Chapter
Nine: Research Development
9.1. Marketplace Research
Figure 9 Stickhouse at Sunway Pyramid branch
Figure 10 Stickhouse at Citta Mall branch
Figure 11 Stickhouse at Setia Mall branch
9.1.1. Outlet
Visit
In order to collect information
about the outlet, I have performed a visit to Stickhouse. Information such as
the type of flavors, servings, atmosphere and surrounding feeling has been
observed precisely in order to study the concept behind the brand.
9.1.2.Outlet
Concept
Stickhouse outlet in Sunway
Pyramid is believed to be the main outlet as it is the first branch opened in
Malaysia. The location of Stickhouse is very strategic in a sense that it is
situated at the lower ground floor 2 which is just above the ice skate rink. It
is right beside the staircase that leads people down to the ice skate rink. Stickhouse
is centralized amongst other shops in which allow it to shine as an
eye-catching place to relax and have a break. There is also a big signboard of
their logo and brand name at the top of ksiok that stands out when passing by.
Through my observation, the
location where Stickhouse is placed in is brilliant to reach many consumers. Customers who
often drop by at Stickhouse are those whether to go up shopping, or just finish
skate and want to have a break. On the plus side, those who intend to go upper
floor to shop or eat would generally have to take the escalator up, where by
Stickhouse is situated in front of them.
Figure 12
Side profile of Stickhouse at Sunway Pyramid. Advertisement on the healthy
ingredients used is on the side. Staircase that leads people down to skate rink
is just located right beside Stickhouse.
The concept of the outlet doesn’t
reflect much on its brand. This is one of the weaknesses of the brand; and
through my interview I found out that people misheard it and thought it is a
Steakhouse for steak lovers for those who never heard of Stickhouse before.
Another weakness of Stickhouse is probably the
sitting area at Sunway Pyramid, most people thought it does not provide tables
and chairs for the customers. However, they do have tables and chairs hidden behind the ksiok. The area for
the customer to sit down and relax is small and too hidden, which can fit in
less than 15 people.
A
B
C
D
Figure
13 (From top to bottom):
A ) Customers can watch people
skate from above. I approached the 2 malay guys and ask them question about
Stickhouse.
B ) Tables and chairs hidden
behind the ksiok.
C ) Go around and approached the
customers to ask them to fill in my survey form.
D ) Customers can see the process
of preparing Stickhouse from behind the
ksiok where tables and chairs are located at.
9.1.3. Product
Observation
During my visit to the outlet, I
tried out the Stickhouse gelato. At the same time,I observed the placementand
arrangement of their products and how they were displayed. Different flavors
were displayed in a horizontal position in a transparent glass. At a glance –
there were about 20 flavors to choose from that were very attention grabbing,
bright and colorful.
Figure 14 There were 2 glass box
consists the 2 range, which is classic and premium.
Figure 15- Classic price is RM 6.90
without adding any topping and dipping.
-Premium price is RM RM 8.90 without
adding any topping and dipping.
-There is also mini size available for
the kids or customer with smaller appetite which is RM 4.90
Figure 16 There is about 20 flavors to
choose from. The gelato and sorbet are arranged stick by stick.
Figure 17 Stickhouse gelato serving.The
gelato is served on a stick which is then put in a paper tray.
Figure 18 Stickhouse gelatos allow
customization: full dippings(RM2), half dippings( RM1), full toppings (RM2)and
half toppings(RM 1).
Figure 19 they have 3 dippings choice
which is dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate.
Figure 20 they have 3 toppings choice
which is almond, hazelnut and pistachio grain.
Figure 21 Gelato making machine.
Figure 22 preparing the gelato.
Figure 23 Gelato frozen into stick.
Figure 24 Stickhouse gelato serving. The
gelato is served on a stick which is then put in a paper tray.
Besides that, they also display
their Menu items on the front counter .On the plus side, they also offer mineral
Water and other types of drinks including Espresso, cappuccino latte and long
black.
Figure 25 Stickhouse’s beverage menu.
9.2. Market Observation
In order to do a market
observation, the numbers of customers that purchase gelatos at Stickhouse are
recorded for the day between the hours of 11am to 7pm. The customers who visit
the outlet vary from children, teenagers, professionals and families.
I went there for twice, one is on
weekday, and another one is on weekend. The number of customer on weekend is
more compared on weekday. So, I decided to record the result on weekend only.
9.3. Online Survey
An online survey was conducted on
the 14th of July 2012 until 16th of July 2011with a total of 103 respondents.
