Clif Bar Marketing Analysis Report
Clif Bar Marketing Analysis Report
Clif Bar Marketing Analysis Report
Jack Smith
Shirley Yu
Stevano Adranacus
Kevin Wijaya
MKTG 605
Pepperdine University Graziadio Business and
MARKETING Management
ANALYSIS PAPER
Executive Summary
Clif Bar & Company is a US company that operates in organic food and beverages. The company
has been able to establish itself as the major player within the Health and Nutrition Bar Industry
through strategic marketing and unique product offerings. Clif Bars main target market segments
are categorized into two groups: people with healthy and active style, as well as average people
who consumes the products it as meal replacement or snacks. Clif Bars competitor spectrum is
separated into: direct (Nature Valley and PowerBar) and indirect (Mars Inc). Clifs market is
largely driven by per capita disposable income that shifts the demand of premium products, and
the healthy eating index that shows the growth of health-conscious individuals.
Analyzing the company from an internal perspective, Clif Bar successfully placed themselves as
a Green company that produces healthy and organic products in the perception of the consumers,
which are highlighted as their key strengths. Clif also host a series of weaknesses, which are found
to be product recalls and disputes that can and have negatively affected the brand reputation.
Externally, there is a lot of opportunities for more sales growth for Clif Bar & Co. as the US
Healthy Eating Index and Per Capita Disposable Income increases. However, Clif is also subject
to threats from external perspective such as the increasing trend of organic agriculture that may
drive ingredient prices up. Developing a new product and a new market will prove to be a
predicament as the company currently already has a wide spectrum of customer groups, however,
if such initiative is taken successfully it will deliver a long-term and lucrative benefit for the
company.
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Table of Contents
Company Overview............... 3
Industry Analysis 4
Market Analysis. 6
Market Demographics
Market Behaviors
Market Needs/Values/Decision Process
Market Segmentation
Competitive Analysis 8
SWOT Analysis 10
Recommendation.. 11
Targeted Segment
Marketing Mix Elements
Work Cited 13
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I. COMPANY OVERVIEW
Clif Bar & Company is an American based company that produces organic food and beverages.
The company was founded in 1992 by Gary Erickson. In its initial launch, Ericksons energy bar
became an instant success to cyclists and climbers around the distribution area and soon after, the
companys popularity grew even more. Active people and adventurers of all kind grew to like the
bars. Now, Clif Bar can be found in many convenience and grocery stores nationwide (Clif Bar &
Co. Story)
Current Situation
The US Food Bars Market has been showing a steady upward progress since 2011. In year 2011,
the market for food bars in US was $5.669 billion and it grew steadily to $7.781 billion in 2015. It
is projected that the industry will grow to $8.3 billion by the end of 2016 (Market Research). Clif
Bar & Co annual performance in 2015 exceeded the competitors in the health/nutrition bars
industry, as the company was able to deliver an impressive 16.6% growth rate in its $406.9 million
sales with Clif brand alone. Clif bar other brand, Clif Builder, was able to be in the top 10 highest
in the industry with sales of $103 million during the year and a growth in sales of 6.4% (Bamford,
Vince). Clif Bar has not only penetrated the US sector, but also other regions such as Australia,
Japan and several of the European Countries. The company uses multichannel marketing with
places like natural food stores, bike shops, outdoor enthusiasts stores, grocery, convenience and
other retail outlets, such as Target, Wal-Mart and Trader Joes, as some of its medium channels to
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Market Overview
Demand in this industry is dependent on the customer's tastes and health considerations (Hoovers).
While its competitors only target more general and broader target markets, Clif Bar products,
however, target more than that. Other than the everyday snackers, Clif bar also focuses on the
niche markets, such as the young, active, and adventurous market segment. The company provides
bars for specific groups of people - bars specially made for children, women, long distance
Market Challenge
The challenge that Clif Bar is currently facing is the ability to tackle a barrier to expansion. Since
it has found its success from targeting many different niche of the food markets and has covered a
wide base on the younger generation groups, the same strategy of marketing can be implemented
to its future to form a uniformed growth it had in the past. Yet, finding a new market to pursue is
a predicament, since Clif Bar already established a wide spectrum of variations to its current
consumers. In order to find new segment(s), Clif Bar must find a new consumer base or product,
Since Clif Bar products are typically shaped rectangularly and consumed to satisfy hunger, the
company faces competitions from both direct (other similar healthy snack products) and indirect
markets (candy bars). No matter if we are in the grocery store to buy candy bar or in Whole Foods
to get energy bars, Clif bar is still a snack food that serves the purpose of satisfying customers
palettes. Some of the major direct competitors are Nature Valley (General Mills) and PowerBar
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(Post Cereals) and indirect competitor is Mars bar (Mars Inc). More information on the competitors
Market Drivers
As people have more disposable income, more people will prefer to choose premium food. It
consists of organic foods, which makes Clif part of the premium food category, and thus economy
plays a major key to the demand. Currently the growth has been a positive at 1.6% (compounded
growth from 2012-2017) and is projected to be 1.8% in (2017-2022), which indicates a growing
As CLIF bar products are targeted to active people, any decrease in the healthy eating index will
also mean a decrease in demand for CLIF bar. Currently, the projected growth of healthy eating
index from 2015-2020 is 0.6 % which means a positive outlook on CLIF bar (Healthy).
