Purest
International market research findings for Jonnie and Therese Boer Culinary Book production Purest
Anouk Besselsen
Linda Lozeman
Araash Nekoui
Tom Meppelink
IBS2C
February-March 2013
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14-03-2013
Anouk
Besselsen
Linda Lozeman
Tom Meppelink
Araash Nekoui
IBS2C, Group
15
Windesheim
A. Hulzebos
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Management summary
A lot of research has been made on macro
and meso level, about whether it is a good idea to export the book PUREST to
France. The research methods that are
used to gather valuable data about France and culinary matters are PESTEL, the
five forces of Porter, competitor analysis, customer analysis and several
more.
Several important questions have been
formulated during this research, these questions are:
- How does the
macro economy in France look like for the high-end food market based on
the factors of PESTEL, the Hofstede model and the difference in attitude
among the French people to the French and Dutch high-end cuisine?
- How does the
meso economy in France look like for the high-end food market based on the
factors of market segments, competitors, brand awareness, distribution
channels and ways to reach the French consumer?
- How do the
target groups for the book the ‘Purest’ look like and what is their buying
motivation?
As for the
first question, on macro basis, the answer that has been found is that France
is relatively a stable economy, making it a decent choice to export a high-end
culinary book. Furthermore, the French always enjoyed high-end dining and are
willing to pay some more in order to experience fine dining. High-end food is
in fact part of the daily life of a French person. It should, however, also be
noted that the French are extremely proud of their own cuisine. Besides, the French
appear to have a negative view on the Dutch cuisine. On the other hand, they
are also willing to try out new recipes.
The answer
on the second question, on meso basis, it can be said that the focus should be
on a segment with people with high income and some slight expertise on the
culinary field. This ranges from people who have cooking as a hobby to amateur
chefs.
Furthermore,
it should be noted that France, being famous for its cuisine and the many
French who love cooking, the competition in France considering cookbooks will
be high. It has also been discovered that there are also a lot of high-end
cuisine shops in France.
Finally it
would also be smart to participate in social events, as there are various
cookbook trade fair shows and communities who focus on high-end cooking.
As for the
final question, which is about buying motivation of target groups, it can be
said that PUREST, being one of the best cookbooks in the world (if not the
best), consumers will expect that this cookbook contains the most advanced
techniques and the highest possible level of reliability. Considering this, it
might be possible that consumers will have a rather critical view when
reviewing this high-end culinary book.
Content
introduction
In front of you lies a research report made
for the cookbook “Puurst”. Purest is the last book of a long series of cookbooks
written by Jonnie and Thérèse de Boer. Preceded to this book were “Pure”
(1997), “Purer” (2001), “Purely Natural" (2003), "Natural
Enjoyment" (2003), “Pure food and drink” (2005), "Wine & Food
Pocket Bible"(2006), "The world of" (2006), "Mad about
Wine"(2007), “Pure Passie” (2009) and “Eten, Drinken, Slapen” (2010). The
book Purest has completed their trilogy. It is published on third of June 2012.
In February 2013 it won the price of best chef-cookbook in the world.
Jonnie and Thérèse became the owners of De
Librije in 1993 and received their first Michelin Star in that same year. In 1999
they received a second Michelin Star and in 2004 the third. In 2008 a dream
come true; Librije’s Hotel was opened, with a second restaurant in it,
Librije’s Zusje.
The purpose of De Librije has evolved an
idiosyncratic cuisine, rooted in selected regional products, enhanced by
state-of-the-art cooking techniques and reciprocal Asian touches, creating
modern innovative dishes and reinventing gastronomic classics. Jonnie and
Therese have worked for years with passion and love for their profession.
The main question for this rapport is as followed:
How
is the culinary book Purest to be marketed on the French high-end cuisine
market?
Jonnie and Thérèse wanted to know if it is
possible to go international with the cookbook “Puurst”. It has already won a
price for best chef-cookbook in the world, but will there also be a market for
it in France? This is the central question during this project. This report is
about the market research. To substantiate the main question 3 sub questions
were formulated:
·
How does the macro
economy in France look like for the high-end food market based on the factors
of PESTEL, the Hofstede model and the difference in attitude among the French
people to the French and Dutch high-end cuisine?
·
How does the meso
economy in France look like for the high-end food market based on the factors
of market segments, competitors, brand awareness, distribution channels and
ways to reach the French consumer?
·
How do the target
groups for the book the ‘Purest’ look like and what is their buying motivation?
1. Market deffinition
Jonnie and Thérèse Boer are the current
owners of the 3 Michelin star restaurant ‘the Librije’ in Zwolle, the
Netherlands. Jonnie has worked over 20 years in the Librije as a master chef,
and together with Thérèse he took over the Librije from the previous owner.
Together with one other restaurant, Librije is the only 3-star restaurant in
the Netherlands. Their aim is to perceive high-end quality cuisine with pure
ingredients and local suppliers, enhanced by culinary art techniques and Asian
touches. Under their guidance the restaurant has received 3 Michelin stars over
the years. In order to gain these stars Jonnie and Thérèse have worked on
several personal titles such as becoming a qualified Viticulturist, a Cellar
Master, Master Gastronome and joining the Alliance Gastronomique Neerlandaise.
This Dutch culinary association aims to develop, guard and promote the Dutch
culinary heritage. Later on the couple achieved to become a member of the
Tradition & Qualité Les Grandes Tables du Monde. This is a well-known
international culinary association, originally founded in France. Jonnie has
even been knighted Knight in the order of the “Oranje Nassau”, which is a huge
privilege in the Netherlands. In order to expand their success they opened the
Librije Hotel in Zwolle with another restaurant (Librije’s sister).[1]
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Culinary high-end cookbook Purest
– by the Librije
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The focus in this rapport mainly lies on
the book Purest. This high-end culinary book resembles all the prestigious work
of Jonnie and Thérèse Boer in one book. The goal of the book is to reflect all
of Jonnie and Thérèse’s experience and expertise in one book, and to share this
enjoyment on food among the people.
Jonnie and Thérèse would like to introduce
their book Purest in France. In order to be successful, the unique selling
points for the book have to be formulated. To do so, a closer look must be
taken on the Dutch perceptive on high-end cuisine. The unique selling points of
the book will be a combination of the norms and values of the Librije and those
of the Dutch people where the book was originally based upon.[2]
There is no collective Dutch opinion about
the Librije since opinions about fine dining are very divided in the
Netherlands. The Dutch do not have a food-based culture like people in France,
where dining is a very important part of their daily schedule.
Foreign influences of fine dinging are
increasingly influencing the Dutch cuisine though, changing the low-involvement
level for the Dutch on high-end cuisine. For people who have dinner like the
old customs, Librije may be a bit exorbitant. You have to reserve one year in
advance for very expensive small proportions of food. Some people like it more
that you can go out having dinner spontaneous at a restaurant where you can eat
a lot and it is not very expansive. That is also the typical Dutch culture. In
the Netherlands there are also people who love having dinner, and respect the
fine cuisine. These people think Librije is a very good restaurant. One thing
they say about Librije is that everything is worked out in detail. For example,
the restaurant has black accents, so the toilet paper is black as well. Also,
you see in everything that Jonnie and Thérèse have passion for their job. Their
passion is reflected in the other staff. The high quality of the food and the
presentation of the food are most mentioned as the unique selling point of the
Librije. Everything is perfect in balance, only the best vegetables are used
and most spices are self-made. Dutch people who have an eye for detail, who
know what fine food is about, who love to be a night pampered and who have the
ability to pay it, think Librije is the most perfect restaurant of the
Netherlands.[3]
These unique selling points of the restaurant are also reflected in the book Purest,
which like earlier said, reflects all the work done by Jonnie and Thérèse in
one great work of expertise.
With all the above facts and figures in
mind, the unique selling points for the book Purest can be formulated:
·
The use of
Pure ingredients only
·
The focus
on Local suppliers
·
The
expertise
·
The
precision and detail in every aspect
·
The love
and enjoyment in the process
·
Originates
from the 3 Michelin star restaurant the Librije in Zwolle, the Netherlands
·
Member of the Tradition & Qualité Les Grandes
Tables du Monde
·
Hospitality
It is important to keep the unique selling
points of the book in mind when investigating how the French market for the
book has to be targeted. It is important because the unique selling points
resemble the book in detail and can be used as successful marketing tools. But
therefore it is important to investigate how the unique selling points fit the
French market when targeting the market. The history of the Librije and the
perception on fine dining must be taken into account during this process.
Macro analysis
2. PESTEL
A PESTEL analysis on a country can provide
valuable information when researching a country on a certain product. When the
Librije is introducing the cookbook Purest in France, key figures on France
must be known in order to market the cookbook in the most successful way. This
PESTEL covers the political, the economical, social, technological,
environmental and legislative factors of France relevant for the high-end cookbook
Purest.
Political
First of all it can be noted that France is
a developed country. This means that the political environment of France is
stable and there are no troubles within it. This is a positive factor since it
motivates foreign businesses to enter the French market. The French government
makes no restrictions at all on any normal food to be prepared or eaten in
France. Basically any food that is
prepared and eaten in The Netherlands is also allowed in France. There is, in
fact, no intervention from the government in the business of (cook) books. Even
if a book were to contain principles that were against the French belief, it
would still be allowed to be exported to France. France is part of the European
Union, just like The Netherlands, and therefore there are hardly any trade
barriers between the two countries. Furthermore, since The Librije is only
exporting their book, and not expanding or establishing themselves in France,
political decisions on areas such as the education of the workforce and the
subsidies from the French government are of no importance at this moment.
Economical
As for the economical part, it must be
noted what kind of economy fits best for the high-end culinary book. Obviously,
such a book would be most successful in a country with a good economy, with a
large part of the population having a good living. Also, the country’s
population must have some interest in the cuisines and be able to afford ‘’high-end
ingredients’’.
The economy of France is one of the largest
in the world. In fact it is the 5th largest economy in the world as
of 2010[4].
Just like most other countries within the
European Union, France has the Euro as currency. Therefore there are no
currency risks for The Librije when exporting to France. In 2012 the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in billions was 2,046.623. In 2014 this is estimated to
become 2,204.102 and in 2016 this would grow even further towards 2,389.232.
These estimates are made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It can be
concluded that France has been able to weather the recent economic situation
(the crisis) better than most other European countries. This basically means
that the people of France relatively still have a stable income and will be
able to afford high-end books such as the high-end culinary book from The
Librije.
The estimations of the GDP (in USD) for the
next couple years are found in this table[5].
Table 2.1 – source: IMF
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The GDP per capita was 32,211.187 as of
2012. The IMF estimates that this will grow
to 34,374.274 in 2014. In 2016 the value will approximately be
36,922.667. The monthly average net salary is estimated to be 3,081 € as of
2011.
Considering these estimates, France has a
decent GDP per capita. Since the average French habitant will gain a monthly
salary of 3,081 €, it can be concluded that the French have a stable enough
income to purchase high-end culinary products.
Once again these estimates of the GDP per
capita are in USD[6]:
Table 2.2 – source: IMF
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As can be seen on the graph below, the GDP
growth rate is negative at times, however, most of the time the GDP just rises.
Every year, the GDP of France grows by a small percentage.
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Graph 2.1 – source: insee
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The unemployment rate of France was 10.8%
as of September 2012. One year before, September 2011, the unemployment rate
was only 9.6%. It has been rising ever since[7]. This indicates that it can be expected that the unemployment rate
will grow even more. Since the product that The Librije wants to export is high-end
product, it should be considered to export this product to places within France
with a lower unemployment rate. Even though Paris, for example, would be a
great place to reach many habitants, one should be cautious and take into
consideration that there are also many unemployed habitants within Paris, who
will not be able to afford a high-end culinary book.
