Company Introduction: Saxonville is a 70 years old company, which managed on family business principles.

Business has German origins 70 year old company. Its base of operations is located in Saxonville, Ohio. Its revenue for the year 2005 was 1.5 billion US Dollars. Case Summary: The product line is divided into four major products which are: Bratwurst 70% of total revenues

Breakfast Sausage 20% of total revenues

Italian Sausage (Vivio) 5% of total Revenue 9% growth in 2004 15% growth in 2005

Store Brand Products 5% of total Revenue

Company has perfect matching products with its core values. Sausages produced by saxonville cover all the meals consumed within a day. Problems Identified: Problems being encountered by organization are: Breakfast Sausage flat sales: sales for breakfast sausages have not grown in short term. Low Distribution of Vivio

Vivio is only covering 16% of supermarkets nationwide, only focusing its distribution in limited number of majors cities all over country. Product Differentiation

It is difficult for the customers to differentiate between the products as the company is producing three different kinds of sausages which makes it difficult for customers to decide upon which sausage to buy. German based Company selling Italian Sausages

There is major mismatch among the company origins and the product being sold. Saxonville sausage is of German origins while it is selling Italian sausages Threat of Cannibalization of own Products

In case Italian sausages gain market share in sausage market then it would mean that it is snatching share for other brands being offered by Saxonville. Four step research was implemented to find answers to prevailing problems. Six major potential Bases identified for positioning the brand through research were: Family Connections: Clever Cooking Confidence Appreciation Quick and Easy Tradition

Based upon research and focus groups the team come up with two best Alternative are: Family Connection Family connection emphases on aspect that all family members come together at meal times. In such condition mothers or female head of family plays major role in food choices and preferences. Clever Cooking Clever cooking focuses on versatility that sausage has a major range of ingredients. It also brings in the aspect of experimentation for food.

Best Fit based on Research: Research mentioned in the case opts for family connection. Family connections have in relevance with core values of company, which is that company is a family company. It is more inclined towards the cultural values. There are more opportunities to exploit this segment as emotional approach is a key influence. The major setback in family approach is that it is unrelated to past positioning. Best fit According to us: We prefer upon clever cooking approach as it is time saving. Time saving is an advantage which most of the consumers seek now a days. Such implications also allow to cover large markets. Time saving is a quality which can bring the products in competition to other ready to cook foods. Sausage being a versatile food item allows a person to experiment with different dishes using a limited ingredients. Products attributes are much more defined and it is in relation to past positioning of the product.