Segmentation and Target Market Paper

Segmentation and Target Market Paper

Saeed Abdul-Karim

MKT/571

November 20, 2015

Professor JOHN DEWEY

Segmentation and Target Market Paper

     Founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Ben and Jerry's is an ice cream company headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. The ice cream company is currently a division of Unilever, a consumer goods company of English and Dutch origin. Ben and Jerry's not only produce ice cream, but also sorbet, frozen yogurt, and other ice cream related products. The beloved company is very successful at producing and marketing their high end gourmet ice cream products. Owner, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield believe in putting the customer first and never abandoning their personal values, created a company that can cater to consumers from any background.

     The company has three core sub-missions,(their product mission, their economic mission, and their social mission) that make up their overall company mission. Their product mission aims 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)."

     Ben and Jerry's is the first subsidiary of a publicly traded company to become a B-corp (Benefit Corporation), which legally allowed to consider social good in conjunction with stakeholder concern when making business decisions.  “Ben and Jerry's was one of the first companies to put social responsibility on the same level of importance as creating wonderful products and maintaining an economically viable company. The company supports genetically modified (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).

     A majority of businesses in the United States focus solely on profits and growth, with little concern for social responsibility. Ben and Jerry’s place an emphasis on social justice and equality as well as market to all age, gender, race and everyone that loves ice cream and dreams of a better world. However, the company does identify with specific demographics that it focuses on in regards to maximizing sells. The target age group is 18 to 25, which account for almost 70% of customers, followed be ages 26 to 40, at 20%. Caucasians is the largest race when it comes to the most likely to purchase Ben and Jerry's, at around 60% customer base, while Asians and African Americans are tied for second at 16%. Ben and Jerry's have approximately 450 Scoop Shops domestically, with an additional 150 plus shops internationally across North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia (Kottary, 2013).