Market Trends
Economy in the US
In the last two years, the real GDP growth was shown to be at 2.6% (2015) and 1.5% (2016).
Prediction of the future real GDP growth rate will be 2.1% in 2017, 2.1% in 2018, 2.2% in 2019,
and 2.2% in 2020. Real GDP growth is a tool to analyze a countrys economy performance and a
positive GDP rate indicates a booming economy as well as an increase in purchasing power. Due
to the higher purchasing power of the population, sales of CLIF bar products may also increase as
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Millennial Population Growth
US census shows that in 2015 population of millennials born 1981-1997 have surpassed the
number of baby boomers born 1946-1964, with the divided populations of 75.4 million and 74.9
million respectively (Fry). It is projected that in 2036 millennials may reach its peak of 81 million
Currently, the snack food production industry in the US has a revenue of $38 billion, with an
annual growth of 2.9% in 2011-2016, putting the industry in the growth phase of product life cycle.
The prediction of the annual growth in the next 5 years is a positive 0.9% (IBISWorld).
Market Demographics
Clif Bars products are mainly targeted to both male and female adults from the age of 18-44 years
old, and also to children and teens from age 5-17. Clif Bars consumers also falls within the higher
education attainment and health conscious demographics, which resulted in the majority of Clif
Bars sales is concentrated within the West Coast region of USA. Furthermore, due to the higher
cost of is ingredients that is sourced from high quality organic ingredients, Clif Bar priced its
products above the competitors average. As such, Clif Bars consumer demographics falls under
Market Behavior
Psychographically, Clif Bar aims to target its products to customer segment who lives healthy
lifestyle and prefers convenience. Clif Bars target market also falls under the snackers market
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segment that ranges from Average to Heavy Snackers (InfoScout, Clif Bar Consumer Insights).
Interestingly, snackers market segment also consists of the Baby Boomers Generation (Age 51-
69) and Swing Generation (Age 70+) where 57% and 46% of the respective generations falls
within the Average and Super Snackers category that have yet to be explored by Clif Bar. Research
also found that the percentage of sports participants in America has been steadily increasing over
the past five years and will continue to rise to 2022. Correspondingly, the as Millenial populations
age continues to rise in the future, the the retirees participating in sport will also subsequently rise
suggesting a different trend than the current older generations (IBISWorld, 2016). This suggest
that there is a big demand potential for Clif Bar products in the future, reinforcing the need for Clif
As the difference between formal mealtime and snacking continues to blur due to the changing
social and economic trends that adds more dynamic towards the current human activities, the
demand for quick and nutritious meal/snacks also continues to increase. Based on the research by
Mintel Academic, occasional snackings are common for US adults - 94% of whom snack at least
once daily, and 15% snack four or more times per day, falling into the category of Super Snackers.
Because of the healthy eating habits practiced both younger generations and aging generations,
many people are drawn to eating organic snacks with added nutrients, including protein and
vitamins. Therefore, quick and healthy meal alternatives currently are becoming one of the needs
During the process of purchasing Clif Bars products, the consumers go through several steps of
purchase decision process before finally purchasing the product. First, consumers would decide to
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look for snack bars that tailor to their needs, which can be categorized into healthy or general.
