Competitors – chocol4te lovers

Values:

Côte d’Or is all about a qualitative chocolate with an intense taste of cacao. It brings pleasure while eating it. The values conveyed by the brand are authenticity and intensity. Both are directly related to the chocolate itself, authenticity by the engagement of the brand with local producers and intensity through a strong taste of cacao.

The Côte d’Or identity is truly specific, it evokes an intense chocolate taste, a good quality, a selected cocoa as well as a centennial know-how. Even if the brand has a broad category of products, the identity stays in the tasting universe.

Positioning:

On the mass market premium segment for adult. A sustainable and responsible chocolate. At the moment, in France and Belgium the black chocolate tablet (more than 70% cocoa) contain at least 30% of cocoa coming from verified Rainforest Alliance™ exploitation. Over time, the final objective is to only use that kind of chocolate for the complete range of product.

Target:

The targets are the adult who wants to savor a tasty piece of chocolate. An adult who want to succumb to the temptation of a delicious piece of chocolate.

Packaging:

With a sober (through warm and dark colors) yet effective packaging, Côte d’Or wants to give the image of a qualitative and premium brand. Usually the consumers does not really know what he wants to buy so it will be an impulse buy that is why the color, the logo and the ingredients (with pictures) are really important to attract the consumer.

Over the years the packaging and logo evolved, at the beginning there was one palmer and 3 pyramids as well as the elephant to evoke the exoticism of the Ghana, but later on they to refine the logo to only keep the elephant, the symbol of strength, stability, memory and longevity.

Distribution:

Nowadays, the brand is sold in about twenty countries among them Germany, Greece, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Italy, Lebanon, Japan, South Africa, US… but the best sellers are Belgium, Holland and France.

The selling points are the following:

80% in supermarket

15% chocolate’s artisant

5% restaurateurs, internet

Communication:

Côte d’Or is present everywhere, the purpose for the brand is to known as the expert of the chocolate for the mass market. Over the years they create different kinds of TV adds because they wanted the consumer to remembered them as a strong, sustainable and with a specific intense taste of cocoa. They also create a buzz last year with a street marketing campaign: «Afrodisiaque, le vrai pouvoir du chocolat» and a media campaign: “a world without chocolate” they wanted to emphasize on the importance of the chocolate in everybody life and the values of brand instead of the product. In supermarket, where you can find the products, they implement some specific action to attract the consumer like some corners or display.

Display

Main competitors:

Of course, even if Côte d’Or is well known among the mass market, it also has a lot of great competitors. For instance, we can identify 2 main competitors that are direct competitors with almost the same target and positioning:

Nestlé:

Nestlé

Lindt:

Lindt

In addition, we can find other competitors that are not directly addressing exactly to the same target but are offering an alternative like private label, Ivoria.

SWOT Analysis

Strenghs

Premium brand

Broad range of product

Affordable price for the quality (and compare to competitors)

Old valuable brand

Seen as responsible and sustainable brand

Intense cocoa taste

Easy to find (eye catching packaging)

Assisted awareness: 99% (Ipsos 2011)

Weaknesses

Not the leader on the category