executive summary

08 Jul executive summary

In the past several decades, the beverage market has expanded and water-based drinks have grown rapidly. There are many types of water based beverages, but the recent health trend has sparked availability and variety, leading the market to become more competitive. Verday, a new drink entering the market, is a water based beverage that contains chlorophyll. It is the first drink of its kind currently for sale, and tout’s numerous health benefits. It is interesting that the drink has the same green color though with different flavors. Verday is healthy and natural as it has neither calories nor artificial sweeteners. The drink is beneficial for people since it promotes weight control, hydration, and digestion. The Verday website explains that “The powerful antioxidant and cleansing properties of chlorophyll have made it a favorite among leading wellness experts and healthy active consumers for generations” showing that chlorophyll can have a major positive impact on people’s lives. To find out people’s knowledge about and attitudes towards Verday chlorophyll water, we conducted primary research including individual depth interviews, a focus group and online survey to gain both qualitative and quantitative data about consumer preferences. This research would allow us to gain a better understanding of potential Verday consumers and recognize Verday’s ideal target market.

Interview Analysis

Our group conducted ten one-on-one interviews; we interviewed 5 Asian, 3 Hispanic/Latino, and 2 white people, mostly females, with ages ranging from 20 to 23. We found it interesting that almost all the races have not heard about chlorophyll water, and almost all races except one white person are not aware that chlorophyll water helps in digestion. That same 21-year-old female knows the benefits of chlorophyll water, which she believes helps in digestion. However, she has never tested it so she cannot say for sure whether those benefits exist. The respondents across ethnic groups and ages agree that they would consider purchasing it if they heard of a beverage that provides healthy skin, better digestion, curbs hunger, boosts your immune system, and is an antioxidant. For the same product, most of our Asian respondents are willing to pay up to $10, while others are willing to pay something below $5. We found the opposite from our Hispanic and white respondents who would prefer to pay below $2 for the same product. From our responses, we found that white people spend more time exercising with one respondent exercising up to 6 times a week. Most of the Asian respondents exercise frequently, maintaining 2-3 days of exercise per week. Nearly all the respondents agree that they eat healthy. One thing that is quite noticeable to us is that interviewee #10 who knows the benefits of chlorophyll water exercises 5-6 times a week and implements healthy eating already. This implicates that those who value healthy eating habits and exercise have a higher chance of drinking Verday.

One of the interviewees argues that it is hard for her to find a healthy balance in her meals and she prefers a mix of good food and exercise but can be difficult. When the respondents are shown images of Verday, most of them believe that the drink is topical and is of strawberry flavor. Some think it has watermelon or blueberry flavor. Others fail to recognize its flavor. Almost all the respondents were willing to try it except for one Hispanic. In conclusion, the perception of the products varies along the demographic lines. It is evident that most of those interviewed have not heard about the product. Therefore, it is very essential to create brand awareness across all the demographic groups to increase their knowledge and use on the product. Majority of the respondents were not aware of the benefits of chlorophyll water therefore an increase in awareness on its importance has the potential impact of increasing the market for the product. Marketing strategies need to be specific to the target market to appeal to them. From the interviews, most the participants valued the importance of exercising and they reported to be engaged in it; the females reported that they engage in physical exercise frequently and are conscious about what they eat. This implies that there is a rising trend of living a healthy life among young people. Thus, the market potential for promoting Verday as a natural and healthy product is considerable.

Focus Group Analysis

Instead of doing just a one-on-one interview, we decided to complement that by conducting a focus group to try and encapsulate in a better way what do people really think about the product. We wanted to see if there was a decided difference in responses due to bias or group think. We had six participants from different backgrounds talking about chlorophyll water. We tried to obtain a better understanding of what is the people’s perception of the product and the reactions they had upon hearing the opinion of other and the effect it had on theirs.

The focus group took place in a very relaxed and friendly environment, with two members of the group partaking on it, one as the moderator and the other one as an external observer that will help with the recollection of the information as well as and eventually corroborate what the moderator obtained during the several questions as well. We began with a small round with a brief introduction from everyone as each one of them tried to explain what they thought the focus group was about. Due to the general lack of knowledge regarding the topic of the chlorophyll water, we decided that the style of the focus group would be more conversation and free flowing between the participants than usual, especially in regards to the questions asked, as they were open ended and anyone could jump in and complement what the other was saying. By letting the participants do most of the talking, we were in a better position to appreciate what they thought about the product and Verday in general, while covering the lack of information they had.