In the graph below it can be seen how big
the percentage is of French habitants owning certain facilities in their house.
Compared to over 30 years ago, there are now many more habitants who own a
fridge (almost everyone in France), freezers (more than half of the habitants)
and microwaves. These facilities have connections with the product that is to
be exported to France, because they are used for storing and preparing food.
Since the indications are from 1973 and 2001, it can be concluded that in 2013
the percentage has grown further.
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Table 2.3 - Source: French ministry of
industry, 2002.
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As for the food industry in France, the country is ranked first among the EU countries on food possessing industry. It is one of the world’s biggest producers of food. The country especially focuses on high quality food. The most well known products are the wine and the dairy products. These are the kinds of products that actually go well with high-end food.
Social
The French share a great passion for food.
France has a famous cuisine that has a long tradition and is much respected.
Locally there are also different kinds of
cuisines within France. For example, the Northwestern parts of France uses much
butter, crème fraiche and apples. The southwestern parts of France are known
for using duck fat and foie gras (goose liver). This also happens to be one of
the specialties by The Librije. So it can be concluded that there are some
parts in France where PUREST can be quite successful, for the habitants already
have interest in recipes that the book uses. The French see cooking as a source of
pleasure, which is settled within their culture. The following quote actually
explains it all: ‘’Preparing a meal,
playing with the tastes, delighting the palate, sharing a family culinary
memory and feelings are intrinsically a part of their identity’’ [8]. This indicates the great
passion the French have on culinary matters.
On the other hand, the French also pay big
attention on the choice of the products. For example, they are interested in
the origin of the food and appreciate diversity. Also the quality of the
product plays a big role in this. During the dinner, a French family usually
talks about the food they are eating, and their origins for example. This means
that if PUREST were to be used by French families, the Dutch cuisine would with
no doubt be the subject around the table. Since the culinary book that The
Librije wants to export is one of the high-end culinary books, the French may
actually show interest in this, as it is of high-end.
Currently there are about 65 million
habitants in France. 18.5% of these people are under 0-14 years old. 65% is
between 15-64 years old. The remaining 16.5% belongs to the people above the
age of 65. The median age is estimated to be around 40 years old for both men
and women[9]. This is usually the age where the average man or woman has a
family to take care of. As can be concluded from the previous paragraph, the
French enjoy dining with the family. So if there would be an age that would be
most suited for The Librije to sell their books to, it would be the parents,
the head of the family, who would purchase such a book to prepare high-end
meals to share with the rest of the family. At the age of 15, almost 100% (more
than 99%) of the French can read and write. France has a high fertility rate by
European Standards. The total fertility rate is 2.01 children per woman and the
mean age of women to have their first birth is estimated to be around 29.9
years old[10]. This indicates the further interest of the French habitants to
shape a family. And family resembles dining together.
Technological
Physical infrastructure
Thanks to France’s government’s heavy
investment in infrastructure the country now enjoys one of the most
sophisticated infrastructures in the world, with a transportation network that
covers the entire country trough air, land, water and rails.
·
France
approximately has 828,000 kilometers of roads; all of which are paved.
·
There is a
total of 31,939 kilometers of rail lines throughout the country
·
About 47
percent of the waterways in France are heavily used.
In total there are 474 airports in France,
most of which serve international traffic. The major airline in this group is
Air France, which provides service to all corners of the globe.
Many of the ports and harbors are equipped
to handle the needs of freight as well as passenger ships. The major port
cities are Dunkirk, Bordeaux, Rouen, Le Havre, Boulogne, La Pallice, Lyon,
Mullhouse, Paris, Saint Nazaire, Saint Malo, Marseille, Nantes, Cherbourg,
Dijon and Strasbourg.[11]
Digital infrastructure
·
Television
Cable TV is not as widespread in France as
it is in most European countries. France's ratio of 27.5 cable subscribers per
1,000 inhabitants is a far off from Europe's average of 110.3 and that of its
wealthiest nations with a 184 subscriptions per 1,000 inhabitants.[12] The Librije should take
this in consideration when marketing its cookbook Purest in France.
·
Internet
France also lags behind both Europe as a
whole and its wealthiest countries considering Internet connections. There are
fewer Internet service providers in France than in many other European nations,
but there is easy access to the Internet via foreign providers. In total,
France counts about 44.62 million Internet users in 2009.[13] For the Librije, estimating
the accessibility of household’s through telecommunication will help determine
the usability of this target group for marketing-ends. France lags behind at
cable subscriptions and Internet connections compared to the rest of Europe,
which can lead to less effective promotions when marketing trough these
mediums, forming a threat.
Environmental
The French organic market has been
continually expanding lately (table 2.4). In the last 10 years the market has
already quadrupled to meet the growing demand for organic products.
Important characterizations for the
organic food market:
·
Increase
in production of organic foods
·
Share of
the total food market in France 2,3%
·
A very
wide range of organic products is available (cheeses, cooked meat, prepared
food...etc.)[14]
Table 2.4 –
source: www.organic-world.net
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Diagram 2.1 – source:
www.organic-world.net
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The analysis shows the organic food market
in France is greatly expanding the last decade, which resulted in an enormous
available amount of organic foods.
The Dutch version of the book Purest
preferably uses local organic food suppliers for their recipes. This forms the
opportunity to add the USP “Showcase of local suppliers” to the French edition
of Purest as well. This is an advantage for the Librije when exporting its cookbook
Purest to France
Legaslative
Employment laws:
·
Hiring
Written contract is mandatory to all
grades/levels and should be stated in France.
·
Firing
Cannot be removed unless the
organization specifies one of the articles mentioned in the French law. The
dismissal process on disciplinary basis is very official and demands pursuing
many steps, even where the firing is clearly reasonable.
Taxation: The
current standard taxation rate is at 19.6%[15] The reduced rate
(for food and books) is 5.5%[16]
Subsidy policy: Subsidy policy is applicable to agricultural and green revolution
products.
Labor Code: The
Labor Code (Code du Travail) is the major basis for labor law. Meeting across
the code is a large organization of legally enforceable rights introduced from
side to side; group and work agreements (règlement intérieur).[17]
The Librije will face no specific
opportunities or threats considering ‘Legal’ factors when following all
legislations put up by the French government, since they are very much alike to
those in the Netherlands.
When looking in conclusion to the PESTEL
analysis for the Librije, there can be said that the Librije should especially
focus on the environmental, economical and social factors when introducing the cookbook
Purest in France. Within these factors lie the most opportunities for success for
the Librije. The environmental factor implies that most ingredients for food
and high-end cuisine can be found in nearby environments in France. Using pure,
local ingredients is a trend in France and is also key for the Librije when
preparing high-end cuisine dishes. The economical factor tells the Librije that
the economic situation is relatively stable in France dispite of the economical
crisis. This is an advantage for the Librije since they are introducing a high-end
product on the French market. The social factor tells the Librije that the
French people are very interested in food and high-end cuisine. Dining is a
daily secret ritual.
3. Cultural differences
To promote a culinary high-end book of a restaurant
in another country, you should deal with the cultural differences between
countries. Because people in other countries think in a different way about
things then we Dutch people do, they react in a different way. Librije should
do research to make sure they know what is important to promote the ‘high-end
cuisine’ in France. To clear some differences between France and the
Netherlands, we use the Hofstede model. The Hofstede model is aimed at power
difference, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and term
orientation.[18]
By describing the situation for both countries, it should be clear for Librije
what differences they have to note to if they want to promote their book in
France.
Power distance
Power distance says something about the way
people in a culture accept that some of them have more power than the others.
It’s also about how you speak to people that have more power or a higher range
in society. You have to know this if you speak with people from another culture
than your own.
The way cultures get along with distance in
power is very different between France and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands
there is not a large difference in power. The Dutch are very light-minded. You
are equal like all the others and you should not be conceited of yourself.
Therefore it is easy to cross the power distance line and speak impolitely to
your boss. He would not have a lot of problems with that. Most of the times,
with the first meeting people speak the impolite way with each other. In France
the power distance is way more important than in the Netherlands. They prefer a
polite form of language when you speak with a person who has more power than
you. The person is more important and deserves a better treatment. Often the
higher people are from rich families. In France it is rather difficult to get
to a higher social class. Executives of a big organization have often a rich
background and a lot of power. So they have for example no accountability
towards their employees.[19]
For Librije it is important to note this.
Because Librije is a ‘high-end cuisine’ restaurant that is rather expensive,
their target group would not be very big. It consists of people with a big love
for good food and who are wealthy. So, these are often people with a lot of
power. These people could go to the restaurant and buy the book. Because the
power distance in France is higher than in the Netherlands, this target group
should be addressed in a different way than the target group in the
Netherlands. An important thing for Librije to note is therefore to mind the
polite way of communication. The France people would appreciate that. They
should also know that the target group does what looks right for them. They
have no accountability to others, so someone else’s opinion is not relevant for
them.
Individualism
Individualism is about who is more important, the individual or the
group. Should you offer yourself in order to reach a good group achievement, or
are your own achievements more important?
Most eastern countries and countries around the Mediterranean Sea prefer group interest.
This is called a collectivist culture. People in this culture are part of a
group and everyone has its contribution. Therefore, the person enjoys
protection of the group. On the other hand, western countries prefer the
individual interest, which is an individualistic culture. It means that the
individual takes care for himself. [20]
In the most western cultures the individual is more important than
the group. This is the case for the Dutch people. They think that you have to
achieve your goals as an individual. What the group achieves as a whole is less
important. Mostly, the goals are also set for one person; there are less group
goals. It has to be said that group work is being increased in Dutch firms
recently. For France it is different.
They have an individualistic culture but they also prefer the group. Family is
important in France; you would not let them down. But over the last years the
individual has become more and more important. France people think that good
education and strong personal goals are good ways to improve oneself.[21]
There are not really big differences between the Netherlands and
France in individualism and is therefore not really important to note for
Librije. It could even be a benefit for Librije that France is a little more
focused on the group cultural. It makes it easier to reach people. When some of
in a group likes your book and your ‘cuisine’, then they will recommend it to
the other people in the group. France people like to dine with the whole family;
it is something they spend a lot of time at. If Librije wants to open a
restaurant in France when the book is a success, they should note this. The
restaurant should be equipped on big groups.
Masculinity
Masculinity says something about the cast
between men and women. It says that particular tasks are especially for men or
some other tasks especially for women. In some countries there is a clear line
of demarcation. Most of the eastern countries think it is humiliating when a
man does tasks, which are meant to be done by women, like doing the laundry and
cooking. In the most western countries this line of demarcation is not so clear
anymore. Things have changed. The more northerly you go, the more that line
will fade away. A culture with a strict separation in tasks is called a
masculine culture. When men can do ‘women tasks’ and a woman can do ‘men tasks’
it is called a feminine culture.[22]
The Dutch have a facile attitude towards
the difference in tasks. That both genders do all kinds of tasks is generally
accepted in the Dutch culture. Women can have a high education with a good job
as a result. It is acceptable for them to work all day while the man is cooking
and takes care of the kids. People in the Netherlands say that tasks should be
divided and everybody should do what he or she wants. In France it is rather
accepted that both men and women can do the most task. A woman can have a job
as a manager and a man can do housekeeping. But it has to be said that the more
south you go, the more conservative the cultures will be. In France a lot is
accepted, but not as much as in the Netherlands. In France there is difference
between people who live in a town and people who lives in a villages. Villagers
are more conservative.[23]
Because France has a bit a feminine
culture, the cooking book from Librije should be aimed at both men and women,
because it is accepted that both can cook. For the rich population in France,
which is the target group, it could be a bit different. Some rich families have
a maid. Even though she is doing the cooking it makes no sense for the Librije
to aim at her. The book must be as good that the family itself wants it and
maybe cooks from it itself or instructs the maid.
