Snapple
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To understand and analyze the issues in the case it is important to understand the reasons that made Snapple a successful brand at a time when many others failed. For this we need to study the characteristics and strengths of Snapple as a brand and the company as a whole. This will lead to the discovery of reasons as to the failure of Quaker in building the Snapple business and also what Triarc should do to regain the supremacy of the brand. Snapple was a small company whose origins were based on authenticity and trust in consumers’ eyes. Snapple became successful by launching innovative products, based on fruit juices and teas, into the beverage market. The reasons for the triumph of Snapple can be attributed to the following brand characteristics and marketing strategies adopted by the company: Aggressive distribution and customer loyalty strategy, bolstered by a health and fitness craze prevalent at the time. The company had an image of fun and irreverence that was supported through the marketing campaign which was centered on customer relationships, regular people. Wendy Kaufman became the faceÐÐ of Snapple on TV and her penchant for answering fan mail on air helped build the company’s quirky positioning. This helped Snapple connect with the public in general. For example, Snapple relied on their most zealous customers for product and packaging ideas. Snapple had an extensive and dependable network of independent co-packers and distributors to prepare, bottle, warehouse, and sell its products. Not only did these distributors generate high margins carrying Snapple, they also had the option of delivering other beverages to chain stores, further boosting profitability. With competition in the market fierce, maintaining the product presence in the important cold market has a large dependency on the distributor.
Quaker believed that pairing the established Gatorade brand with Snapple would allow Quaker to realize significant synergies. Quaker believed it had the financial resources and leadership experience to market and expand Snapple nationally and internationally. The immediate benefit to Quaker was that the acquisition would instantly establish it as the third leading beverage producer and distributor in the US. The reason for the failure can be attributed to a clash of cultures in which Quaker grossly underestimated the differences between its highly focused, mass market operating style and Snapple’s quirky, entrepreneurial and distributor oriented style. Among other things, Quaker systematically dismantled the brands quirky, off-center image. They fired Wendy, “the Snapple lady,” gutting a campaign that had helped build the brand and boost market share. Then they stopped advertising on the Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern radio shows in favor of a more mainstream media approach. No one seemed to know exactly what the Snapple brand stood for any more, which can perfectly be seen in a research conducted by Deutsch Inc. By telling the huge network of small distributors how to behave instead of working with them from the start, Quaker destroyed