There were several key findings that we could identify through the almost hour-long focus group we held. At the beginning of the research we saw that there was a general negative connotation against chlorophyll water since it is not one of the conventional or more traditional beverage options that we have grown accustom to enjoy and love over time. We saw how this was slowly changed throughout the process, with what we consider in the end to be a more acceptable and favorable approach to the idea of considering chlorophyll water.

There can be two reasons as to why this happen, the first one can be linked to the undoubtedly great quality of the product and its benefits, by learning about it they realize that despite not knowing anything about it before, it is a product that they will consider among their purchase options in the future. The second one might be due to the influence that some of the answers given by participants may have had on the others, making their consequent replies more likely to be along the lines of such, instead of their original point of view regarding the product.

Moreover, another interesting thing that we could note was the price-point that the participants suggested they were willing to pay, it was mainly along the lines of how Verday has marked up their product, meaning that, at least with millennials, they have been able to resonate in that aspect. It will still be very interesting to see how older generations value the product in monetary terms.

Diving into more specifics about the habits and routines of the participants, we can see there is a clear correlation between their efforts in eating healthy and exercising with their eagerness to try or purchase Verday chlorophyll water. Despite being a minimal, almost non-existent, sample size it may be useful as a clear indicator of what exactly the target demographic should the marketing efforts target. We a product that have so many health benefits, it is essential that one segment start using it regularly and the value of it would communicate by word of mouth, reaching a much wider audience than what Verday can achieve by their own means. As we can see from the change of perspective that some of the participants had from the start of the focus group, in comparison to the end, there is a lot of potential for it.

Finally, from what we were able to compile from this specific type of primary data, there are several things that are worth noting that can help us to better understand the way to market chlorophyll water to the intended audience and how to do it a more efficient way. First, there is a lack of brand recognition in terms of the name Verday, making it difficult for people to associate it with the product that they are selling, as shown by the results that no one have heard of it before. It is imperative for the company to enhance the name of their brand and start to get it out there, in hopes that people become more familiar with it. On the other hand, they need to find a better way to communicate two important aspects of their value: the taste and the benefits of the product. In terms of the taste, the different flavors are a great start, but chlorophyll water does not sound very tempting for people and there were concerns raised about whether you can convince people that it tastes better than the many other products that are part of the oversaturated beverages market. Meanwhile, for the benefits, they should be the driving force of the marketing campaign. They should be associated not only to chlorophyll water, but to Verday as a brand. It is essential that they are able to communicate better such values and educate people as they are getting much more than just a simple drink.

Survey Analysis

Our group chose to also conduct an online survey to add to our primary research on Verday. We decided upon a survey to try and reach as many people as we could online to build from the progress we had made with our focus groups. We created a brief eleven question survey of which we then sent out on various social media platforms, as well as personally reached out to friends and family. Because online surveys are cheap, provoke more honest responses, are easy to use, and can reach a larger number of people than focus groups can, we wanted to make sure to integrate one into our primary research. Our group also included demographic questions in order to get a better grasp on which types of consumers knew about chlorophyll or Verday, and which segments did not. We had 28 respondents, primarily of 18-25 year olds so our finding applies to the millennial generation specifically.

As mentioned beforehand, our team asked eleven questions to each participant to try and gauge which consumer segments should be more heavily targeted in the marketing plan. Although this is somewhat of a new trend, when asked if they had heard of chlorophyll water, an overwhelming 78.6% said they had heard of it–which is great news for the Verday brand. The respondents were then asked if they were aware of all the health benefits of drinking chlorophyll water, to which over 85% of participants had. We directly followed this up by asking the participants if they had ever heard of the brand Verday. Nearly 93% of respondents said that they haven’t heard of the brand, which shows just how much more this brand can really grow. We also found that our participants were majorly Caucasian females between the ages of 18-25 who exercised usually 1-2 days a week and ate either ate healthy all the time, or some of the time.

While most of our survey responses were clearly divided, when asked how much they would be willing to spend on a bottle of Verday, the participants majorly varied in their answers. It is clear by looking at Figure 1, that the pie is evenly divided, with participants willing to pay anywhere from less than $1 to $5. However, the $2-$2.99 segment took the majority by just a few percentage points at 28.6%. After analyzing our survey responses, we were very pleased with the awareness surrounding chlorophyll and its health benefits and the overwhelming interest in trying the product. With this information, we can better design our marketing program–focusing less on selling the health benefits of the water, and focusing more on getting the Verday brand out there and positioned in the mind of the consumers. Being the only chlorophyll water drink in this saturated beverage market, we can take these results and market the product so that Verday is left in the evoked set of the target consumer’s mind.