Marketing and advertising tools such as social media, promotional flyers, and word-of-mouth
plays an important role in building the consumers awareness set (DMN3). Secondly, after the
research and considerations, buyers will finally choose a product to buy. Thirdly, after the product
is consumed, the consumer will achieve certain level of satisfaction level which will lead to repeat
Direct Competitors
1. General Mills is a US based food company that was founded in 1886. The company operates
many variety sub brands with all fall under the food-related category. The company sells
products ranging from yogurts and cereals to doughs and pastries. Out of the many sub brands,
General Mills also owns Nature Valley, a granola bar company that rivals CLIF bar. The
company's sales went from $17.9 Billion in 2014 to $17.6 Billion in 2015. There marketing
strategies generally consist of television advertisements and magazine ads. Nature Valleys
target audience is everyday people, specifically commuters. Its products are priced at $2 for 12
Weaknesses Competitive markets, future probability, branch can be perceived for nature
enthusiasts.
Opportunities Expansion into other food products, can make people feel like they are
adventurous.
Threats Rising cost of raw materials, growing probability and lower profitability.
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2. PowerBar is a food manufacturing company in America that produces energy bars and other
related products. The company was founded in 1986 by Brian Maxwell and is now a leading
sports nutrition snack company. Snacks from the company are made from simple and fruitful
ingredients. In 2000, the company was sold to Nestle for $375 million and later in 2014, was
acquired by Post Cereals. By the end of 2013, PowerBar was able to generate revenue of nearly
$550 million. Post Cereals is an American company that mainly sells cereals such as Pebbles,
Cinnamon Toast, Honey Bunches of Oats and many more. Post had sales of $4,648.2 (in
millions) in 2015, and sales of $2,411.1 (in millions) in 2016. The target market for Power Bar
consists of the following: Athletes, males ages 18-49, college graduates, heavy internet users,
& people who react and identify with outdoor ads. Power bar is marketed as the superior bar
for athletes because it has the right macro ingredients for physical activity, but also maintains
a high quality flavor. The product is promoted on television on channels such as ESPN,
discovery channel, & national geographic. Its products are priced at $1.79 for 1 bar and $17.88
for 12 bars.
Weaknesses Lower awareness among everyday people. Can sometimes be perceived as only
for athletes.
Opportunities Change consumers perceptions about the brand with marketing techniques.
Indirect Competitor
Mars Inc. is a consumer goods manufacturer who generates most of their income from food
products sales. The enterprise was founded in 1911 by Franklin Clarence Mars, and has become
one of the largest food manufacturers in the world. Through their multi-branding tactics, Mars Inc.
possess more than 22.5 percent of the U.S. candy bar market share in 2012, or more than $7.5
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billion in sales. M&Ms is Mars Inc.s largest selling brand, selling $2.3 billion in 2012, or 6.8
percent of total U.S. market share. In 2015, Mars Inc grosses the highest net sales out of all other
candy and bar companies, at $18,480 ( in millions). Their other products includes: Snickers, Twix,
Extra, and Milky Way. Mars Inc, generally targets millennials who are looking to have a sweet,
yet effective energy bar. Because of its strong international brand, Mars Inc is an indirect
competitor for Clif bar, given that some of their products overlap target markets, I.E. the snickers
bar, mars bar, etc. Its products are priced at $1.53 for 1 bar and $4.28 for 6 bars.
Strengths Outsell every other candy bar internationally, variety of products, Well - known
& respected brand name, great taster & packaging.
Weaknesses Unequal promotion for each product, sometimes more expensive chocolates, not
a lot of research and development.
Threats Intense competition, cheaper technology, price wars, healthy eating people.
Strengths Weaknesses
Brand: Brand:
Positive brand image as a Green company that Product recalls may decrease brand loyalty (FDA)
produces healthy products and is USDA certified Publicity about company disputes and scandals may
(Clif Bar & Co.) create negative brand image (CBSNews)
Clif Bar & Co. is among the top 3 manufacturer of Product:
nutrition bars with 11% total market share (Mintel Negative traditional perception of snack bars as
Academic) candies that is not necessarily healthy
Management: Clif Bars products falls within the same awareness
Purpose driven company based on the Five set for the general snack bar products, preventing it
Aspirations that commits to sustainability and goal to capture all potential target market
to achieve Zero Waste (Clif Bar & Co.) Liability:
Clif Bar & Co. offers a variety of amenities and Clif Bar & Co. is subject to liability claims if its
flexibility in its offices such as free fitness classes products cause harm towards the consumers
in the office gym, daycare near its offices, organic
cafeteria, etc. (WSJ)
Product:
Only use and source organic ingredients from
around the world (Clif Bar & Co.)