The survey aims to investigate the level of awareness of consumers on the
Stickhouse brand and their benefits, consumer’s thoughts and opinions on different
brands of ice cream as well as the area that could possibly be improvised in
order to strengthen the brand image of Stickhouse.
i. Part 1:
Consumer Profile
1. What is your gender?
· Female (52 50%)
· Male (51 50%)
2. What is your age group?
· 13 – 17 years old (10 10%)
· 18 – 23 years old (69 67%)
· 24 – 29 years old (20 19%)
· 30 and above ( 4 4% )
3. What is your income/salary?
· RM100 – RM500 (53 51%)
· RM500 – RM1,500 (25 24%)
· RM1,500 – RM3,000 (18 17%)
· RM3,000 and above ( 9 9%)
4. Where do you live?
· Within Selangor & Kuala
Lumpur (89 86%)
· Outside of Selangor & Kuala
Lumpur (16 16%)
ii. Part
2:General understanding of Ice Cream
5. Are you a fan of ice cream?
· Yes (77 75%)
· No (26 25%)
6. How often do you eat ice
cream?
· Once in a week (18 17%)
· Several times in a week (14 14%)
· Once a month (20 19%)
· Several times in a month (35 34%)
· Once every few month (18 17%)
7. What is your favorite brand?
·Baskin Robbins (44 43%)
Häagen-Dazs Walls (35 34%)
· Tutti Fruity (21 20%)
-Stickhouse (8 8%)
· Others (please state):
New Zealand Natural Ice Cream,
Lecka-lecka gelato,other gelato brand and etc. ( 29 28%)
|
8. Why do you
eat ice cream? (Give your reason)
Question 8 explores the
reasons why consumers eat ice cream. Based on the 103 respondents, a majority
have mentioned that they consume ice cream because they love the taste of ice
cream and the pleasure that it brings to them. Their reason is a matter of enjoyment
and because they just love it. The second highest mentioned reason is the
weather in Malaysia. Respondents said the due to the hot and dry weather, they
feel the urge to want to eat ice creams to cool themselves down.Besides that,
several respondents consume ice cream because it makes them feel happy and it
changes their mood from sad to happy or to de-stress
9. What points do you consider
when buying an ice cream? (select more than one answer)
· Brand
· Taste & flavors
· Quantity of ice cream
· Price range
· Ingredients used
· Advertising & promotion
· Attractiveness of packaging
Question 9 investigates the
point’s consumers take into consideration before buying. The taste and flavors play the biggest role
in getting consumers to buy ice cream with 85%. The price range (61%) is also
an issue to be taken into consideration for them before purchasing an ice
cream.Other points that are taken into consideration are the quantity of ice
cream(31%), the brand (26%) ,the ingredients used (22%),the attractiveness of
packaging (17%) and the least they care is the advertising and promotion (14%).
10. Which is the ideal price
range of ice cream you will spend on?
· RM3 – RM6
· RM7 – RM12
· RM13 – RM 25
According to question 10, the
most ideal price to purchase an ice cream to consumers is of the range of
RM3-RM6 with 56% of respondents. This shows that consumers do not want to overspend
money on ice creams among other things. 38% voted that RM7-RM12 is a fair price
and only 6% are willing to spend RM13-RM25 for an ice cream.
11. Do you think ice creams are
healthy?
· Strongly agree
· Agree
· Neutral
· Disagree
· Strongly disagree
Question 11 is to investigate
whether or not consumers think ice creams are healthy. Based on the votes, 63%
of the respondents prefer to remain neutral to this question and not have a say
to whether or not it is healthy. 21% disagrees by saying its unhealthy and 10%
says it’s healthy. 1% voted strongly agrees and 5% voted strongly disagree.
12. Are you familiar with
healthier choice of ice creams?
· Yes
· No
60% respondents claimed that they
are not familiar with healthier choice of
ice creams. This explains why the sales for healthier ice cream such as sorbet, gelato and frozen
yoghurt are somewhat slower compared to normal ice creams.Only 41% respondents are familiar
with healthy selection of ice creams.
iii. Part 3:
Stickhouse Brand Awareness
13. Have you heard of Stickhouse?
-Yes (34 33%)
-No (69 67%)
14. How did you hear about it?
· Print media (magazines,
newspaper, flyer, etc)
· Digital Media (social network,
online promotion, blog reviews, etc)
· Recommendation from friends
& families
· I have never heard of it
According to question 13 and 14,
67% of the respondents do not know Stickhouse and only 33% are familiar with
it. Based on that, 62% says they have never heard of it before. This probably
because Stickhouse is still very new in the market.17% said they learnt about
Stickhouse from recommendations through friends and family. 17% knew about it
through digital media – Stickhouse has put a lot of effort on online promotions
and discounts.They focus on facebook as well; as in currently their facebook
page has around 19,000 fans. 8% found out about it through print medias such as
magazines and flyers.