Conclusion

In our primary research, we focused on college millennials to find out their overall perceptions of chlorophyll water and Verday. We conducted ten in-depth interviews, one focus group, and a survey with twenty-eight respondents to find a widespread opinion. There were clearly identifiable trends among our participants, and they are quite promising for Verday. Initially, our participants did not know about chlorophyll water or Verday. However, college millennials are very interested in the idea of healthy living, and try to incorporate it into their daily lives. The majority of respondents said that they practice healthy eating and exercise at least one or more times a week, indicating that they are receptive to products that promote healthy lifestyles. This was proved once almost all our participants said they would be interested in trying Verday after hearing about the benefits of chlorophyll water. They were largely unaware of what chlorophyll water is or how it can benefit the drinker, but upon hearing the description from the Verday website they wanted to learn more.

There was no real consensus on how much people would be willing to pay for Verday based on a product description alone, but the general price people felt appropriate is between $2-$5. Since it is a healthy beverage, many respondents indicated that they expected to pay a premium for it and would be willing to do so if it delivered on the benefits. We were hoping to find a relationship between healthy eating, frequency of exercise, and interest in Verday but we did not see a strong pattern emerge. Millennials on the whole are health conscious, so everyone we spoke to was interested in a health beverage regardless of how frequently they exercise or their diets. This is an opportunity for Verday because it means they do not solely have to focus on health markets, at least when it comes to millennials.

Upon seeing Verday, our respondents overwhelmingly felt that it looked like a healthy beverage. Many felt the label and shape of the bottle conveyed a healthy and natural image, and some even associated it being tropical or organic. They felt the green color sent a strong message and the shape of the bottle was interesting, and some said they would be curious to pick it up if they saw it in stores. There was a mixed response to the flavors, but many participants heard of at least one flavor they would be interested in trying. They also liked that it was paired with fruit flavors, because they thought it could complement or mask the taste of chlorophyll, and expressed that more fruit based flavors would entice them.

Appendix

I.

II. Focus Group/Interview questions:

1. Have you ever heard of chlorophyll water?

2. Are you aware of the benefits of drinking chlorophyll water?

3. If so, why you choose to drink it

4. Have you ever heard of Verday Chlorophyll Water?

5. If you heard of a beverage that provides healthy skin, better digestion, curbs hunger, boosts your immune system, and is an antioxidant, would you consider purchasing it?

6. How much would you pay for this product?

7. On average, how frequently do you exercise?

8. Would you say you eat healthy?

9. **show image of Verday** What do you think when you see this product?

10. Questions regarding the flavors

11. Would you be interested in trying it?

III. IDI Demographics

Interview	Age	Gender	Race
1.	21	Female	Asian
2.	21	Female	Asian
3.	22	Female	Asian
4.	22	Female	Asian
5.	22	Female	Asian
6.	20	Female	Hispanic/Latino
7.	20	Male	Hispanic/Latino
8.	21	Female	Hispanic/Latino
9.	23	Male	White
10.	21	Female	White

IV. IDI Transcripts

Interview #1:

1. No.

2. Do you turn into a plant? Nope.

3. N/A

4. No, but isn’t most chlorophyll green so isn’t putting Verday in front of it a moot point?

5. Sure, I feel like that sounds like tea. I suppose I buy green tea and it does a lot of things like that.

6. Not much, anything below 5 dollars. I’m imagining it in a bottled tea form.

7. On an average 2-3 times a week

8. Well, I made brownies last night, but generally yes. I’m not super conscious but I cook most of my meals.

9. It looks tropical, it doesn’t look like a typical healthy drink. Usually healthy drinks have people doing yoga or something on them.

10. I feel like no one makes blueberry flavored things, probably for a reason. But they sound like standard healthy options with the ginger and coconut.

11. Sure, I’d try it depending on price and accessibility.

Interview #2:

1. No.

2. No.

3. N/A

4. I have not.

5. Yes.

6. I think tops like $8.

7. 6 times a week.

8. Yes

9. I would think it’s healthy, very natural looking.

10. I would be intrigued by coconut but I don’t think I would like watermelon at all

11. Yes.

Interview #3:

1. No.

2. No.

3. N/A

4. No.

5. Yes, buy a lot.

6. Up to 10 dollars.

7. 5 times one week.