That there is a bit a feminine culture
makes it easier for Librije to find a good staff for a possibly new restaurant
there. There can be waiters and waitresses and the cooks can be both male and
female. The visitors of the restaurant
will not judge on the kind of tasks the men or women do.
Uncertainty avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance is about the way
people deal with the uncertainties in life. When you are unsure about
something, you can avoid that by making rules en laws. This makes that
everything is a fixed pattern and is predictable.[24]
The Netherlands and France both score high
with uncertainty avoidance. In the Netherlands there are a lot of rules. People
know from the most kind of things if it is to be right or wrong. In France the
uncertainty avoidance is much higher than in the Netherlands.[25] There are rules for
almost anything. That quantity of rules makes it difficult sometimes, because
some rules argue with each other. This makes a culture predictable but also
tenuous. The Dutch score 53 and the French score 86 with uncertainty avoidance.[26] It shows that there are
much more rules in France.
When Librije is going to promote the book
in France and maybe later, open a restaurant there, there are a lot of rules
where they have to deal with. When they do not take knowledge of that, it could
be forbidden to promote the book in France. When they open a restaurant in
France, there are probably more requirements they have to meet then in the
Netherlands.
Term orientation
Term orientation is about whether the
culture is short-term orientated or long-term orientated. The sales volume of
that day or the profit that can be made now are examples of short-term
orientated. Western countries are mostly short-term orientated. Long-term
orientated is about the profit in two or more years and the continuality of the
organization. Eastern countries are mostly long-term orientated.[27]
Both France and the Netherlands are western
countries with a western culture. It has been said that western countries are
short-term orientated. The Netherlands is the only one of the European countries
that is rather long-term orientated. Everything is important. A Dutch company
has to have a good daily profit, but they also have to be a company with good
plans for the future. The continuality is also very important. This is called
good governance. In France short-term orientated is the most important. They
want to see good results as quick as possible. The future is less important.
France is short-term oriented. For Librije
this is important, because the French people want to see a quick result of Librije.
When they want to promote the book, is has to be as good that it will sell
immediately. The publishers want quickly a good profit, because they are aimed
at short-term. Librije does not have a lot of time to make the book successful
with promotions. They should think about it and have a very good marketing
plan, before they go to France. If not, the publishers will not listen to the
plans of Librije.
With the restaurant it is the same story.
The results of it have to be good in a rather short time; otherwise the
continuity of the Librije in French will be at stake.
4. French attitude towards high-end cuisine
France
is known all over the world for its great quality of food. However, a clear
distinction can be made between high-end quality food and ordinary quality of
food in France. When the Librije wants to introduce its high-end cookbook Purest
in France, they should obtain some awareness on the attitude of France as a
country towards high-end cuisine. When the Librije is aware of the French high-end
cuisine heritage, it is able to adapt better on the French high-end cuisine
market. The information below gives an outline on this matter.
History
The
appreciation for high-end cuisine food in France started off during the Middle
Ages. During this period the French nobility was ruling over France and they
took on every opportunity to show off their wealth, often done by throwing
fancy dinners for important guests. In this period the high-end cuisine started
to flourish, and was only available for the French nobility. It was the
nobility’s aim to outshine other nobles with their food and there spend no
expenses on food. The center of this development was Paris, where the nobilities
hired top chefs to create exquisite food. For the first time top chefs became
famous in France and Europe. For example, Guillaume Tirel was a famous top chef
during the Middle Ages in Paris. From Paris out the high-end cuisine spread
over the whole of France. With these efforts of the nobility as a major source,
the French high-end cuisine market flourished excessively and a solid
foundation was build for the French high-end cuisine heritage nowadays.[28]
During
the ancient régime (ca. 1450 to 1800
A.C.) of France which followed after the Middle Ages, the guilds which were
founded during the Middle Ages started to develop. In Paris the guilds were the
most powerful and the guilds for food already started to specialize themselves
in a early stage. Because of the specialization on different types of food, the
guilds caused the trade of high-end cuisine to develop during the ancient
régime. This caused the high-end cuisine of Paris to spread over France even
more than during the Middle Ages. Even more important, these guilds were also a
safety guard for top chefs and the guilds also trained young chefs to become
top chefs. The guilds were possessed by the French nobility and therefore were
provided with enough money in order to develop themselves. The French nobility
still needed personal royal chefs to cook for them, and the guilds provided
these top chefs. As a chef you could reach several stages of professionalism,
and the final level of master chef provided you with individual power in the high-end
cuisine industry and exquisite privileges. These developments have been very
important for the industry of European top chefs nowadays. The clear
distinction in chef ranks are still present today.
During
the 17th century and early 18th century the first cookbooks
in France were written. Noticeable is the fact that these books were written by
master chefs of those days. Also, the books were on high-end cuisine already.
The founding of book printing during the Middle Ages made it possible for the
master chefs to publish their books and make them accessible for the upper
working class.
During
the 19th century the French revolution take place. This has been
important for the high-end cuisine of France, since it abolished the guilds and
the power and control of the nobility. Chefs could produce, sell and create
anything they want and sell it to anyone they wanted it to sell to. High-end
cuisine became accessible for the working class for the first time instead off
only for the nobility of France. This development shows the eagerness from
France to share the French high-end cuisine with the whole of France. High-end
cuisine had become an important part of French culture, which had to shared
among its inhabitants. Also, because of this freedom chefs suddenly had,
creativity in high-end cuisine flourished even more since they were no longer
bounded to the wishes of the guilds and nobility. This caused the French high-end
cuisine to become even more sophisticated with even more exquisite recipes.
During
the 20th century France changed its way of cooking due to the world
wars. Meat and fish were rare and therefore the chefs had to find other ways to
still provide exquisite dishes. This turning point is marked as the nouvelle
cuisine in the French cuisine history. The chefs started to use more regional
products and tried to strengthen the flavor by the use of herbs. Another
important characteristic of the nouvelle cuisine implies that the chefs started
to reject excessive complicated dishes. The dishes became more simple and exquisite.
This has led to the small dishes in high-end cuisine nowadays.[29]
This
history of France and its developments in high-end cuisine reflects the
importance of high-end cuisine for the French people. The high-end cuisine is
one of the most important heritages of France and therefore an important
characteristic. When the Librije wants to introduce its cookbook Purest on the
French high-end cuisine market, it is important for them to keep any
similarities between the food of the Librije and the French high-end cuisine in
mind. The history of the high-end cuisine of France implies its most important
characteristics for the Librije.
French high-end cuisine today
Due to the high-end cuisine history France
is very proud of its high-end cuisine. Therefore, the French people also tend
to prefer the French cuisine to foreign cuisine. The fact that a lot of other
European high-end cuisines such as the Dutch are based on the French high-end
cuisine, strengthen this perception. This attitude of France towards high-end cuisine
that has developed due to its history is reflected in the high-end cuisine
business of France nowadays.
For example, its range of restaurants
reflects the high-end cuisine business in France. Throughout France the choice
of restaurant is endless for the consumer. Each village or city has a massive
share of restaurants. This speaks to its character of France, since the high-end
cuisine remains highly favored by all the French people and therefore they
regularly go to restaurants. Paris remains the center of the high-end cuisine business
that is reflected by important restaurants and hotels. Hotels such as the Ritz
are famous for its kitchen and restaurants. Master chefs who work for hotels
like these have much individual power in the high-end cuisine industry. This is
a phenomenon which like said above has happened in history before; only then
the master chefs worked for the nobility. Chefs from all over the world try to
work at hotels like the Ritz since this can mean the breakthrough of their career;
it immediately boosts their résumé. In
this sense the famous French hotel restaurants resemble the guilds of the
ancient régime. Together with the high-end cuisine restaurants in France and
especially Paris they are the source of all the trends and developments in the high-end
cuisine industry of France. France is very proud of its high-end cuisine hotels
and restaurants and therefore they are supported at all times. The Michelin
Guide Rouge for example gives guidance. Restaurants who receive a Michelin star
experience excessive success. The Michelin Guide Rouge is French from origin
and nowadays the most important restaurant guide in the world. France is the
country with the most restaurants with Michelin stars. This guide strengthens
the attitude of the France towards high-end cuisine even more. France is one of
the most influential sources of the high-end cuisine in the world.[30]
There can be concluded that France is very
proud of its high-end cuisine heritage. The French people do everything to
maintain this heritage and develop and exploit it to the fullest. High-end
cuisine is part of the daily life of French people and fine dining is
integrated in the daily meal. This positive attitude towards high-end cuisine
is reflected in the amount of high-end cuisine restaurants and hotels in
France, and the regular visits of French people to these restaurants and hotels
for fine dining. The overall attitude of the French towards high-end cuisine is
mostly positive.
5. French perception on Dutch cuisine
The French
perception on the Dutch cuisine, the high-end cuisine in particular, is a
remarkable one. When the high-end cooking book ‘Purest’ is to be introduced in
France, information on the French perception on the Dutch cuisine is essential.
The information beneath gives an outline on this matter.
When
foreigners think of the Netherlands, typical Dutch perceptions are mentioned
like windmills, wooden shoes and tulips. For this fact when foreigners think of
the Dutch cuisine, they immediately think of cheese. Especially the French
refer to cheese in the Dutch cuisine, because the French are famous for their
different types of cheese as well. French cheese is full of taste and herbs,
and the substance of their cheeses is mostly soft. However, the Dutch cheeses
are of a hard substance compared to the French cheeses. For these major
differences the French people tend to be suspicious for the Dutch cheeses and
on they tend to base their perception on Dutch food on the basis of this
perception.
There is a
gap between the perception and the actual image on the Dutch cuisine among the
foreigners. The perception is that the Dutch cuisine is terrible when looking
at the price-quality ratio. However, foreigners who have not visited the
Netherlands yet mostly say this. From the foreigners who have, only one at the
three foreigners say the Dutch high-end cuisine is very good. The French people
believe the Dutch cuisine to be of bad quality, and the price-quality ratio of
the high-end cuisine to be bad too.[31]
However,
the Dutch food is historically related to the French food. The French cuisine
has always been based on fine dining, originally created for the rich and upper
class people. The French high-end cuisine has developed ever since, and is now
one of the most divine dining orientated countries in Europe. The Dutch high-end
cuisine was based on the French cuisine. The similarities can be found in the
preparation of the food and the ingredients such as potatoes, vegetables, meat,
fish, fruit and herbs.[32] But why is the French
perception on Dutch high-end cuisine negative? Since the Dutch food is based on
the French cuisine, the French people mostly see it as a knock-off. For this
fact the French people might not experience the Dutch food as the quality of
the French cuisine. However, the Dutch food remains Dutch cuisine and will
therefore always be different from the French cuisine. The reason of the French
perception on the Dutch cuisine may be debatable, but the theory remains that
the French perception on the Dutch cuisine is mostly negative. To confirm this
theory a questionnaire was conducted among inhabitants of France.
When the high-end
cuisine book ‘Purest’ is going to be introduced in France, the question remains
what the perception on Dutch food is in France and in what way the book should
be marketed. In the questionnaire the book ‘Purest’ was introduced to the
French inhabitants and questions were asked on their perception on both the
French and the Dutch high-end cuisine. The information underneath shows its
outcome.
