages are only 16, the dialects are estimated to be around 850.

c.

Prevalence of spurious brands and seasonal demand: For any branded product there are a multitude of ‘local variants’, which are cheaper, and, therefore, more desirable to mass.

d.

Different way of thinking: There is a vast difference in the lifestyles of the people. The kind of choices of brands that an urban customer enjoys is different from the choices available to the rural customer. The rural customer usually has 2 or 3 brands to choose from whereas the urban one has multiple choices. The difference is

also in the way of thinking. The rural customer has a fairly simple thinking as compared to the urban counterpart.

The concept is to make the product different from those of its competitor. When we look at the Indian Ice Cream market we see that the leader’s naturals have constantly maintained its market leadership by constantly differentiating on the basis of new flavors.

And coming up with line extensions with regular frequency. The only alternative for Ice Age Ltd. to survive in this industry will be to differentiate itself. This differentiation could be on the basis of the marketing mix. (Product, Price, Promotion, Place) Thus, as per the different factors of marketing mix 4 Different strategies are made to market in the developing cities in India.

“Ice Age” – the healthy ice cream parlor offers a wide range of sugar free and fat free ice creams. The ice creams are specially made keeping in mind all the health conscious people as well as youth and people who suffer from illness like diabetes. Ice Age is a healthy ice cream parlor which targets the higher middle class and rich class of the society.

Due to the variety of flavors and the specialty of being sugar free and fat free makes the Ice Age Ice Creams more popular among the fitness and health conscious people. Ice Age targets the market where people are ready to buy healthy junk food due to their taste buds and the fact that Ice Age Ice Creams are totally fat free and sugar free with the same original taste. Hence Ice Age Ice Creams targets the market where people from age group 1 year to 80 years can enjoy their favorite ice cream keeping in mind health conscious people, diabetic people, young people, etc…

Segmentation variables

Several variables differentiate consumers who prefer different kinds of Desserts, such as frequency of consumption, price sensitivity, relative importance of calories vs. taste, consumption occasion (at home, at work, at a social event, during recreation or at a restaurant), and desired serving size. The two most important variables are probably price sensitivity and the taste-calorie tradeoff. The reason that price sensitivity is especially important is that some consumers will pay high prices for a product of high quality. Therefore, one might be able to make large margins selling to that market. On the other hand, there is a large market that will not buy desserts that are priced too high; therefore, some of the manufacturers will want to provide value-priced frozen desserts that may sacrifice quality somewhat. Consumers today tend to be increasingly health conscious, and many will therefore want to limit the amount of calories in the desserts they consume. On the other hand, desserts are consumed for pleasure, and other consumers are unwilling to sacrifice the taste provided by calorierich desserts. There are also certain people who have high metabolisms or engage in strenuous activity, leaving them with less worry about weight gain. Frequent or “heavy” users of frozen desserts would a great target, but this group is not readily identifiable and reachable—these consumers are not likely to have distinct media habits or to frequent particular stores, for example. Serving size preference is an important issue, but is addressed already to some extent by price sensitivity.

Segments Based on Combinations of Variables Price sensitivity is clearly a matter of a degree, with each consumer being somewhere on the continuum from extremely price insensitive to extremely sensitive. However, it seems reasonable to divide consumers into insensitive, value-conscious, price sensitive, and highly price sensitive groups. In terms of the taste-quality dimension, reasonable categories might be taste dominated, balance seekers, and calorie “misers.” With four levels of price sensitivity and three levels of taste-calorie tradeoffs, twelve combinations emerge. The more important segments will be discussed. “Price Insensitive Indulgers” are consumers who take their dessert experiences seriously and will let neither price nor calories get in the way of their desserts. These consumers want high quality ingredients and tend to be very brand conscious. Because their high level of involvement, these connoisseurs will often exchange tips with each other on what to try. They can be quite unforgiving to the brand if they have a bad experience. Often, they buy from specialty stores, such as bakeries, but may also indulge in super-premium ice cream. The “Dessert Pragmatists” represent a large group of consumers who enjoy good desserts but are concerned about both price and quality. They are willing to pay more money for a good dessert, but will tend to switch brands if their favorite dessert is not on sale. They care about taste and will not buy a low fat concoctions without taste. On the other hand, they tend to avoid high fat ice-creams. They tend to buy branded products and pay attention to calorie contents on the containers. “Value Gluttons” are concerned about price but are less concerned about calories. A dessert has to be relatively inexpensive for them to buy it. They therefore often buy regional and store brands. They buy ice cream and other sweets frequently and eat large portions.