8. No.

9. Try it and taste.

10. Blueberry.

11. Good for skin and crusius.

Interview #4:

1. No.

2. No.

3. N/A

4. No.

5. Yes, buy a lot.

6. Up to 2.5 dollars.

7. Never.

8. No.

9. Non-interests because the bottle of color.

10. Watermelon.

11. Don’t want to try.

Interview #5:

1. No

2. I’ve never heard of such product before, but features like weight control, nutrition and hydration sound good to me. Because I don’t often have time to eat fruit and vegetables, I’d like to try a beverage that can provide vitamins and other essential nutrition I need. Also, I do care about my weight and fitness, so I’d like to try some harmless drink that can help me keep fit effortlessly.

3. N/A

4. No.

5. Yes. I think these features are awesome since they are all my concerns. Insufficient vitamins, water and sleep made my skin, immune system and digestion vulnerable, especially when I’m stressed out at school. So yes, I’d like to purchase a beverage as a solution.

6. $3. So far I haven’t tried this drink so I’m not sure about the effect. I think $3 would be a reasonable price for me to get a beverage with such functions. But if it works amazingly well on me, I’d love to pay more, perhaps up to $6.

7. I go to gym about 3 times a week, but I stopped during midterm/final weeks.

8. No. I know it’s necessary to eat healthy, but it’s really hard to balance my diet. I prefer meat, but I understand that I should consume more fruit and vegetables.

9. Healthy, because it’s green. Fresh, it has image of fruits. Sweet, the fruit look so nice. Fruity, it’s fruit and juice. Smart/fashion: the design is cool and I can imagine girls carrying the drink in a gym.

10. Personally, maybe blueberry and coconut. But if more flavors are introduced, I’d suggest strawberry and peach.

11. Yes, I’m interested. But for the first time to try a product, I’d consider the price. $3 would be acceptable.

Interview #6:

1. No, I have never heard of chlorophyll water.

2. No, I am not aware.

3. N/A.

4. No, I have not.

5. For the benefits that it provides definitely I would consider buying it. But I would need to see the price of it first. If it’s not too high, then I’d give it a shot since it seems to be really good for you.

6. I would pay $3-4; I’d hope it’d be cheaper but seeing as it is something healthy well I know coming in that it will be a little pricier.

7. On average, I exercise 2 to 3 times a week.

8. I try to when I can but being on a college budget and schedule in an expensive city, well the circumstances don’t lend themselves to be able to eat healthy all the time. I feel though, if this drink tastes good I would incorporate it into my diet as a sort of shortcut to getting the things my body needs.

9. I think of like a sports drink and because it’s green and has fruit on its packaging I think it’s healthy but I also hope that it doesn’t have kale in it. It’s a very attractive bottle and it’s well designed which makes me think that the creators of this juice know what they’re doing and that the juice will taste good and be good for me.

10. Well I personally don’t know what chlorophyll tastes like so saying cucumber and chlorophyll or coconut and chlorophyll doesn’t really mean much to me. I think the creators of this will definitely have to have some sort of explanation about chlorophyll and its taste because there must be other people out there that are unfamiliar. I think the fruit selection is good though, very healthy fruits. Maybe some other more mainstream fruits could be incorporated like orange or apple to appeal to a wider target market.

11. Even though I have no idea what chlorophyll tastes like, I would be interesting in trying it. Especially if I hear someone talk about it or if I look it up on social media and see people give it good ratings then I would definitely buy it.

Interview #7:

1. No. I know what it is chlorophyll, but I didn’t know there was a type of water from it.

2. I’ll probably take an educated guess and say it has some health benefits.

3. N/A

4. No.

5. Of course, why wouldn’t I. Sounds too good to be true though.

6. It depends, the size of the bottle and what is the taste. A little bit more than water I would guess would be a fair price given the benefits that you state.

7. Not very frequently, I would say more or less one or two days a week. I would say playing sports mainly, I don’t go for runs or go to the gym much.

