To design, conduct and report on a marketing research project of your choice - Essay Example

Red Bull Vs Euro shopper The energy drink market was largely dominated by Gatorade before the arrival of Red Bull, in 1997. This new product was marketed strategically and withstood initial concerns about its safety and composition to become the world’s largest energy drink by sales. In 2011, more that 4 billion cans of Red Bull were consumed worldwide (Jonny n.d). However, dominant as Red Bull has been, it shares the energy drink market with other competitors, among them, Euroshopper. Despite its small market share in comparison with Red Bull, Euro shopper has adopted its own approach to marketing: thus, possessing its own legitimate claims to glory.

This paper seeks to find out what magic formula Red Bull has, making its competitors trail in its wake as well as the approach taken by Euroshopper to brand awareness. Apart from answering the two questions, this paper shall also seek to compare the above two products based on; taste, price, energy difference and their core markets.Red Bull is synonymous with the energy drink market. It is encountered in action sport. From the Red Bull air race, to the Red Bull cliff diving championship and even the Red Bull formula 1 team.

It is keen to live up to its reputation as a drink that ‘gives you Wings’. As a result, brand awareness of Red Bull is vast among its fans (Jonny n.d). The taste of Red Bull is distinct from those of other products in the energy drink market. The same way Coca Cola is distinguishable from all other ‘Colas’ in the soft drinks market. On the other hand, the taste of Euroshopper has variously been referred to as ‘bitter’ and ‘not smooth’. This scenario calls for blind folding. Blind fold testing has been dismissed by critics as belonging to the ‘blind consumer,’ but its continued usage reliability can not be ignored.

It is partly down to this distinct taste that Red Bull has kept its hold of the market (Mintel Press Release, 2011).The way both companies approach pricing leaves a lot to be desired. Red Bull charges a premium price for its product. Its high prices are necessitated by brand association. On the contrary, Euro shopper charges much lower prices for its product, precisely a third of what an equivalent amount of Red Bull costs. This is also a reasonable step since customers are never ready to pay expensively for a new product which they are not familiar with.

Red Bull is better value for money, in terms of the energy levels that its products guarantee. Euroshopper is not far behind, but still the deficit is palpable when compared to its more illustrious competitor. The immense energy promise of Red Bull popularizes it among teenagers, especially college students. These consumers prefer it because of it is capable of inducing a drunken stupor. Euroshopper, even as its name might suggest is for the frail that might need greater energy levels during tiring shopping expeditions (Mintel Reports Energy Drinks Not ‘Jolting’ Consumers 2010).

Concerning concentration, performance and reaction speed, its worth noting that all energy drinks contain caffeine and taurine. There is an increase in stimulant levels in all energy drinks in order to meet the market’s energy demands. With these increases comes even better performance. However, these improved performances come with several caveats. Research has revealed that concentrated energy drinks are health risks to the consumers (Gunja & Brown 2012). In that light, let us hope this competition among energy drink companies does not affect consumers negatively.

ReferencesGunja, N & Brown, J 2012, “Energy drinks: health risks and toxicity,” Medical Journal of Australia, vol.196, no.1, viewed 12 April 2012 https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2012/196/1/energy-drinks-health-risks-and-toxicityJonny, F n.d. “Are energy drinks the key to understanding the younger consumer?” Mintel (Online), accessed 12 April 2012 from http://www.mintel.com/blog/energy-drinks-key-understanding-younger-consumerMintel Reports Energy Drinks Not ‘Jolting’ Consumers, 2010, Natural Products Insider (Online), 12 April 2012 from http://www.

naturalproductsinsider.com/news/2010/08/mintel-reports-energy-drinks-not-jolting-consumer.aspxMintel Press Release, 2009, Energy drinks ingredients continue down unhealthy path (Online), 12 April 2012 from http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/386/energy-drink-ingredients-continue-down-unhealthy-pathMintel Press Release, 2011, Generation Zzz: younger consumers kept awake by energy drinks (Online), 12 April 2012 from http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/763/generation-zzz-younger-consumers-kept-awake-by-energy-drinks