Saxonville Sausage is a $1.5 billion family-owned sausage company that wants to develop its Vivio Italian sausage brand nationally. Vivio has been growing faster than competitors at 15% annually while other Saxonville products like bratwurst and breakfast sausage are declining or underperforming. The document discusses positioning Vivio as a "meal maker" that allows busy women to create homemade family dinners easily. It suggests branding focusing on Italian heritage and family connection. A positioning statement says Vivio sausage takes cooking "to a whole new level" so customers can "pull off" dinner when asked what's for dinner. The brand will be called "Vivio by Saxonville" and targeted at female household heads through

1. SAXONVILLE SAUSAGE
By : Aditya Kumar

2. Saxonville’s Background :
70 year old, privately
held, family business.
National player in US
market with revenue of $
1.5 billion in 2005.
Produces a variety of
fresh pork based
sausages.
Headquartered in
Saxonville, Ohio.

3. Since 2004, Saxonville Brat sales has been flat,
but its breakfast sausage has underperformed
the market, leading to double digit decline in
revenue.
In Dec ‘05, Saxonville was ranked sixth out of
eight national sausage brands.
Italian sausage is the only category that has
been showing consistent growth, growing at 9%
in ‘04 to 15% in ‘05. Saxonville’s Vivio brand has
matched the category growth.

4. Product portfolio :
Product distribution (Revenue wise)
Bratwurst :
70%
Breakfast
sausage :
20%
Italian
sausage
: 5%
Store-
brand:
5%

5. Bratwurst sausage
 Positioning: Casual gathering,
outdoor BBQ grill, Men & Beer.
 Season: May to Sep ( 86% vol.)
 Advertisement: Annual support
through television ads, popular
“Harry Brat the BBQ guy”
 Pricing : 15% higher SRP than
competition (Premium position).
 Distribution: National network
supported through three deals.
“ …… for a cookout only in
the summer ”

6. Breakfast sausage
 POSITIONING : Hot family breakfast
eating, cooked primarily by
female head of household.
 SEASON: Nov to March (69% vol)
 ADVERTISEMENT: Small print
campaign with limited reach.
 PRICING: 5% higher SRP than
competition, 15% higher than
store brand.
 DISTRIBUTION: Two trade deals,
parity with competition, 3 national
& 9 regional players.
“ ……add a little sausage
and it feels like a homemade breakfast”

7. Vivio Italian sausage
 POSITIONING : Hot delicious dinner
cooked with family around. Italian
heritage.
 SEASON: Oct to Feb ( 42% vol )
 ADVERTISEMENT: None.
 PRICING: Competitively priced,
20% higher SRP than store-brand.
 DISTRIBUTION: Four annual deals,
no national player, 29 regional players.
“ Everyone loves it ”

8. Vivio swot analysis
STRNGTHS:
- Exceptional quality with good
color.
- Great taste and texture.
- Lot of untapped market.
- Versatile ‘meal maker’.
WEAKNESSES :
- Lack of coherent branding.
- Untested in market outside of
Northeastern US.
- Lack of Italian heritage.
- Changing customer pattern.
OPPORTUNITY:
- Consistent growth in this
category.
- Distributed only in
northeastern US.
- Proper positioning has not
been performed.
THREATS:
- Cannibalization of other
brand products.
- Poor brand name among
Italian sausage users.
- Competition from local
producers.

9. OBECTIVE :
“ To develop a national Italian sausage brand
that is not only distinctive but matches the core value in the
hearts and minds of the customers with the attributes of the
product, so that customer feels like brand was designed with
keeping their needs in mind. ”

10. Target customers
DEMOGRAPHY:
- Female head of household.
aged between 20-50.
LIFESTYLE:
- Busy lifestyle with less time
devoted to cooking.
GEOGRAPHY:
- Throughout the United
States.
IDEALS:
- Strong desire to bring family
together over dinner.

11. Path towards positioning
Italian sausage is a “meal maker” that is useful for
women who have to trade-off time and skill against the
family members it would please.
Women yearned for the simplicity of their childhood,
where the whole family can discuss day’s events over
dinner time.
Italian sausage is identified as a versatile ingredient that
can be used to pull off a delicious wholesome meal that
can give her the confidence to ‘pull it off’.

12. Product’s Value proposition
VALUE: Makes dinner time
enjoyable.
EMOTIONAL BENEFITS: Satisfaction
and confidence of cooking a good meal.
FUNCTIONAL BENEFITS: Improves
dish taste, versatile, short cooking
time.
ATTRIBUTES: Exceptional
quality, good taste, base
ingredient.

13. Brand positioning
 Italian heritage reinforces the
idea of families enjoying the
meal together.
 Connects with the core
aspirational value of female
households of creating a
nurturing and caring
environment.
 Consistent with Saxonville
moniker of “ The family
company”.
“ It welcomes you in. ”
 Increase the scope of customer
base.
 Improve variety of dishes
flavors by using it as an
ingredient.
 Versatile, quick and convenient
way to cook.
“ Fancy meals in minutes. ”
FAMILY
CONNECTION
CLEVER COOKING

14. Positioning statement
Aspiring to be a chef but too busy. Well fresh,
authentic Italian sausages that takes your cooking to a
whole new level is a must have. So the next time you
hear ‘what’s for dinner’ , you know that you can ‘pull it
off’.
VIVIO
by SAXONVILLE

15. VIVIO
by SAXONVILLE
 VIVIO was already
considered by competition
and loyalists to be of
exceptional quality.
 It was ranked 7th among
20 brand names that best
identifies with Italian
sausage.
 Already well established
brand that makes
products of good quality.
 Its moniker of “The family
company ” helps in
reinforcing the positioning
of the brand.

16. Product
Top 5 grossing varieties are selected:
 Vivio Italian Sweet Sausage $3,714,499
 Vivio Italian Hot Sausage $18,858,587
 Vivio Italian Mild Sausage $42,414,884
 Vivio Italian Mild Sausage $2,829,047
 Vivio Italian Sweet Sausage $2,019,310

17. Pricing :
 Priced at 10% above competitors and 25%
above in-store brands.
 Prices put it in premium category without
diluting the band equity.
Placement :
 Placed at eye level of an average adult female.
 Refrigerated display units in produce and dry
sections.

18. SALES & PROMOTION :
 Promotion through famous spokespeople.(
e.g. Rachel ray)
 Celebrity store appearance and cookouts.
 Proper product placement.
 Sponsoring cooking shows.

19. THANK YOU !!
and remember – “ If you
want to impress your wife
Drop the flowers, and bring the sausage ”

20. This slide has been prepared by – “ADITYA
KUMAR” of MNNIT Allahabad, as part of the
internship done under the guidance of DR.
SAMEER MATHUR, IIM Lucknow.