8. Usually on weekdays I try to do so, but eating healthy on weekends is way too hard.

9. I see a new trendy product, trying to differentiate using a bottle with a weird shape.

10. Probably something strong, like cranberry that would make it taste better (he raise some suspicious given the green color and nature of the product)

Interview #8:

1. I don’t really know what chlorophyll water is.

2. I have no idea of the benefits, but green drinks tend to help with digestion.

3. N/A

4. No.

5. I would definitely purchase and consume this product on a regular basis.

6. I would pay between $3 to $5 dollars for this product.

7. I try to exercise very frequently; I think 3 to 4 days a week is a good estimate.

8. Yes, I consider my eating habits very healthy.

9. I see a green, organic and clean drink. It sparks my curiosity.

10. I would like tangerine and strawberry. Other options: jasmine, lemon and mint.

Interview #9

1. Yes, I recently found out about it.

2. Somewhat–something like it helps digestion.

3. I don’t.

4. No, I’m very new to Chlorophyll trend.

5. Yes.

6. Maximum 2 bucks.

7. Twice a week.

8. No.

9. Healthy.

10. Maybe strawberry kiwi.

11. Sure why not.

Interview #10

1. I’ve heard of adding chlorophyll to water from wellandgood.com which is a health and wellness blog

2. Yes, kind of, I’ve heard its detoxifying

3. I haven’t tried it yet but I’ve been meaning to

4. No, I haven’t

5. Yes, absolutely

6. Probably maximum $4 if it has all those health benefits

7. 5-6 times a week

8. Yes, 80% of the time

9. I think of a green juice, something healthy

10. Maybe pineapple because that’s usually added to green juice to hide the bitter flavor

11. Yes, definitely

V. Focus Group Transcript

Participant A: Austin, male, White/Caucasian, 23 years old

Participant B: Jaime, male, White/Caucasian, 23 years old

Participant C: Raquel, female, Hispanic/Latino, 21 years old

Participant D: Nick, male, White/Caucasian, 22 years old

Participant E: Daniel, male, Hispanic/Latino, 20 years old

Participant F: Laura, female, Hispanic/Latino, 18 years old

Do you guys remember what chlorophyll is?

Answers were a bit confusing at the end, between them all were able to put remember the actual definition of what chlorophyll is. From “the green thing in the plants” all the way to “what gives color to the leaves by absorbing light”.

Have you ever heard of chlorophyll water?

Four out six participants have never heard of chlorophyll water before. Participant A and C were the ones that actually have heard of chlorophyll water.

Are you aware of the benefits of drinking chlorophyll water?

This question caused a similar confusion to the participants, as the previous one. Some took wild guesses while other just did not. Only participant A was aware of such benefits defining them as “good for digestion among other healthy benefits”.

If so, why you choose to drink it:

Only participant A was applicable for this question, but he said he once tried a “homemade” type of chlorophyll water, following his mother recommendation but after a week or so desisted as he did not sort any noticeable effect on him.

Have you ever heard of Verday Chlorophyll Water?

Again, for this question the six participants did not know that Verday brand existed.

If you heard of a beverage that provides healthy skin, better digestion, curbs hunger, boosts your immune system, and is an antioxidant, would you consider purchasing it?

Five out of six participants had a positive response regarding the idea of acquiring this product. Participant B was conditional depending on the price of the product as he would not overspend to purchase it. Participant E was the only one that demonstrated a lack of interest for the benefits that chlorophyll water provides.

How much would you pay for this product?

Participant A: $4 to $5

Participant B: $1 to $2

Participant C: $3 to $4

Participant D: $2 to $3

Participant E: $1 to $2

Participant F: $3 to $4

On average, how frequently do you exercise?

Participant A: Everyday

Participant B: Don’t exercise frequently (play sports from time to time)

Participant C: 1 to 2 days a week

Participant D: During weekdays

Participant E: About five days a week

Participant F: Between 2 to 4 days a week

Would you say you eat healthy?

We received a mixed response to this category. Just one of them admitted that he does not eat healthy (Participant B). Three of them stated that they tend to have a healthier eating habit but they tend to enjoy a “cheat meal” from time to time. Participant C says that he eats healthy just during weekdays, while just one of them considers his diet to be very strict and healthy (Participant A).

What do you think when you see this product?

Four out of six find the design of the box very unorthodox and weird. One of them even said that they were trying to go with the “hipster” look in order to emphasize the “green and healthy movement” this was agreed upon the rest of the participants. The remaining two actually go the idea of it being a natural, organic product that was meant to highlight its chlorophyll content through the color of the bottle.

What will you think might be a good flavor combination?

This was a very interesting question, as we evidence that at the beginning they were not sure what flavors would mesh well with the chlorophyll water, especially given the misconception that it might be green and not very tasteful. There were several answers that we recorded from the brainstorming with one participant suggesting “something very strong to repel the bad taste of the chlorophyll” to other one just saying that “they should sell flavored drops so that you can experiment and mix the flavors to your own taste”. Afterwards, some concrete flavors that were suggested include “peppermint, coconut and some a mix of different fruits, like the V8 juices”.

VI. Survey Responses

(attached on following page)