“Sophisticated Waist liners” are greatly concerned about their figures and dread calories. This group predominantly consists mostly of women. Some are affluent while others are willing to make financial sacrifices to stay healthy. This group enjoys sophistication in selecting high quality products and is very status conscious. Often, this group will prefer small serving sizes of rich desserts, and desserts are often consumed in a social setting. This group tends to shop in upscale supermarkets and in convenience stores. “Budget Conscious Realists” consist of consumers who are very price sensitive and are moderately concerned about calories. Typically, this group includes modest income families, large families, or families headed by a single parent. Parents are concerned about the amount of calories that they and their children consume, but money is limited, so they tend end up buying what is less expensive. This group tends to buy what is on sale, generics, or store brands.

Strengths: • Less fixed cost required • Healthy • No side effects • Less consumption of sugar • Less consumption of fats • Reduces chances of illness like diabetes

• Useful for health conscious people • Tasty with health • Variety • Eco-friendly Weaknesses: • Slightly high in price due to use of special products

Opportunities: • Introduction of new flavors • Easy in achieving break even point • Prices can be reduced in short run Threats: • Lot of competition from existing Ice Cream parlors offering sugar free ice creams

Ice Age Ltd… introduces Ice Age Ice Creams – The Healthy Ice Cream Parlor which brings to you a new generation of ice creams. There are many choices in today’s ice cream case to suit a wide variety of consumers taste. There is plenty of information on food labels, but what does it really mean? Where Ice Age does stands??

Ice cream is a frozen food made from a mixture of dairy products, containing at least 10% milk fat. "Reduced fat" ice cream contains at least 25% less total fat than the referenced product (either an average of leading brands, or the company's own brand.) "Light" ice cream contains at least 50% less total fat or 33% fewer calories than the referenced product (the average of leading regional or national brands.) "Low fat" ice cream contains a maximum of 3 grams of total fat per serving "Nonfat" ice cream contains less than 0.5 grams of total fat per serving.

• Introduction of new product in the market • Completely fat free ice cream • 98.99% sugar free ice cream • Eco-friendly

• Healthy • Zero side effects • Ice creams for all age groups • Total health conscious product • Blend to suite the taste buds with health in mind •

Variety of flavors for the first time in sugar free and fat free concept

• More than 30 different flavors to choose from • Same taste

Ice Age Ltd… will be establishing its marketing throughout Mumbai. Ice Age ice creams being an entirely

new product in the market will initially operate only in Mumbai till further expansion. Ice Age ice creams being fat free and sugar free requires some extra indegrients and products which increases the cost of the ice cream by 15 – 20 %. The segmentation of Ice Age ice creams is done on the basics of “Demographic segmentation” and “psychographic segmentation”. Keeping this segmentation in mind the management has taken steps to open its shops at the following places in Mumbai: • Bandra (west) • Pedder road • Inorbit mall (Malad) • Atrea mall (Worli) • R mall (Mulund) The main production of all the products will be done at the main unit based at “Vasai” and then will be transported to all its shops at different places all over Mumbai.

Push promotion strategy involves getting the retailers/dealers to vouch for your product by giving them larger profit margins and giving them incentives for the number of sales of your product that are made from their shops/showrooms. Pull promotion strategy involves promoting your product on a very large scale and making it visible on the market, thus raising the customers curiosity about the product and hence inducing them to buy it. We will give all the retailers/direct-dealers a good profit margin than our competitors are providing them but not at the initial stage because we are focusing to attract our target market using diversified means of promotions and advanced technology to our customers at reasonable price. We will also give them incentives for vouching for our product at a later stage as we settle down in the market. Hence we have decided not to go for push promotion strategy at present but instead we have decided to go for pull promotion strategy. ℑ Television advertisements: Advertisements to promote and

market our product will be shown on leading television

channels. Major music and family channels will promote Ice Age Ice Creams as they will reach out to the youth as well as all age groups. Star, Zee, Sony and Doordarshan etc will be our main promoters.