On the
subject the Dutch high-end cuisine, first of all the French inhabitants were
asked to formulate their opinion. Among the 24 respondents of the
questionnaire, the answers were as following:
|
Table 5.1 – source: questionnaire the
Librije
|
Like
earlier said above, the French perception on the Dutch cuisine is mostly
negative. The outcome of the table above confirms this theory. 54% of the
respondents answer the Dutch high-end cuisine to be at least distasteful in
their opinion. In order to relate this more to what this message could mean for
the Librije, the French inhabitants were asked the following question: Imagine
you being in a Dutch high-end restaurant. What are your expectations? The
answers to this question could relate to the expectations of the French
inhabitants for the cookbook Purest.
|
Table 5.2 – source: questionnaire the
Librije
|
This table
draws an interesting outcome: as far as expectations concerned, the French
inhabitants do not really know what to expect and choose to answer the ‘safest’
answer: nor of bad nor of good quality. This means that all options remain
open; there is a higher chance of convincing the French people for the Librije
of their food. However, the most interesting thing to know is what the French
inhabitants think of the Dutch cuisine in comparison to the French cuisine. The
French inhabitants were asked: in your opinion; what cuisine is of better
quality, the French or the Dutch cuisine?
|
Table 5.3 – source: questionnaire the
Librije
|
87,5% of
the respondents has answered the French cuisine to be of better quality than
the Dutch cuisine. Off course this outcome can be debatable; not all
respondents have experienced the Dutch high-end cuisine or ordinary cuisine.
The questionnaire remains based on the perception of the French inhabitants.
However, the outcome of this last question speaks to its character of the
French according to the Hofstede model: France is a very individualistic
country and are therefore very nationalistic too. They are more likely to
choose French products, goods or people over foreign ones.
The outcome
to the questionnaire has confirmed the theory on the French perception on the
Dutch high-end cuisine drawn above.[33]
There can be concluded that the French
perception on Dutch cuisine is mostly negative. However this outcome remains
debatable since the French people instead of actual experience mostly base this
perception on assumptions on the Dutch cuisine.
Meso analysis
6. market segments
By creating
market segmentations one can define which sub-groups are present in a market
and which one of them are most efficient to market to. Librije should segment
the market on their high-end cuisine book Purest. The most convenient way to do
so is by segmenting on demographic[34], geographical[35] and physiological[36] factors.
demographical
When
looking at demographic factors, there are a few factors that are quite
important in the segmentation of fine dining. These would be the age, the house
holding, but they might also be the occupation or the education.
Age: As for the age, it can already be
concluded that children will not be waiting for a fine culinary cookbook, as
this is mainly focused on the adults. This means that the age that should be
focused on is at least eighteen. Furthermore, since a young adult is just
starting to create income for themselves, it is unlikely that they would
purchase a culinary book which is all about expensive food. Of course, there
are cases that parents will still pay for it, or the person has interest
towards cooking, but the chances are not optimal here.
This,
however, does not mean that there should be no focus on the young adults, for
the French people are taught in their early ages to appreciate fine food[37]. This will have some
effect, resulting in people from younger ages (compared to The Netherlands for
example) to grow interest in books for fine dining. As it was explained in the
Social part of the PESTEL-analysis, the French appreciate quality food
and dine together with the family. So it can be concluded that any higher age,
for example thirty and above, will with no doubt also have interest in culinary
books, considering they are the head of the family.
Household:
Another interesting
factor is the house holding. Aside from the fact that French people from
earlier ages already have some interest in fine foods, the most interest may be
present on the ages of 25-35. This is the age where most French people marry
and have their first children. As stated in the PESTEL-analysis once
again, the median age of women having their first birth is about thirty. Around
this age, French couples already have a stable income and are able to afford
fine foods easier (more likely than on the age of eighteen). It can again also
be noted that a person of any higher age will most likely still have interest
in fine foods, because interest in food is not something that will fade away
over time, so a house holding with children may result in being the best
target.
Education and occupation: The education and occupation are
also factors to be considered. It is less likely that a low-educated worker
would visit a fine restaurant often, or even have interest in high-end cuisine.
People from the service industry, with a higher educated background, mainly
share this interest for they usually make the most income. Thus, the focus
should basically be on educated professional people. However, older people who
are retired from work may also be considered as a group. This is because some
of these retired people could have several hobbies that replace their daily job
whereas cooking may be one of those hobbies. The retirement age in France was
raised from sixty to sixty-two only a few years ago. However, the new
government recently decided to lower this rate to sixty once again. Either way, it is advisable that this group
of sixty and above is considered during the segmentation as well.
Geographical
As for the
geographical criteria, although fish is a very common part of the French food,
the most fish food is found in the coastal areas of France, for example
Normandy, Brittany and Picardy. This is no surprise, but it can be an important
factor. This is because De Librije’s book also contains many fish recipes. This
will result in a bigger success rate, as there might already be interest in the
kind of recipes that Purest focuses on. The central regions such as
île-de-France and Paris contain almost any cuisine, and unsurprisingly many
high-quality restaurants. In central France many high quality fruits and
vegetables are produces but also many fish are seen in the cuisine from this
part of France. In the regions towards the south such as Bordeaux the
specialties are turkey, pigeon, goose, duck and foie gras. Some of these are
also specialties in Purest so this part of France is a decent choice as well.
In Burgundy, towards the east of France, many kinds of meat and beef are
produced. The cuisine there also offers smoked meat, sea snail, pike and trout.
Psycho graphical
As for the
psychographic factors, the lifestyle of a family is most suitable, considering
that the French enjoy the pleasure of preparing food and dining together. These
dining occasions with high-end food appear most frequently in the family
lifestyle. In the lifestyles of a pre-family or an elder couple this may happen
less frequently simply because of the size of the family. After all, high-end
cooking is something you prepare and share with other people, unlike an
ordinary meal preparation.
Since the
French people take pride on their own cuisine, but enjoy sharing their opinions
about what they are going to eat; are eating; or have eaten with others, the
challenge is to find the ones who are willing to try something different than
their own cuisine. The key might be to target those who are already experts at
cooking and know about foreign cuisines. These French people will in turn share
their experiences with PUREST with other French people.
7. 5 forces of porter
The five-forces model of Porter is a handy
marketing tool to analyze an industry. It shows the amenity of the market, the
forces of your enterprise and the threats for your company. At this way, you
can make decisions for your company or make a competitor analysis. It is necessary
for Librije to analyse the industry, so they know what the success rate will be
when they promote the book Purest in France.[38]
Supplier power
Supplier power is about how much power the
supplier has pertaining to the enterprise. Which of the two has more power
depends on some variables.
·
How much
suppliers are there in the industry?
·
What
influence do the suppliers have on the industry?
·
Are there
high costs associated with switching between suppliers?
·
How far
the product is standardized?
·
Is there a
possibility to produce the product of yourself?
The bargaining between the enterprise and
the supplier has an important share in the amenity of the industry. It
influences the pricing, quality and continuity of the enterprise.[39]
With a book it is different than when you
produce a normal product when it is about suppliers. To ‘produce’ a book you
don’t have a supplier. The writer is the producer and there is no delivery from
a supplier. So actually, this part of the five-forces model is not relevant for
the Librije itself. The Librije only has to export the book to France and has
to look for selling points.
Buyer power
There are some variables that show the
power of buyers.
·
Part of
the total sales volume of the market par buyer.
·
Is there a
possibility to get a better price with a purchase quantity?
·
What is
the importance of the product for the buyer?
When it is important for the buyer, a substitute would
not be good enough for the buyer.
·
How far is
the product standardized? Is the product homogeneous or heterogeneous?
·
Are there
high cost associated with switching to another provider?
·
What is
the value of the product for the buyer?
·
Is it
possible to produce the product of yourself?
·
The way
the buyer is informed, for example of prices and costs.
These variables influence the pricing,
quality and continuity of the enterprise too.[40]
At the book market the buyers have a lot of
power. There are much cooking books in all kind of shapes and sizes. There are
cheap books and expensive book, something for everyone. It is difficult for the
providers of cookbooks because it is not a product that people buy again and
again. It is different with, for example, toothpaste. When you have a good
brand and it is empty, you buy a new one of the same brand. Therefore,
providers of toothpaste should continue improving their product so people stay
with the same brand. When you buy a cooking book, you would not buy the same
book three months later, unless it is as good you want to give it away to somebody.
But it is not a repeat purchase. So providers have to continue to find new
buyers. The best way of selling is when
people hear from family or friends that it is good, so they are going to buy
it. Therefore The Librije has to note that the book is really good.
There are also some other facts of the
market. The market is very transparent, so the quality and the prices are easy
to find out. It is difficult to get a better price with a purchase quantity,
because people do not buy 50 books at ones for example. In France a good
cooking book is important for the buyer, because of their dinner culture, good
food is important. A cooking book is heterogeneous, because none of the books
are the same. They all have different recipes.
This last facts also make the buyer has the power at the market. The
Librije has to note this, because the book has to be perfect otherwise the
people would not buy Purest and they will buy a book of a competitor.
Threat of substitution
Are there many or few substitutes
available? That is what threat of substitution is about. For example, a bus is
a substitute for the train. It depends on the price-performance rate how
threatening the substitute is. When there is a clear price-performance rate
improvement, the substitute will be very threatening.[41]
The market of French cookbooks is rather
big. Because France is a dinner culture, there are cooking books for
everything, in all shapes and sizes. There are cheap books, but there are also
very expensive books.[42] Certainly the last one
will be a serious competitor for the book Purest. These books will be very
threatening substitutions because the price-performance rate could be very
high. It depends a bit on the judgment of the French people of Purest. When
they think it is really a good book, the price-performance rate is okay. But
when they think the book is not as well as the French cooking books or not good
at all, then the price-performance rate will be very high. The French cooking
books then are serious substitutes and the book Purest would have a lot trouble
to survive.
Threat of new entry
The question in this part of the model is:
To what extend is it possible to enter the market? It depends on the next
variables.
·
Are there
existing providers who profit of scales? They will have lower costs.
·
Do you
need much capital before you can start an enterprise?
·
Are there
high costs associated with switching to another provider?
·
Is it easy
to make access to distribution channels?
·
Is it
allowed by the government to enter the market?
·
Which are
the existent brands?
When it is difficult for new enterprises to
enter the market, your enterprise has less threat of new entry then when you
are an existing provider. But for yourself it is difficult too to start at the
market.[43]
It is rather easy to enter the French book
market. It is not necessary to have a large starting capital; you only have to
find a publisher. Finding a good publisher is the most difficult, but when you
find one, the most work is done. They have their distribution channels and they
help you promoting the book. On the
other hand, buyers have no costs by switching to another book. It is just what
they buy at that moment and they are not stuck with it. In France the book
market is actually the same as the Dutch one. The only thing that is set by the
government are the fixed book prices. Retailers have to maintain the prices
that are set by the publishers. Those prices are agreed by consultation inside
the book market.[44]
There will be some good cookbooks, which have a good reputation yet and maybe
scales. There is nothing to do about that, Librije has to compete those books.
Competitive rivalry
Competitive rivalry is about the
competition between the enterprises in the market. Is there a free market with
strong competition or is there a monopoly with no competition? The degree of
internal competition is an important indicator of the attractiveness of a
market.[45]
It is said before that there is a large
market for cooking books in France, so there is much competition. It is a
rather free market but the publishers agree the prices together. So everybody
is up to date. On the one hand it is more difficult to compete with things your
good at in an environment like this. When you have low costs to produce and to
promote the book you maybe would not have advantages of that. On the other hand
an advantage is that every writer gets a fair price for his work. For the book Purest
is could be good, because despite it is new, a relevant price is asked.