15. Are you aware of the health
benefits of Stickhouse?
-Yes (16 16%)
-No (87 84%)
16. Do you know that Stickhouse have flavors suitable for people who are intolerant to
gluten, lactose and sugar?
-Yes (9 9%)
-No (94 91%)
17. In your experience, please rate the quality of
Stickhouse. (for people who had tried Stickhouse before.)
· Poor
· Average
· Good
Based on the question 15, 16, and 17, it is learnt that 84% of the respondents do not know
about the benefits of Stickhouse. This could probably because of the weak
emphasis on the brand image. Only 16% knows the distinct advantages of their
gelato ice cream. However, in this 16% of those who aware of the health benefits
of stickhouse,only 9%know that Stickhouse have flavors that are suitable for
those who are intolerant to gluten, sugar and lactose. According to those who
have tried Stickhouse 9% rates
Lecka-lecka on average based on its quality. 14% rated that the quality is good and only no one rated
poor.However, 78% said they have never try Stickhouse before. This is because
Stickhouse still very new in the market which is already occupied with a lot of
stronger brand ice cream,gelato,sorbet and frozen yogurt. With this in mind, Stickhouse
could attempt on improving their brand.
18. If given an option, which part of Stickhouse do
you want to see improvement on?
· Advertisement & promotion
· Packaging
· More flavors
· Number of outlets
It is understood that 67% of the respondents think the lack of advertising and promotion is the
reason to why not many know about Stickhouse.49% thinks that Stickhouse should
increase more of the outlets because Stickhouse only got 3 branches in Malaysia
now and all of these branches are concentrated at Klang Valley area. 22% thinks the flavors could also be a factor, 10%
thinks Stickhouse should improve on the packaging design.
19. Based on your experience so far, will you return
for more Stickhouse? (for people who had tried Stickhouse before)
· Yes (17 17%)
· No (5 5%)
· No idea, because I've never try Stickhouse before. (81 79%)
20. Based on your understanding so far, will you
want to try Stickhouse? (for unfamiliar customers)
· Yes (91 88%)
· No (12 12%)
iv. Part 4:
Lifestyle Views
21. Are you conscious about the
type of food you eat that involves your health?
· Yes (81 79%)
· No (22 21%)
22. If given an option, which ice
cream do you prefer?
· Normal ice cream
· Healthy ice cream
Question 21 investigates whether
consumers are health conscious about the food they eat or not.79% of the respondents agreed
that they were mindful about the type of food they eat. 21% voted otherwise. Question 22 proves
that 74% of the respondents would prefer to go for healthy ice cream than normal ice cream
(27%). This explains that many consumers are most likely to be health-conscious as they would
rather not eat food that would affect their health.
23. Does the choice of ice cream reflect your lifestyle?
- Yes
- No
As refered to question 23, 49% of
the respondents of this survey have disagreed to the idea in which the choices
of ice cream they eat reflect their lifestyle. However, 51% agreed that the
choice of ice cream they select shows their way of living. This would somewhat
explain if a person choose to eat healthy ice cream, they are probably
health-conscious.
24. Among all ice cream packaging, which one do you think is the most visually attractive without paying attention to the brand name?
· Baskin Robbins
· Häagen-Dazs
· Walls
· Stickhouse
· Tutti Fruity
· Others (please state): __________________
Question 24 looks into the
consumers perception on which ice cream packaging is the most eye-catching. 53%
of the respondents choose Baskin Robbins to have the most appealing
packaging.Häagen-Dazs comes in second with 39% to have the best packaging as
voted. 23% voted for Tutti-Fruity.The rest are Walls (17%), Stickhouse (3%) and
others (4%) have mentioned New Zealand Ice cream,Lecka-lecka,Nestle and etc.
9.3.2. Survey Conclusion
Based on the results of the
survey, it is understood that the brand awareness level of Stickhouse is relatively low and needs to be
enhanced on in order to increase customer visits and business sales. It can be
noted that majority of the consumers prefer to enjoy a healthy ice cream which gives Stickhouse an
opportunity to draw customers through their unfailing guarantee of serving healthy gelato.
Promotions and creative advertising also play a huge role in capturing the mass audience to bring them
closer to the brand – Stickhouse to some extend is behind that at this point in
time. With this, improvements can be made so as to expand Stickhouse as an ice
cream brand through better promotional strategies in the future.
9.4. Interview
The interview approach taken was
through email and message in facebook.
Figure 26 Facebook message.
Figure 28 Stickhouse official website.
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