ℑ Radio is the medium with the widest coverage. Studies have

recently shown high levels of exposure to radio broadcasting both within urban and rural areas, whether or not listeners actually own a set. Many people listen to other people's radios or hear them in public places. So radio announcements will be made and advertisements will be announced on the radio about the product features and price, qualities, etc. ℑ Print Ads: Daily advertisements in leading newspapers and magazines will be used to promote the product. Leaflets at the initial stage will be distributed at railway stations, malls, college areas and various other locations. ℑ Workshops and seminars: Workshops and seminars will be

held in colleges to make people aware about the company and product features, its affordability and vast distribution network.

ℑ Banners, neon signs: Hoardings, banners, neon signs will be

displayed at clubs, discs, outside theatres and shops to promote our range of flavors. ℑ Booklets and pamphlets: Booklets will be kept at ice cream

parlors for the customer to read. These booklets will provide information about our company; the products offered which suits the customers need according to their taste.

The pricing strategy adopted by Ice Age Ltd. for its two wheeler electronic bikes is PENETRATION PRICING because it is a total new brand, which is entering a market, which is already facing immense competition. And breaking this competition and attracting new requires quality product at low price. Hence our product will be priced low which will be economical and will

encourage new buyers. Hence we have adopted the penetration pricing method for capturing market share and establishing ourselves in the market. After considering all the factors i.e. cost of production, transportation cost, store charges, etc… and after analyzing this data the finance manger Mr. Justin D’costa coated the price list according to the material requirement of the product and the making charges with considering all other of the store also. According to Mr. Justin D’costa the cost of per scoop of ice cream will Rs. 35 which would earn the company a profit of 20% on cost. After deep research and market survey it was found out that the company will meet its break even point of production within 1 year of its expected sales of 50000 units per month.

Ice Age Ltd… being one of its kinds, having a variety of ranges in sugar free and fat free ice creams, the management decided to launch such a unique product in the heart of the country: Mumbai. Since the first manufacturing and selling unit of the company is set up and functioning in Mumbai, the product launch was also held in Mumbai. The launch of Ice Age Ice Creams Parlor was given to FountainHead Promotion and Event Pvt.Ltd… The launch was held at “Ra: lounge” at phoenix mills on 20th September 2006. All the party event, guest list and management and co-ordination of the launch were taken care by Mr. Akash Deep Sen. the senior executive of the FountainHead Promotion and Event Pvt.Ltd… To promote our product in an entirely new market and since our product is entirely a new concept in the market Mr. Akash Deep Sen. Arranged an excellent guest list. The guests invited on the launch were basically top role models, ramp models, best doctors who promote healthy eating, film stars, high profile diabetations, health conscious people on small as well as big screen of bollywood and top gym owners. All the guests were asked their opinions on the new concept of healthy eating. Their opinion was a treasure for our company which would be help full during further expansion and customer satisfaction.

Ice Age Ltd… is a entirely new concept in the segment of frozen deserts, because of this reason the management has decided that currently there would only be 5 outlets of the companies ice cream parlor through out Mumbai. As the company progresses in 3 – 4 months the management has lots of plans about the future expansion of the healthy eating concept through-out state, throughout the country and then through-out the world….. • Give franchise to reputed dealers through-out Mumbai. • To merge with “Yoko Sizzlers” and open our ice cream outlets at all Yoko sizzlers outlets. • To slowly start a manufacturing unit first in Pune, Goa, Madras, Delhi and Calcutta. • Slowly capture all aspects of healthy eating i.e. introduction of healthy snacks, juices, sweets, cakes, chocolates, etc….

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One of the dreams of the promoters of Ice Age Ice Creams is to spread the concept of healthy eating through-out the S.A.A.R.C countries.

In today’s world of ice creams, Naturals, Baskin and Robbins, Gelato, etc… are the leading ice cream parlors in Mumbai. Their combined sale figures through-out the month is about 1,50,000 units. Their advertising strategies, sales promotions, offers, etc… are not on a continuous stretch because these parlors are in the market for sometimes…… Ice Age ice creams being on a starting stage, will have a good advertising strategies, sales promotions, offers to attract more customers and to make them more familiar to our brand. Due to our new technique of production and distribution, even after entering the market on platform basis and investing more on the special inputs our cost nearly 15% more than the cost of our competitors, but

with the concept of healthy eating we accept our sales to be around 50,000 to 60,000 units per month. Due to our special fat free and sugar free ice creams all age groups will be able to enjoy the same old taste of ice creams but with a dash of health.