8. competitors analysis
The Competitor analysis is an assessment of
the strengths and weaknesses for potential competitors. This analysis provides
a strategic context to identify opportunities and threats. Profiling coalesces
all of the relevant sources of competitor analysis into one framework in the
support of efficient and effective strategy formulation, implementation,
monitoring and adjustment.
Requirements competitors
Competitors of the Librije are high-end
cuisine cookbooks released in France around the last decade. In order for a
book to be rated as a generic competitor it will have to meet any of the
following requirements:
·
Publishing
organization owns a 3 Michelin-star rated restaurant
·
Written/released
by a professional French high-end cuisine chef
·
Best-seller
in France
Generic competitors
There are tons of cookbooks spread
throughout the world, a small part of which is actually written with high-end
cuisine as a target group. This small group of books has been analyzed to show
the six most competing cookbooks for Jonnie & Thérese Boer’s Purest.
General info about these competitors is shown in the tables below.
Table 8.1 – Generic Competitors
|
Table 8.2 –
competitor websites
|
Product model competitors
Each competing book has their own way of
distinguishing themselves from other cookbooks. How this is done for the
generic competitors will be shown at the hand of each book’s USP’s (Unique
Selling Propositions).
Table 8.3 – competitor USP’s
|
Purest has a great way of distinguishing
itself from these competitors or even transcend them. How this is done for
different target groups and which USP’s are used during this process will be
addressed in the Customer-analysis.
Branding competitors
Aside from competitors USP’s, each book
also separates itself with the brand under which it has been released. E.g. the
book has been written by a famous top-chef or it has a Michelin starred
restaurant attached to its title.
Table 8.5 – USP & Branding Purest
|
Table 8.4 – competitor branding
|
The tables above show how each competing
book separates themselves from other high-end cuisine cookbooks. With this
knowledge it is possible for Librije to distinguish the book Purest even more
from her competitors.
By looking at each book’s USP’s and
Branding style while comparing these to the ones for Purest in table 6.5 we are
lead to the following opportunities and threats:
·
Branding
Comparing the impressing achievements of
the authors and their restaurants to those of Librije and Jonnie & Thérèse
‘s shows Purest has surpassed all competing books in this analysis. Two
professional chefs, a three star Michelin restaurant and even the title “Best
Cookbook in the World 2013” form a promising opportunity for Librije considering
branding.
·
Extra
content
Most cookbooks shown have a lot of extra
content; sometimes so much they are bought for amusement as well. This is
definitely the case for Purest which has an excessive amount of pages of extra
content about Dutch culinary richness, development of taste, taste discussions
and much more. In combination with the 400 pages of recipes this forms another
opportunity, since Purest will not be bound to target groups with cooking as
their main purpose.
·
Masculinity
According to Cultural Differences
the French have very few differences in the cast between men and women,
although there is only one professional female chef in France. As a male-female
duo Jonnie & Thérèse might be able to use this in their advantage when
promoting the book, men and women add up to each other after all.
·
Price
Table 6.1 Generic Competitors shows three competitors treated in the analysis prices their book
around 50 Euros, and the other three around 180 Euros. Purest at 75 Euro is
fairly low priced considering its extensive content, which forms a strength.
9. distribution channels
When the Librije is exporting the book Purest to France, it has to come
up with suitable distribution channels for its book. The distribution channels
to get cookbooks for the consumer in France are endless. Therefore the Librije
will have a range of options on the distribution of the book. However, a clear
distinction must be made between distribution channels for ordinary cuisine and
high-end cuisine, since both are not likely to be represented at the same
distribution channels. This text provides a clear outline of the most relevant
options for cookbook distribution channels in France for the high-end cuisine.
Bookshops
The most obvious option for distributing a high-end cuisine cookbook in
the whole of West Europe is in a book store. The same goes for France. France
has a lot of bookstores throughout the country and within one city or village
the choice of bookstores still remains excessive. Where other bookstores are
closing down throughout Europe, they are still growing in France.[46] The big advantage of
bookstores is that when the consumer wants to buy a cookbook, it will of a
bookstore for one of the first places to buy it. The disadvantage of a
bookstore is that both high-end cuisine books and low-end cuisine books are
represented in bookstores. This makes the competition big, and consumers may decide
for a book of lower quality at a lower price. The table beneath gives an
outline of the most important and well-known bookstores in France.
Table 9.1 – bookshops France
|
Webshops
Nowadays the Internet has become very important among the consumers in
West Europe. With the Internet web shops turned up and consumers have seen the
ways of simplicity in buying products online. Bookshops are still prospering in
France, and so are the web shops for books. The Librije could explore this
option for distributing its book Purest. Web shops for books have a great
advantage against ordinary bookshops, since it is easier to compare prices on
the Internet. This technique on price searching can be well used for books,
since a book is a product, which will be exactly the same in another shop, and
therefore there can be distinguished on price.
Another advantage is the fact that the web shop can reach all the
consumers in France, where a bookstore cannot. The disadvantage of web shops
for the consumer is that most of the time the consumer has to pay the delivery
costs himself. The second disadvantage is that on the Internet both books on high-end
cuisine and low-end cuisine can be found, and the consumer may settle for a low-end
cuisine book because of its price. The
options for buying books on the Internet in France are endless. Therefore the
table beneath will only deal with the most popular web shops on books in
France.
Table 9.2 – webshops France
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High-end
cuisine restaurants
France is famous for its prestige kitchen and restaurants. People from
all over the world come to France only to enjoy the French cuisine. France is
one of the countries that count the most Michelin star restaurants. When the
Librije is going to export its high-end cuisine book Purest to France, the
Librije should think of this fact. In the Netherlands often high-end cuisine cookbooks
are sold in high-end restaurants. However, mostly the book sold in a restaurant
has to be related to the kitchen there. For example, the famous Dutch top chef
Herman den Blijker will not sell the book Purest in his restaurants, since he
would like to promote his own food in his restaurants and not others. The same
goes for France. In the kitchens among the greatest high-end restaurants in
France work top chefs, which will not be interested in promoting someone else’s
food. Especially not from Dutch top chefs, since the French perception on the
Dutch cuisine is mostly negative.[47] Therefore it may become
very hard for the Librije to distribute its book Purest among French fine
dining restaurants. However, the Librije still could explore high-end cuisine
restaurants in France to sell their book Purest at. The beneath table provides
an outline of the most obvious options for distributing the high-end cookbook Purest
at.[48] The restaurants have to
speak to the character of the book Purest; distributing the book in an Indian
restaurant would not make sense. Like earlier said, the Dutch cuisine is most
related to the French kitchen and most of the recipes in the book are
fish-orientated. The restaurants outlined in the table beneath are based on
these facts. The most prestigious fine dining restaurants in France are located
in Paris, since Paris the city, which is the most high-end cuisine,
concentrated in France.
Table 9.3 – restaurants France
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High-end cuisine shops
Since
France is famous for its food and especially its high-end cuisine, high-end
cuisine shops are common in France. In a complete high-end cuisine setting the cookbook
Purest could be a great sell. Therefore distributing Purest through the high-end
cuisine shops could be a great opportunity for the Librije. The great advantage
of high-end cuisine shops for the Librije is that when the consumer buys high-end
cuisine food, it will also definitely be interested in high-end cuisine cookbooks.
High-end cuisine shops immediately link food purchase to the purchase of a cookbook.
Only people who are interested in high-end cuisine will visit these shops, so
either way the book could be a great sell in these shops. Like earlier said
France is full of high-end cuisine shops. Therefore the table below will only
provide two of the most popular high-end cuisine shops in Paris.
Table 9.4 – high-end cuisine shops
France
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10. societal participants
Societal participants on the French high-end
cuisine market are good to be aware of for the Librije. When they know the
societal participants in the industry they can more easily become one
themselves and therefore market their cookbook Purest easier.
tv shows
In France, there are shows on television
where a chef prepares and presents their recipes to the public, which in turn
motivates the watchers to do the same and buy a cookbook. However, since these
shows are mainly focused on the French cuisine, the Dutch book may remain
unknown amongst other (French) books. On the other hand, most recipes used in Purest
and in the French cuisine are quite comparable, such as the fish, oil, wine and
goose. Therefore, interest can be gained from these cooking shows. It can also
be noted that there are quite a few cooking shows that focus on high-end
culinary. One of these channels is called the Cooking Channel’s French Food At
Home.
communities
There are also communities on the Internet
that focus on cooking. Some of these are French or based in France. An example
of such a community website is www.cuisineaz.com.Most
of these communities have a forum page on the Internet or maybe even a Facebook
page where watchers can communicate with each other and talk about culinary
matters. This is one of the most used ways of communication. A few examples of
pages on Facebook are recette.de.cuisine
, AFrenchFamilyCooking and My French Cooking.
cooking schools
There also happen to be various French
cooking schools that teach luxury cooking. This creates a cooking association
amongst people who have the same interest. Therefore it is smart to contact
these cooking schools and possibly introduce the Dutch cuisine for them to
study.
A typical high-end cuisine school is the
French Culinary Institute[49]. Another one is Le Cordon
Bleu[50]. Once again, many of
these schools have means of communication on the Internet, such as forums and
other social media like Facebook. These are easily found by searching with the
school’s name on the Internet, for example by searching French Culinary Institute.
trade fairs
Another excellent way of getting to know
societal participants is by visiting cooking trade shows in France, which are
basically the same as a trade fair.
Trade shows or festivals, such as the
Omnivore Food Festival, which takes place on 17-19th March, are opportunities
for chefs to meet each other and present their work. Their description is as
follows:
‘’The Omnivore Food Festival follows the
evolutions and revolutions of cuisine, welcoming renowned chefs from France as
well as famous chefs from all over the world, often pioneering a public
platform for them to perform. The Festival shares this layering of experiences,
cultures and styles through on-stage, rock-concert-like culinary demos, as well
as with the Omnivore village, which enables interactions between partners,
exhibitors and visitors. Gathering an exceptionally varied panel of brilliant
cooks and pastry chefs, offering a public stage for today’s cuisine to be
displayed, discovered, and discussed, the Omnivore Food Festival keeps
thinking, tasting and dreaming up cuisine.’’
In conclusion the Librije has several
options to market their book Purest by participating socially on the French high-end
cuisine market.
11. Main publications
There are
several publications, being magazines or blogs, which can be relevant to the
consumer market segments or the distribution channels that The Librije can
choose from.
An example
of an interesting publication is the magazine known as Saveur. This is not only
a popular magazine that specializes on various world cuisines, but it also
focuses on the high-end culinary food. Also wine is heavily involved in Saveur.
There is also a lot of seafood that the magazine specializes on.
Besides
being a popular magazine that focuses on the high-end part of the cuisine,
Saveur is also involved on the Internet on social media such as Facebook and
Twitter.
Colman
Andrews founded this publication in 1994.
Another
widely popular publication is the magazine called Fine Cooking. This magazine
also discusses high-end food and gives recipes, tools and tips to anyone with
passion for cooking. Usually interviews with high-end chefs are displayed in
the publications and basically everything is about the various cuisines.
Fine
Cooking does not only limit itself to publishing its magazines, but also
publishes various fine cooking books and DVDs.
Fine
Cooking is published by Taunton, which was founded back in 1975.
Not only
magazines are possibly interesting publications but also blogs should be
reviewed. An interesting website that produces many blogs about cookbooks is in
fact known as http://www.thecookbookblog.com/. This organized website looks for
‘exciting’ chefs and cookbooks and tests their functionality. They write
cookbook reviews and take pictures about the resulting food.
From this
source many blogs about various cookbooks are displayed which everyone can
read. It could eventually be an option for the culinary book PUREST to be added
to this website as well.
