Published client case · retail research
Turn customer differences into a clearer brand and offer.
For a grocery retailer, Arcus conducted an attitude-and-usage study and supported brand, positioning and strategy workshops with senior management and external stakeholders. The assignment explored growth opportunities around emerging cuisines and different approaches to food preparation.
This historical account was published in 2015. The client remains unnamed, and the findings below describe that engagement rather than today’s food market.
Before committing the investment
01 What was the management question?
02 What evidence did the engagement produce?
03 Which decisions followed from the findings?
The commercial question
The retailer needed to identify new growth directions. The research explored how convenience, interest in new cuisines and preferences for home preparation could inform a brand proposition and product concepts.
The original account linked its findings to changing time pressures, exposure to different cuisines and willingness to experiment. These were interpretations in the historical study, not a current forecast.
What Arcus did
The engagement combined qualitative and quantitative customer research with an attitude-and-usage study. Brand and positioning workshops brought senior management and external stakeholder perspectives into the strategic discussion.
The work identified three customer segments and used the findings to develop a new brand platform and business strategy. Marketing concepts were subsequently tested with customers and prospects.
The three segments reported in the case
These are the original case’s reported shares. The source account does not publish sample size, fieldwork dates or sampling details, so the percentages should not be used as estimates of the current Canadian market.
Convenience seekers · 35%
Benefit: convenience. The original concept label was “Food is Fuel.”
Traditionals · 32%
Benefit: authentic, made at home. The original concept label was “Scratch cookers.”
Adventurers · 33%
Benefit: new cuisine. The original concept label was “Eat out often.”
Research-to-offer decision framework
An Arcus management discussion framework. Use it to agree the decision, evidence and practical next step before commissioning a study.
Need
What matters to the customer, and in which situation?
Segment
Which differences are meaningful enough to change the offer?
Proposition
What benefit should the brand promise and deliver?
Test
How should customers and prospects assess the concept before a larger commitment?
Reported output and management value
The published result is a brand platform and business strategy followed by concept testing. It does not report a measured revenue increase, market-share gain or return on investment.
The case illustrates how research can connect customer differences with strategic choices. For a new engagement, the practical question is whether the proposed segments lead to offers the organization can reach, deliver and test.
Apply the question to your own business
Market research consulting · Customer research and segmentation · More growth and strategy client accounts
If you are reviewing a brand or product offer, tell us what decision is pending and what you know about your customers. We can discuss a proportionate research and strategy engagement.