Little Debbie wants to test marketing to higher-income households that do not currently buy their products. They will run campaigns in New Orleans and Knoxville focusing on messaging to convert these consumers before introducing incentives. The goal is to increase market share for Mini Muffins and build the Little Debbie brand. Research found competitors have owned the muffin category longer and parents buy the brands they grew up with. The campaign will position Mini Muffins as facilitating fun and convenience for busy families.

1. LITTLE DEBBIE $100K HH
MAY 2021

2. 2
THE ASSIGNMENT
Introduce a “test and learn” campaign specific to $100K+ households that are currently
NOT Little Debbie buyers (i.e., purchasers of LD competitors) in select markets to
understand what type of messaging and threshold it will take for this segment to convert.
The first phase of this test and learn campaign will be to see if it’s possible to convert this
segment solely on messaging before introducing any sort of incentive such as couponing
or sweepstakes.
OBJECTIVE
Create a stronger association between the Mini Muffins product and the Little Debbie
brand, converting non-Little Debbie buyers from $100K+ households of the ready-to-eat
muffins segment to buy Little Debbie, ultimately stealing and maintaining market share in
New Orleans and Knoxville.
HOW WE WILL ACHIEVE SUCCESS
• Establish brand linkage
• Determine if conversion is possible without incentive
• Capture how much ad spend is needed to convert non-Little Debbie buyers within
the $100K+ HHI segment of New Orleans and Knoxville
S
E
T
U
P

3. OUR GOAL
For Mini Muffins to lead in market share of ready-to-eat muffins, allowing
growth in brand linkage of Little Debbie to Mini Muffins products and
using them as the entry product to fully convert buyers of competitor
brands.

4. WHAT WE FOUND: AUDIENCE
• Majority of $100K+ households are dual-income, leaving less time for
parents to connect with their children.
• Parents tend to give their children the products they grew up with,
especially when it comes to food.
• Competitors in the ready-to-eat muffin segment, such as
Entenmann’s Little Bites (1999), have owned this product category
longer than Mini Muffins (2012).
• People ages 35-44 (parent-aged adults) indexed significantly higher
as being Entenmann’s ready-to-eat muffin buyers than Little Debbie
and Hostess purchasers.

5. WHY THE MUFFIN CATEGORY
• Little Debbie has above average ACV and overall comparative market
share in both Knoxville and New Orleans, but low subcategory market
share (33%) for mini muffins.
• Competitor Entenmann’s Little Bites has +20% market share in the
muffin subcategory. Compared to other products, Mini Muffins
subcategory has the highest room for Little Debbie to steal share in
Knoxville and New Orleans.
• Millennial parents who work full time index 33 points higher and
millennial parents in the $100K+ HHI segment index 59 points higher as
buying Entenmann’s Little Bites in the past six months than Little Debbie
Mini Muffins.

6. Parents give their kids the products they grew up with or are more
familiar with, especially when it comes to food.
For Mini Muffins versus competitors, there is low product awareness
and brand linkage due to competitors owning this product category for
longer. With Entenmann’s Little Bites coming into the market in 1999,
the product was able to assimilate into the childhoods of our millennial
audiences.
WHAT WE NEED TO SOLVE

7. When time is limited, parents gravitate toward the familiar while
also desiring to create new traditions that give their children the
same sense of excitement and adventure their own childhoods
embodied.
THE INSIGHT

8. While Entenmann’s owns familiarity, we have an opportunity to own
convenience and fun…
We must prove how Mini Muffins are THE facilitator of fun and
convenience for families, jump-starting a new way for them to have
memorable mornings.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO

9. Little Debbie Mini Muffins give time back to families even in the
most hectic of days for more moments of fun.
Parents have a lot going on. So “Little Debbie Mini Muffins give time
back to families even in the most hectic of days for more moments of
fun” speaks to Little Debbie’s ability to reduce food preparation time and
give more time for imagination and the creation of traditions.
MESSAGE TO PARENTS:

10. Inspire moments of fun.
Little Debbie jump-starts mornings for more moments of fun – mini or large.
Audience Strategy: Emphasize Little Debbie Mini Muffins as a catalyst for memory-making through time-saving.
Create convenience.
Little Debbie minimizes morning stress, allowing parents to make the most of time with
their kids.
Audience Strategy: Leverage how busy our audience is to provide a message of ease.
Form new traditions within the familiar.
Little Debbie is the catalyst for fun memories and moments that kids will hold forever.
Audience Strategy: Prove the tradition of sharing Little Debbie Mini Muffins with kids is one that is sure to be passed
down through future generations.
MINI MUFFINS INSPIRE FUN. REASONS TO BELIEVE:

11. THANK YOU

12. APPENDIX

13. Z
Brand MKT Alias 1 Nielsen Ma.. Sub-Category $ Market $ Share for subcat %Acv
LITTLE
DEBBIE
N_ORL NEW
ORLEANS
XAOC
BSG Breakfast Cake Seg..
BSG Brownie Segment
BSG Cake Segment
BSG Cookie Segment
BSG Doughnuts
BSG Muffin Segment
BSG Pie Segment
KNOX KNOXVILLE
XAOC
BSG Breakfast Cake Seg..
BSG Brownie Segment
BSG Cake Segment
BSG Cookie Segment
BSG Doughnuts
BSG Muffin Segment
BSG Pie Segment
54.88
73.96
79.76
86.76
80.26
79.89
80.22
20.45%
33.27%
37.10%
88.92%
62.25%
90.66%
55.74%
$1,003,167
$2,807,533
$5,029,581
$28,296,299
$22,066,326
$8,649,910
$13,738,871
59.70
70.73
79.65
85.87
80.43
79.99
80.32
19.96%
22.31%
18.80%
87.85%
57.88%
81.80%
49.83%
$882,739
$1,538,697
$3,339,815
$23,080,964
$13,674,102
$4,913,144
$6,162,418
TEST MARKETS | SUB-CATEGORY MARKET SHARE IS LOW FOR MINI MUFFINS AND OATMEAL CREME PIES

14. Z
TEST MARKETS | SUB-CATEGORY MARKET SHARE COMPARED TO COMPETITORS IN TEST AND LEARN MARKETS

15. Z
Sub-Category
LITTLE DEBBIE
N_ORL
NEW
ORLEANS X..
KNOX
KNOXVILLE
XAOC
BSG Breakfast Cake Segment
BSG Brownie Segment
BSG Cake Segment
BSG Cookie Segment
BSG Doughnuts
BSG Muffin Segment
BSG Pie Segment $1,003,167
$2,807,533
$5,029,581
$28,296,299
$22,066,326
$8,649,910
$13,738,871
$882,739
$1,538,697
$3,339,815
$23,080,964
$13,674,102
$4,913,144
$6,162,418
New Orleans Knoxville
TEST MARKETS | SUB-CATEGORY DOLLARS FOR LITTLE DEBBIE

16. Z
Z
16
GROWTH MARKETS | ACV
Opportunity Dollars = Total Mini Muffins Sub-Category Revenue - LD Mini Muffins Revenue
Both Knoxville and New Orleans have above-average ACV and overall comparative market share, hence choosing a
product over brand play.
Nielsen Market 1
Market $ for Brand
Formula $
KNOXVILLE XAOC
NEW ORLEANS XAOC $81,591,688
$53,591,879
$128,362,229
$97,359,093

17. Z
17
GROWTH MARKETS | COMPETITOR MARKET SHARE OF MUFFINS WITH AGE DEMOGRAPHIC

18. Z
18
GROWTH MARKETS | COMPETITOR MARKET SHARE OF MUFFINS WITH GENDER + AGE DEMOGRAPHIC

19. Z
19
GROWTH MARKETS | COMPETITOR MARKET SHARE OF MUFFINS WITH INDIVIDUAL INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC

20. Z
20
GROWTH MARKETS | COMPETITOR MARKET SHARE WITH HOUSEHOLD INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC

21. Z
21
GROWTH MARKETS | COMPETITOR MARKET SHARE WITH FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT DEMOGRAPHIC