Test Market Results
In order to determine whether or not Sun Chips would be profitable for the company, Frito-Lay decided to run a test market in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. This area was chosen because it was representative of the United States social and economic profile. They marketed both the Natural and French Onion flavors in two different packages: 7-ounce and 11-ounces (identical to that of Doritos). They also used a 2 ¼-ounce trail package to introduce the product. The suggested retail prices were the same as that of Doritos and the primary audience was adults between 18 and 34 and the secondary audience expanded the age to 49. Frito-Lay relied on television advertising, in-store displays, free samples, and coupons as the main source of advertising.
The following was concluded:
• 90% of purchases were made in supermarkets and convenience stores,
• The 2 ¼-ounce package accounted for 15%, the 7-ounce accounted for 47%, and the 11-ounce accounted for 30% of sales,
• 1 in 5 households tried the product and of those,41.8% repurchased the product over the 10 month span,
• Repeat purchasers purchased the product an average of 2.9 times,
• 30% of the sales were cannibalism (1/3 coming from Doritos), and
• There was 33% brand awareness.
The only negative to the findings is that 10 months is not a very long time to test a product, the numbers and information gathered could be misleading for long term sustainability.