12. consumer attitude towards high-end cuisine
We have seen that the French love for high-end
cuisine has born a long time ago. It became a way of their daily life, which
you also see by the fact that there are a lot of French High cuisine restaurants
that also have been visited a lot by the French people. Also at home fine
dining is an important thing for the people.
General attitude
French people see having dinner as a way of
socializing. With everything they do, eating is taking part of it. From a
meeting with the whole family to a business meeting. In France eating is a cozy
happening even as in the Netherlands. A big difference is that in the
Netherlands it does not really matter what you will eat and in France it is
important. Generally, the French people want to have a fine dining. It should
not be always of high quality, like high-end cuisine, but at least people
should think about what they are eating. [51]
A thing sometimes said, is that French
people are not fat while they are eating all day. And that is because they
think about what they are eating. When you are aware of what you were eating
then the chance of getting fat is not that big. Regardless eating is more the
problem. Things you eat regardless are stuff with less taste or only the same
taste, like chips. French people eat different things at the same time and of
high quality. This is making them aware, which is important.[52]
Going to a restaurant is often happening in
France. These are not simple restaurants, like the McDonalds or a snack bar,
but restaurants with a high-end cuisine. Because of the history that is told
before, the French think it is important to keep these traditions alive. Their
history has made that they are good in cooking and that is what they have been
taught for generations. When they having dinner at a restaurant they think
money is not that important. They think it is more important that the food is
prepared of high quality, because otherwise they could do it by their self.
Questionnaire
In order to confirm the importance and
interest of the French consumer on high-end cuisine the Librije has conducted a
questionnaire.
To start with, the Librije asked to
following question: what is your opinion on the French cuisine?
|
Table 12.1 – source: questionnaire the
Librije
|
As predicted, the most of the French
respondents answered the French cuisine to be at least tasteful. It is also
important to know the attitude of the French consumer towards the French high-end
cuisine in order to introduce the cookbook Purest.
|
Table 12.2 – source: questionnaire the
Librije
|
From this table above can be drawn that the
French inhabitants are very interested in the high-end cuisine. This speaks to
its character of the French people, like earlier said in the French attitude
towards high-end cuisine. At last it is important to know whether the
French inhabitants either prefer to eat high-end cuisine in a restaurant or at
home; the Librije is going to export a cookbook for at home after all.
|
Table 12.3 – source: questionnaire the
Librije
|
The questionnaire shows that the French are
very satisfied with the French cuisine and very proud on it. They think their
cuisine is one of the best and this is rather logical because of the history of
the country. It shows also that almost all French people are interested in the
French cuisine. They want to learn new things, are constantly busy with food
and they think it is important everybody has to do this. A last important thing
to note from the questionnaire is that French people have a little predilection
for having dinner in a restaurant. They do not mind having dinner at home and
there is a lot of time compared with eating at home, but they think it is also
important to having dinner in a restaurant to stay aware of what you are eating
and they also think the chefs are a bit better cooks then they are by
themselves.
Potential Buyer motivation
13. costumer analysis
The customer analysis and marketing process
allows the organization to identify and target the most profitable customers
with marketing campaigns directed at various distribution channels. Integrating
these channels allows for targeted sales force management and the tracking and
monitoring of campaign results.
Potential consumer target groups
The Customer Analysis section of the
business plan assesses the customer segments that the company serves. In it,
the company must; identify its target customers, convey the needs of these
customers and show how its products and services satisfy these needs.
Table 13.1 – Target group description
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As shown in table 10.1 there are five main target
groups in France, of which each has different needs. How does three star
Michelin restaurant the Librije and the book Purest satisfy these customer
needs?
Table 10.2 on the next page shows us the
many USP’s for the book Purest. Looking at each target group’s needs, starting
with restaurants, and comparing them with the books qualities, indicates
restaurants make an interesting target group. The book focuses on local ingredients
and offers exclusive high-end culinary recipes, which might offer quite some
value to high-end cuisine menus.
USP’s & Branding Purest
Showcase Dutch culinary richness taste and
(r)evolution
Explanation of development of taste using his
recipes
400 Pages with over 200 recipes
Taste discussion with taste professor Peter
Klosse
Showcase of his (local) suppliers
Thérèse Boer + Jan van Lissum –
tasting/experiencing wine
Herbs for culinary purposes
Dutch writer Ronald Giphart culinary text with
50 recipes
Special (X rays, 3-D, and under water)
photography by Jan Bartelsman,
Jonnie en Thérèse: “Our Purest and most
special book ever”.
Completes the trilogy
Attached to three famous brands:
Gourmand World Cookbook Awards; Best Chef’s
Cookbook in the World
Table 13.2 – USP & Branding Purest
Households
Table 13.2 – USP & Branding Purest
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Families and couples could form a decent
target group if seems the demographical target audience is large enough and the
book is able to attract these customers. The book promotes highly sophisticated
cooking techniques, which might be to complicated and time-consuming for
households. This makes it unlikely that households will form one of the main
target groups for Librije itself.
A great amount of high-income households
does however indicate an interesting market for a restaurant settlement,
although the competition is harsh in most areas in France.
Amateur-chefs
Amateur chefs and hobbyists usually are
searching to deploy new culinary techniques, to show off with at their families
and friends or put to use in their restaurant/bistro/winery. Purest has an
excellent way of fulfilling this desire with the extra sections in the book
like the development of taste, taste discussions and wine experiencing.
Collectors
The three famous brands the book is related
to, the Dutch culinary richness showcase and the purity of the recipes will add
great value to a cookbook collection. On top of this comes that Purest
completes the trilogy of Librije books, which now contains the books Puur,
Puurder & Purest (translated Pure, More Pure, Purest). For owners of the
earlier books Purest will probably be a must-have.
Retailers
Retailers are looking for new profitable
products, items to expand their assortment with or any other cost-efficient way
to attract new customers.
Purest fills this desire by offering a
unique book, containing a lot of extra content, and also is the last part of
the Librije trilogy which has three famous culinary brands attached to it.
These factors might be able to add an interesting touch to the cooking-section
for many bookstores or retailers.
Demography
Now that the company's target customers are
clearly identified and defined, it is necessary to explain the demographics of
these customers. Questions to be answered include; how many potential customers
fit the given definition and is this customer base growing or decreasing and
where are these customers geographically based.
Table 13.3 – Demography target groups
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Customer decision-making
|
“If the target group is older and more
affluent, chances are buyers won’t hesitate to purchase an expensive thick
3-ring cookbook. In fact, underpricing your cookbook to this group may give
the impression it’s not all that great. On the other hand, when the
demographics show the market mainly consists of young families, they have
more careful spending habits. In this case, a cookbook in a lower price
range is more appropriate.”
Figure 13.1 – www.morriscookbooks.com
|
1.
Do
customers find price to be more important than the quality of the product or
service?
Women with a higher income will spend more
for hardback cookbooks. Since they make 68% of all cookbook buyers it might be
wise to consider a hardback cover. 3
2.
Are customers
looking for the highest level of reliability, or will they have their own
support and just seek a basic level of service?
Since Purest is a high-end cuisine cookbook
requesting many complicated cooking techniques using highly specialized
materials and ingredients, will make customers expect the highest possible
level of reliability.
Add to this the face that the book fairly
high-priced and related to three famous culinary brands and two magnificent
earlier books in the trilogy, which will call for customers to expect the crème
de la crème.
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Name
|
Cecile Dubois
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|
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Age
|
41
|
|
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Social background
|
She has studied accountancy. After graduating
she got a fulltime job at a big accountancy concern. She stopped fulltime
working after she got her third child.
She is married and has a son and two daughter
of the age of 12, 10 and 7. Her husband is also high educated.
|
|
|
Work situation at the moment
|
Part-time accountancy job.
|
|
|
Values
|
Family is important to her. She thinks it is
important to spend time with the children. She is a person with a healthy
lifestyle. Healthy food and sport keep her fit.
|
|
|
Knowledge and attitude towards cooking books
|
Cooking is a great hobby of her, so she
collected a lot of cooking books.
|
|
|
Why would the person buy it
|
The whole family loves fine dining and the
she and her husband love cooking together to.
|
|
|
How the person decides
|
She decides if she would by the book on base
of the price and the recipes.
|
|
|
Media behaviour
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Cecile is a person who watches television
sometimes, but most of the time she is listening to the radio and is surfing
on the Internet. This are the most import media she is using.
|
|
Name
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Jacques Le Divellec
|
|
|
Age
|
81
|
|
|
Social background
|
He is married with Charente and had 4 children,
2 boys and 2 girls. He had studied on the Hotel school in Clairmont-Ferrand.
Besides that he was in military service. After that period he worked a while
in a restaurant but soon he had bought his own restaurant what he makes very
successful.
|
|
|
Work situation at the moment
|
He’s owner of his own restaurant that is
specialized in fish recipes.[53]
|
|
|
Values
|
His family is important for him and fine
dining is his big love. He thinks it is important that food is fair-traded.
|
|
|
Knowledge and attitude towards cooking books
|
He has a lot of knowledge of cooking books
and a good attitude towards it because he wrote 13 cooking books himself.
|
|
|
Why would the person buy it
|
He would buy it to make up new ideas of
recipes for his own restaurant.
|
|
|
How the person decides
|
He decides which cookbook he buys on basis of
price, and the kind of recipes (meat or fish and if it is fair-trade).
|
|
|
Media behaviour
|
Because of his age he only watch television
and listen to the radio. He almost never is surfing on the Internet.
|
|
Name
|
François Lancoix
|
|
|
Age
|
42
|
|
|
Social background
|
Studied retail management at the University of
Paris, completed his education at the age of 21. Worked for several retail
stores in Paris and ended up a marketing assistant at Fnac. After 5 years of
marketing he was promoted purchaser.
|
|
|
Work situation at the moment
|
Purchaser at Fnac
|
|
|
Values
|
He appreciates hard work and believes in earning a
high valued living. Family is important to him. Dining with the family is a
daily ritual.
|
|
|
Knowledge and attitude towards
cooking books
|
Knows all the important cookbooks
in France since he purchases them for Fnac. Believes that foreign cookbooks
have to meet the French high-end cuisine standard in order to be a success in
France.
|
|
|
Why would the person buy the
product
|
He would purchase the book in the name of Fnac when
he believes that the book could contribute the turnover of Fnac.
|
|
|
On what basis does the person
decide to buy the cookbook
|
Decides on what’s best for Fnac.
The book has to possess enough potential to generate a successful turnover
for Fnac.
|
|
|
Media behavior
|
Being a purchaser he is aware of all the news
concerning the cookbook industry in France. He keeps up by social media, newspapers,
blogs and the news.
|
Conclusion
Having researched both a macro-and meso-analysis
on France for the high-end cuisine book Purest, Librije has reached a
conclusion on the research.
When looking at the PESTEL analysis, there
can be concluded that even though France and The Netherlands are both in the
European Union (making export easier,) it is still advised to know a little
about the French politics and economics. France is at the moment still one of
the richer countries in the European Union, with a large population that has a
decent income. These people with a decent income and decent living are very
important for The Librije, as Purest itself is a high-end culinary book. France
is also famous for its own cuisine and its inhabitants who acquire a lot of
knowledge about high-end food on a young age. The Librije should put focus on
this target group in order to be successful.
Furthermore, the cultural differences of
the Hofstede model between the Netherlands and France are important to notice
for the Librije. Power distance is important in France. The people with power
are often from rich families and they have no accountability to other people.
