Essay About Launch Decision And Contadina Pasta

Nestlé Refrigerated Foods : Contadina Pasta & Pizza (a)
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option, while 35 Contadina pasta users participated in the pizza only concept test. Results from
the survey were used in the BASES forecasting methodology. Those respondents likely to purchase
the product after viewing the concept board were given the product to try at home. After a 7-10 day
in-home usage period, participants were called back to get their after-use impressions of the
product, with a little more than half of the starting sample completing this portion of the survey.
As the pizza product was in the same ethnic food category as the pasta and carried the same brand
name, Contadina pizza was treated as a brand extension. The product pricing remained consistent
with the earlier concept test, the Pizza Kit and Toppings option was priced at $6.39 for the kit and
$1.29 for the toppings. The Pizza Only was priced at $6.39. Similar to its Contadina Pasta line,
NRFC expected its factory pricing to be two-thirds of retail prices. The results of the study are seen
in Exhibits 18 to 24.
NRFC marketing staff believed that the Contadina pasta users would represent
approximately 24% of the 95.5 million7 target households. Initial responses from the Northeast
region indicated approximately 25% penetration. Additionally, the BASES random sample
(Tabl C) was consistent with this finding with approximately 21% of the general population
stating that they had used Contadina Pasta within the past year. MRD, however, urged caution in
interpreting this data, because the BASES study had been conducted only in high potential
markets. Based on MRDs experience in other product categories, it felt that the parent brand
penetration could range between 5%-25%, and recommended that volume projections be sensitive to
this range.
With a launch decision imminent, NRFC marketing staff compiled the data in Table D,
drawn from their own estimates as well as those of BASES. NRFCs intention was to support either