Segmentation and Target Market Paper

Segmentation and Target Market Paper

MKT/571

January 11, 2015

Dr. John Kautenberger

Segmentation and Target Market Paper: Ben and Jerry's

Ben and Jerry's is an ice cream company founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield and is headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. The ice cream company is currently a division of Unilever, a consumer goods company of English and Dutch origin. Though Ben and Jerry's produces ice cream, it also produces frozen yogurt, sorbet, and other ice cream related products. Ben and Jerry's is highly successful at producing and marketing their high end dairy based desert products and are a beloved company by many. Strongly believing in putting the customer first and never abandoning their values, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield created a company that can cater to any consumer.

Market Segmentation: Demographics and the Target Market

        Ben and Jerry's company mission consists of three core sub-missions; product, economic, and social missions. The product mission target is to create ice cream, "with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment (Values, 2014)," while their economic mission and their social mission is to sustainably operate the business while, "expanding opportunities for development and career growth (Values, 2014)," for employees and to maintain a value and ethics oriented company by, "initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and internationally (Values, 2014)."

        The company is a certified B-corp (short for Benefit Corporation), which is a company that abides by standards of, "social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency (B-Lab, 2014)." Ben and Jerry's was one of the first companies that equaled social responsibility in level of importance with creating wonderful products and maintaining an economically viable company. The company supports GMO labeling, runs their business as a green company with an emphasis on climate justice, community development and peace building, marriage equality, opposes corporate political sponsorship, believes in utilizing Fair Trade goods, and refuses to use bovine growth hormone in their products (Issues We Care About, 2014).

        Due to the company's emphasis on social justice and equality, Ben and Jerry's markets to anyone and everyone that loves ice cream and believes in creating a better world. However, the company does have consistent demographics that it tends to sell its products to the most. In terms of age, almost 70% of customers are between the ages of 18 and 25, with the second largest age group being people aged 26 to 40, at 20%. Caucasians are also more likely to purchase Ben and Jerry's, making up 60% of the customer base, while African Americans and Asians are tied for second with each at 16%. Ben and Jerry's has approximately 450 Scoop Shops domestically, with an additional 150 plus shops internationally across North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia (Kottary, 2013).