These people have other norms and values then the ‘ordinary’ people. France has
an individual culture, but also the group is important. They think you have to
develop yourself as much as possible, but your family is also important in
France. In France there is not as much a feminine culture as in the
Netherlands, but a lot is accepted. So there are women tasks that can be done
by men, and reversed. Because in France the uncertainty avoidance is much
higher than in the Netherlands, there are also more rules to deal with. The
French culture is short-term oriented. They want to see a quick result. It is
important for the Librije to relate to these differences when marketing the high-end
cuisine book Purest.
The French perception on high-end cuisine
is essential to know for the Librije. There can be concluded that the French
perception on high-end cuisine in general is extremely positive. This is due to
the fact that the French history implies that France was one of the founders of
high-end cuisine, dating back to the Middle Ages.
The French perception on Dutch cuisine is
even more interesting to know for the Librije in order to make Purest
successful. The French perception on Dutch cuisine is mostly negative. However,
this perception is more based on assumptions than on actual experience of the
French on Dutch food. Nevertheless this is a disadvantage for the Librije.
When marketing Purest, the market must be
segmented. This can be done on the factors of geography, demography and psycho
graphical factors. The Librije must
especially look at the people of an older age (for example 40) since chances
are optimal that these people will buy a high-end culinary book. If these
people also have a high income it is even better, since that means that they
can afford the product. It should also not be forgotten that the old people who
are retired could have cooking as a hobby, especially in France! Then there are
also quite a lot of (costal) areas in France that has a cuisine that looks a bit
like the recipes shown in Purest. These could be possible targets for the
Librije in the future.
The 5
forces of Porter have provided the Librije with some details on the power of
the book market in France. By writing a book you have
nothing to do with suppliers because you produce it by yourself. Librije only
has to export the book to France, because it is already published. Because
there are a lot cooking books the buyer has the most power. What could help is
that the book Purest has recently won the price of best cooking book. If the
price-performance rate of expensive cooking books is rather high pertaining to Purest,
then they are serious substitutes. But because Purest has won the price of best
cookbook this price-performance rate would not be that high. The rules for
entering the French book market are almost the same as in the Netherlands.
There will be al lot of competition for the book, because in France there are a
lot of cookbooks. Purest has an important USP, because of the price it has won.
When looking at the competitors of the
Librije on the French high-end cuisine market, there can be concluded that the
competition is high. Since France its heritage mainly consists of great high-end
cuisine history, the master chefs, Michelin star restaurants and master chef
their high-end cuisine books are endless in France. It will be hard for the
Librije to compete with the competitors.
When exporting Purest to France, it is
advisable for the Librije to exploit multiple distribution options when
introducing its high-end cuisine cookbook Purest to France. The most successful
distribution channels for the Librije will involve bookstores that also sell high-end
(cook) books, web shops which also sell high-end (cook) books and high-end
cuisine shops. Especially the last distribution channel is important to the
Librije, since these shops represent the direct market segment of the high-end
cuisine in France and therefore they are an immediate link to the final
consumer of high-end cuisine products. It is not convenient for the Librije to
use high-end restaurants for distributing its cookbook. Most restaurants have
its own top chefs who are more likely to promote their own books and food than
books of a foreign top restaurant.
The Librije should have some knowledge on
the societal participants in the high-end cuisine industry in France. To
exploit the societal participants on the high-end cuisine market in France, the
Librije could focus on cooking schools. Cooking schools in France are very
important because they use high-end cuisine cookbooks from famous master chefs
in their educational programs. With this the brand awareness of the books are
expanded. Trade fairs for the high-end cuisine are very popular in France.
Trade fairs are a great way to introduce a product on, give demonstrations and
create brand awareness.
There can be noted that the consumer their
attitude towards high-end cuisine is mostly positive. The results of the
questionnaire point out that the French are both interested in consuming high-end
food at restaurants and at home. This is positive for the Librije.
And last but not least there can be
concluded on the potential target groups for Purest. The main target group will
most likely consist of high-end cuisine shops and bookstore retailers. High-end
cuisine shops because their group is enormous, and bookstores because they are
a great way of reaching the less bulky target groups.
Appendices
Questionnaire
Marché culinaire en France
Nous sommes
étudiants aux Pays-Bas, et nous aimerions obtenir des informations sur le
marché culinaire en France. Nous voudrions connaître votre opinion et nous vous
invitons à remplir le questionnaire que nous avons créé. Le questionnaire est
anonyme et dure environ 5 minutes. Nous voudrions vous remercier pour les
réponses que vous allez apporter.
(Pouvez-vous noter vos réponses à l’aide d’un marqueur visible ?).
|
1. Quelle est votre opinion de la cuisine Française ?
o Très mauvaise
o dégoûtante
o moyenne
o délicieuse
o très bonne
2. Quelle est votre attitude à l’encontre de la cuisine haut de gamme
française ?
o
je ne suis pas du tout
intéressé par la cuisine haut de gamme
o Je ne suis pas intéressé
o Je suis ni intéressé ni pas intéressé
o Je suis intéressé
o je suis très intéressé
3. Qu’est-ce que vous préférez : la cuisine haute gamme à la
maison ou au restaurant ?
o à la maison
o au restaurant
o à la maison et au restaurant
o ni à la maison et ni au restaurant
o autrement, à savoir……………………………….
4. Quand vous cuisinez à la maison, utilisez-vous un livre de cuisine
haut de gamme ?
o oui, toujours
o oui, mais pas pour toutes les préparations
o de temps en temps
o non, jamais
|
|
5. Quelle est votre opinion de la cuisine Hollandaise haut de
gamme?
o
Très mauvaise
o mauvaise
o moyenne
o délicieuse
o excellente
|
|
6. Imaginez-vous que vous allez à une restaurant Hollandais haut de
gamme. Quelles sont vos prévisions ?
o j’attends que le diner soit de très mauvaise qualité
o j’attends que le diner soit de mauvaise qualité
o j’attends que le diner soit ni de mauvaise qualité, ni de haute qualité
o j’attends que le diner soit de haute qualité
o j’attends que le diner soit de très haute qualité
7. À votre avis ; quelle est la cuisine haute gamme de meilleure
qualité, la cuisine française ou la cuisine Hollandaise ?
o la cuisine française
o la cuisine Hollandaise
o je pense que la cuisine Française et la cuisine Hollandaise sont tous
les deux de bonne qualité
8.
Qu’est-ce que vous attendez de la cuisine Hollandaise ? Quels types de
nourriture aimeriez-vous que
l’on vous serve?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
|
|
Nous voudrions introduire un livre de cuisine Hollandaise haut de
gamme en France (ce livre à droite). Le nom Français de ce livre
est ‘La plus pure’. Les deux
cuisinières Jonnie et Thérèse Boer
ont créé ce livre. Ce sont deux cuisinières Hollandaises qui ont ouvert
un restaurant haute gamme aux Pays-Bas : le ‘Librije’. Le Librije
auquel
a trois étoiles michelins ont été attribuées.
9. Quelle est votre opinion sur la couverture du livre ?
o très peu attrayante
o peu attrayante
o ni peu attrayante, ni attrayant
o attrayant
o très attrayant
10. À votre avis, pensez-vous que le livre Hollandais
soit réussi en France ?
o non
o oui
parce-que
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
|
|
11. Comment devrions-nous procéder pour que le livre connaisse un
succès en France?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
12. À quel prix devrions-nous vendre ce livre?
Quel prix vous semble raisonnable ?
€……………………………………………………….
13. Achèteriez-vous ce livre ?
o Oui
o Non
o
Peut-être
14. Comment aimeriez-vous être
informé sur le livre ‘La plus pure ?
o A l’aide de brochures
o panneaux d’affichage a la gare
o annonces à la station-service
o au facilités du sport
o annonces au magasins de cuisine haute gamme
o au social media
o à la télévision
o autrement, à
savoir…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
|
|
15. Où aimeriez-vous acheter ce livre?
o Dans un supermarché
o à l’aéroport
o aux restaurants
o dans un magasin de cuisine haute gamme
o dans une librairie
o autrement, à savoir………………………………………………
16. Quel(s) motif(s) vous inciterait à acheter ce
livre ?
o
un cadeau pour mes amis
o
un
cadeau pour mes relations d’affaires
o pour moi-même
|
|
17a. Quel est votre sexe?
o homme
o femme
17b. Quel est votre âge?
o 16 jusqu’à 25 ans
o 26 jusqu’à 50 ans
o 51 année et plus ans
18. Combien de personnes vivent dans votre foyer ?
....................................................................................
19. Quelle est votre occupation ?
o Occupation :………………………………………………………………………….
o Etudiant
o Femme au foyer. Occupation de mon partenaire:……………………………………………….
20. Dans votre foyer, qui décide d’acheter de la nourriture?
o moi-même
o mon partenaire
o mes parents
o autrement, à savoir……………………………….
21. Avez-vous des commentaires sur le livre ‘La plus pure’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
|
Fin du questionnaire.
Merci de votre
collaboration !
Project
contract
|
Chapter
|
Description
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Background
|
We’ve been
assigned by the restaurant Librije in Zwolle, to explore the opportunities to
expand to the French market with the book the ‘Purest’. The writers of the
book the ‘Purest’, Jonnie and Thérèse Boer, would like to publish their book in France. We have
got the task to explore the French market whether the book ‘Purest’ could be
successful in France. We will do so by conducting a market research, and draw
a marketing communication plan based on this information. The importance of
the project is to ensure that the book the ‘Purest’ will become a success in
France.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Definition of the problem
And formulation of the project
objectives
|
Due to the success of the Librije, the company is
interested to expand internationally, and this is the challenge that we need
to face during this project. We’ve been assigned to explore the international
opportunities for the book the ‘Purest’ in France. For conducting the
research we formulated the following main question: How to market the
culinary book ‘Purest’ on the French market? Before entering this market the
company needs to know whether there is a market for high-end food. Problem:
whether the French food market is suitable to distribute the book the
‘Purest’ to. The company the Librije and the book the ‘Purest’ are very
successful in the Netherlands and for that reason they would like to expand
to France.
1. Analyse the French high-end culinary market for
the book ‘Purest’
·
How does the macro
economy in France look like for the high-end food market based on the factors
of PESTEL, the Hofstede model and the difference in attitude among the French
people to the French and Dutch high-end cuisine?
·
How does the meso
economy in France look like for the high-end food market based on the factors
of market segments, competitors, brand awareness, distribution channels and
ways to reach the French consumer?
·
How do the target
groups for the book the ‘Purest’ look like and what is their buying
motivation?
2. Formulate a market communication plan for marketing
the book the ‘Purest’ on the French market
·
What does the
current high-end culinary market in France look like based on the conducted
macro and meso analysis by the Librije?
·
What are the
communication goals for the book Purest?
·
What is the
communication mix for the book Purest?
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Project commission or project results
|
·
Description of the
French culinary market. The right market segment in France for the book the
‘Purest’ (research report)
·
A clear marketing
communication plan for marketing the book the ‘Purest’ in France (marketing
communication plan report)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Project activities + planning +
Deadlines + responsibilities
|
Research report:
Week 1: finish project contract (deadline: the
next project meeting)
Week 2: finish macro analysis (deadline: the next
project meeting)
Week 3: finish meso analysis (deadline: the next
project meeting)
Week 4: finish the potential buyer motivation
(deadline: the next project meeting)
Week 5: draw conclusions (deadline: the next
project meeting)
Week 6: wrap the report up, perfect it, hand it in
Week 7: present the results
Marketing communication report
Week 1: finish the description of the current situation (deadline:
the next project meeting)
Week 2:
draw the marketing communication goals (deadline: the next
project meeting)
Week 3:
draw the marketing communication goals (deadline: the next
project meeting)
Week 4:
draw the marketing communication mix (deadline: the next
project meeting)
Week 5:
draw the marketing communication mix (deadline: the next
project meeting)
Week 6:
draw the final recommendations and wrap up the report
Week 7:
present the final recommendations
We are
all responsible for the deadlines. Each week we divide the work among each
other and we are all responsible that we meet our deadlines. We control each other’s
work together.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Project boundaries
|
Research report:
·
Max 45 pages
·
Including a macro analysis,
a meso analysis and a potential buyer motivation – all on the French culinary
market
Marketing communication report:
·
Max 45 pages
·
Including a
description of the current situation, the marketing communication goals,
marketing communication mix, and final recommendations for the French market
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Quality
|
·
Quality
standard
The final result of this project should be
well enough to be used by Librije to make their decision about entering
France with their book.
·
Evaluation
After a group member has completed an
assignment, it has to be evaluated by another member to make sure its content
and grammar are correct. If this is not the case the assignment has to be
re-done by the person with optional help from other group members.
·
Reliable
sources
Sources have to be relevant to the rapports
subject. All gathered sources are placed in the designated Dropbox folder.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Project organisation
|
Every group member is equally responsible
for the project’s content. Anouk Besselsen functions as chairwoman, she is
responsible for household communications. She collects every assignment to
combine them, keeping track of the group’s progress, etc.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Project Costs and revenues
|
Generated costs during the project will
be summed up. At the end of the period these costs will be divided over all
group members to remain an equal share in project revenue.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Risk analysis
|
·
Unforeseen
circumstances within the project group
In case unexpected events delay the
project group, like sickness or someone quitting their study, the group will
have to take in their assignments to prohibit any further delay. The group is
able to prevent this from happening by adding more time marge in the
schedule.
·
Lack of
information
The project requires the right
information to answer certain questions. When lacking information or having
the wrong information can put pressure on the time-schedule. To prevent this
the group needs to properly plan the brainstorming and desk research
schedule. The gathered information has to be filtered to make sure no
irrelevant things will show up in the rapport.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Code of conduct
|
Group:
15 (IBS2C)
Members:
Linda Lozeman
Araash Nekoui
Tom Meppelink
Anouk Besselsen
Project
teacher:
Albert Hulzebos
Group
Leader:
Anouk Besselsen (contacts project
teacher, sets up meetings, finds out what needs to be done etc)
Agreed
upon:
·
We meet
every Friday during project hours – hours are fixed on timetable
·
During
the meetings we:
1.
Share
information
2.
Divide
work together
3.
Brainstorm
new ideas
4.
Set
dealines
·
If you
bail out on your group members; you’ll get kicked out. (meaning not showing
up on project days without giving any notice etc)
·
If you
think you can’t meet a deadline, let your group members know on time with a
good reason – if you don’t meet a deadline, you have to treat your group
members and fix your work.
·
If
you’re ill; let your group members know on time
Used
tools:
·
Dropbox:
each group member publishes its work in dropbox. Before hand we decide the
work division and who is going to correct who’s work.
·
Group
meetings for discussing
·
Group
meetings with project teacher
Questions
of study guide:
A meeting is for sharing
information, brainstorming new ideas, creating coherency in our story,
dividing work together and setting deadlines.
A mixture of both: formal being
the group leader runs the meeting, the meetings will be after the kick-off of
the project given by Hulzebos, and everybody has to be present. Informal
being the fact that we are all equal and decide upon information, ideas and
our report together, and we divide the work together.
Depends on the moment. Group
leader prepares discussion points to provide structure, but if unstructured happenings
provide new ideas or progressive brainstorms, the structure is off.
We all talk. Group leader provides
discussion points and asks fellow group members to join discussions or add
discussion points. We all bring to the table what we think is relevant.
We all take a decision together.
It depends on the importance of
the decision. Majority and best arguments will be used. We’ll discuss
together until we’ve reached a decision.
The group leader will be the chair
person; Anouk
The chairperson will facilitate
progress, prepares and distributes the agenda/provide discussion points,
takes notes and writes down final agreed upon work division.
We don’t take minutes. We just
take as long as we need to have the meeting.
We expect the teacher to provide
us with information on the project, guide us with our progress, and answer
our questions on the project.
|
Reflections per person
Anouk
In the beginning the product was a bit
strange since you didn’t know your group members since they were from another
class. However I believe we managed quickly to work together in a well-constructed
manner. We set deadlines every week which each of us had to meet individually.
However some group members didn’t manage this all the time. This got me annoyed
some times, but I didn’t comment on them since I was positive everything would
turn out right in the end. And that was the case, all group member delivered
good work in the end. However, we did have a lot of trouble with our French
group member Romain. He didn’t show up at meetings and when he said he was
going to work, he didn’t. When he did something, the pieces could not be used
since the texts were al plagiarized. In the end he was send back to France by
Windesheim and we had to do all his work last minute. However, I believe we
managed great.
Tom
Despite quite some setbacks during the last
period, the group managed to complete her work right on time. Personally I
wasn’t able to meet every deadline due to unforeseen circumstances, although
this was solved nicely thanks to some great collaboration within the project
group. Aside from this our Frenchman failed to complete any of his assignments,
which is why the deadline became quite narrow for the group. This was solved by
the great dedication from each team member, which in the end resulted in a fine
market research.
Araash
I believe most of the group members have
done a great work for this research project. Everyone has tried to make the
report look as good as possible. Unfortunately, our French colleague was not as
serious as the rest of the group was on this project, and ended up not making
any (useful) participation for this report. Therefore he was no longer able to
remain in the group and had to return to France. In my opinion, this is such a
pity as I was personally looking forward to working together with foreign
students on a group project. This is apparently not fulfilled, but at least an
amazing report has been made by the rest of us which I am happy about. In the
last few days before the deadline there was still some minor work to do, but we
caught it up and managed it in time. This was the result of one person leaving
the group, creating more work for the rest. But in the end stress was hardly
visible in the group because we planned and divided our work correctly.
Linda
In the beginning it was a bit strange
because you didn’t know how the other person’s process will be, but during the
project everything worked out well. We had a good planning so we finished the
big parts on time, so we had no stress. There were some individual persons who
had some trouble with meeting the deadlines. I think Tom and Araash did their
best to make sure it would be okay at the end. We had more trouble with our
foreign student. He said he would do everything, but he almost did nothing and
didn’t show up at some meetings. Because we knew this very soon, we could manage
it. Generally, I’m rather content with the process.
Sources
Market definition
·
13-02-2013 www.librije.com
·
13-02-2013 www.knoopjeslos.nl
Pestel
·
17-2-2013 http://elib.kkf.hu/france/francia/economy/EN.htm
·
21-2-2013 http://www.franceagroalimentaire.com/en/the-magazine/the-food-industry/a-certain-art-of-living
·
11-2-2013 http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Europe/France-INFRASTRUCTURE-POWER-AND-COMMUNICATIONS.html
cultural differences
·
Feringa, E.H.G., International Business; Internationaal
zakendoen in een strategische context, (2009), 1e druk, Cursor
Uitgeverij: Zwolle.
·
Cozijnsen, B., Dolmans, W., OR en
Organisatiecultuur; een instrument voor de or, (2008), Kluwer.
French attitude towards high-end cuisine
·
12-03-2013 http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/cuisines/european_cuisine/history_of_french_foods.html
·
Book: Wheaton,
Barbara Ketcham (1996).Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from
1300 to 1789. New York: First Touchstone
·
12-03-2013 http://www.frenchdesire.com.au/facts/food/
French perception on Dutch cuisine
·
07-02-2013 Investigation
NBTC Image of the Netherlands among foreigners http://www.nbtc.nl/nl/Homepage/cijfersentrends/Holland-imago-onderzoek-1.htm -> pdf
·
Respondents from France to the questionnaire
Market segments
5 forces of porter
·
19-02-2013 http://www.bol.com/nl/l/franse-boeken/franse-boeken-eten-en-drinken/N/8294+1701/No/0/index.html
·
Appelman, M., van den Broek, A., Rapport
Boek en Markt, (2002), Den Haag, via www.kvb.nl/stream/proj-vbp-scpcbs-boek-en-markt-2002 .
Competitors analysis
·
21-02-2013 http://www.ritzparisboutique.com/ritz-paris-haute-cuisine-recipes-by-michel-roth-english-version-4047.html
·
21-02-2013 http://www.academie-bocusedor.com/fr/actualite/ritz-paris-haute-cuisine-livre-attendait,116.html
·
21-02-2013 http://www.alain-ducasse.com/en/the-books
main publications
Distribution channels
·
14-02-2013 http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/2035884594/ref=s9_hps_bw_g14_ir02/280-2619003-5372059?pf_rd_m=A1X6FK5RDHNB96&pf_rd_s=center-9&pf_rd_r=1GF1E1WA9MQPQHA8MAJ7&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=302817107&pf_rd_i=302050 amazon.fr
·
14-02-2013 The
new York times - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/books/french-bookstores-are-still-prospering.html?_r=0
·
18-02-2013 http://www.bestrestaurantsparis.com/ http://www.tripadvisor.nl/ShowUserReviews-g187147-d208056-r128995551-Bon_Marche_Grand_Epicerie-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
·
02-03-2013 http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187147-d189255-r147635576-Le_Bon_Marche-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
Societal participants
Consumer attitude towards high-end cuisine
·
13-03-2013 http://www.convenantgezondgewicht.nl/download/63/lei_voorbij_het_broodtrommeltje_hoe_jongeren_denken_over_voedsel.pdf
·
Questionnaire
the Librije
Costumer analysis
·
4-3-2013 http://www.fnac.com/
·
4-3-2013 http://www.reportlinker.com/
[1] Study
guide project period 3, minor IBS 2013
[2] www.librije.com
[5] According
to the IMF.
[6] According
to the IMF.
[8] Quoted
from http://www.franceagroalimentaire.com/en/the-magazine/the-food-industry/a-certain-art-of-living
[9] According to CIA World Factbook.
[11] http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/
[12] http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/
[13] http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/
[14] http://www.organic-world.net/
[15] http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/
[16] http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/
[17] http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/
[18] Feringa, E., International Business
Internationaal zakendoen in een strategische context, p. 263.
[19] www.culturescope.nl
[20] Feringa, E., International Business
Internationaal zakendoen in een strategische context, p. 264.
[21] www.culturescope.nl
[22] Feringa, E., International Business
Internationaal zakendoen in een strategische context, p. 265.
[23] www.culturescope.nl
[24] Feringa, E.,
International Business Internationaal zakendoen in een strategische context,
p. 265.
[25] Cozijnsen, B., Dolmans, W., OR en Organisatiecultuur: een instrument voor de or, p. 56.
[26] www.guapotours.jouwweb.nl
[27] Feringa, E.,
International Business Internationaal zakendoen in een strategische context,
p. 266.
[29] Book:
Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham (1996).Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and
Table from 1300 to 1789. New York: First Touchstone. http://books.google.nl/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=bSuAyMNantQC&oi=fnd&pg=PP9&dq=french+attitude+towards+high+end+cuisine&ots=lVofNOLyQz&sig=Zt-DrXjrNbU6kOVF0FexOir1uJg#v=onepage&q&f=false
[31] NBTC investigation on the Dutch image among foreigners
[32] http://frenchfood.about.com/
[33] Questionnaire – the Librije
[38] www.intemarketing.nl
[39] www.intemarketing.nl
[40] www.intemarketing.nl
[41] www.intemarketing.nl
[42] www.bol.com
[43] www.intemarketing.nl
[44] Appelman, M., van den Broek, A., Rapport Boek en Markt, p. 60.
[45] www.intemarketing.nl
[47]
See the text on French perception on Dutch cuisine
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