Diversified product offerings that target specific
target market segments (Mintel Academic)
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Opportunities Threats
Social Trend: Supply Chain:
Increasing trend of snacking continues to blur the Unreliable ingredient supplier may supply raw
lines between mealtime and snacking (Mintel ingredients that are harmful to health (FDA)
Academic) Organic Agriculture Industry:
US Healthy Eating Index is expected to increase Increasing trend of organic agriculture may drive
over the next five years to 2020 (IBISWorld) organic ingredient prices up (HBS: Chipotle Case)
About 93% of Baby Boomers Gen and 88% of USAs narrow investment on portfolio of
Swing Gen falls under between the snacking agrichemical solutions and lack of funding towards
category of Super Snackers and Infrequent agricultural research causes slow development of
Snackers (Mintel Academic) organic agriculture industry (Reed)
43% of American population is considered as obese Competition:
in 2015 (Passport) Industry landscape of energy and nutrition bars
28% of Baby Boomers choose buying organic food segment is becoming more competitive (Mintel
as an integral part of living green (PR Newsware) Academic
Economic Trend: Social Trend:
The GDP of the BRICS countries is predicted to Consumer perception of healthy food as natural
surpass the G7 within two or three years, as it has and unprocessed may reduce Clifs sales
already hit $32.5 trillion and rising (RT) (Passport)
U.S. per capita disposable income growth is
expected to be tempered at an average annual rate
of 2.5% over the five years to 2020 (IBISWorld)
VI. Recommendation
Targeted Segment
After conducting a detailed Marketing Analysis on Clif Bar & Company, Team JAKSS was able
to discover a new market segment that has not been capitalized by the company that is the older
(senior) age group of Baby Boomers to Swing Generation. The aging population requires
additional daily intake of vitamins, minerals and protein in order to maintain the strength of their
muscle and bones. As reported by the Department of Health and Human Service and Agriculture,
40% of adults do not meet the daily nutrition requirement where this requirement is seldom
achieved through diet alone (Neutricals World). Therefore, Clif Bar is recommended to develop a
product to cater the need of this market segment of older generations. Additionally, with the
declining population of baby boomers, there will come a shift in the senior age group in the near
future, as generation X will be the ones that are considered as elders. The shift would help Clif Bar
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to generate long-term growth since generation X are more health-cautious than the current Baby
Boomers generation. The popularity that Clif Bar have with the millennials will play a vital role
in the long run since Millennials are emotional influencers that give significant impact to their
households purchasing decisions, which includes baby boomers and generation Xs.
Marketing Mix
Product: Develop A Snack Bar for the older age group of population (age 51 and above) that
is enriched with essential vitamins, minerals and protein such as Calcium, Phosphorus, Vitamin
Price: As the product will contain more ingredients, the cost to make the product will also be
higher. Furthermore, there are currently no competitor ventured into this segment yet, thus we
can use competitive pricing strategy to price the product slightly above the existing healthy
regular snack bars. Using the current regular Clif Bar selling at $1.50 retail price per bar, we
Promotion: As our target market are the older age group who are more likely to conduct doctor
visits more regularly, we will collaborate with health practitioners in clinics, pharmacies and
hospitals to promote our product by offering lucrative gross sale prices and place promotional
ad banners across these channels. Traditional advertising tools such as direct mail and emails
will also be utilized in order to target the Millennial Generation and Generation Xs who are
Place: The product will be sold in the existing distribution channel of Clif Bar such as
supermarkets and gas stations with addition or expansion of new channel network of
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Work Cited
Overview:
Bamford, Vince. "Snack Bars 2015: Top 10 Best-selling Granola, Breakfast and Nutrition Bars."
BakeryAndSnacks.com. N.p., 29 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Bloomberg. "Clif Bar & Company: Private Company Information." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg,
n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Clif Bar. "Clif Bar." Product Lists. Clif Bar, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Hoovers. "!industry_name! - Industry Facts and Trends." Snack Foods Manufacturing. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Market Research. "Press." Market Research Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"The Clif Bar & Company Story." Clif Bar -. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Industry Analysis:
Fry, Richard. "Millennials Overtake Baby Boomers as America's Largest Generation." Pew
Research Center. N.p., 25 Apr. 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"Healthy Eating Index, IBISWorld Business Environment Profiles. IBISWorld, Jan. 2016. Web.
12 Oct. 2016.
IBISWorld. "Pepperdine University." IBISWorld US. IBISWorld, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"Millennials and Organic: A Winning Combination." Yahoo. N.p., 22 Sept. 2016. Web. 12 Oct.
2016.
Mintel. "Pepperdine University." CAS Central Authentication Service. Mintel, n.d. Web. 12 Oct.
2016.
"Per Capita Disposable Income." IBISWorld Business Environment Profiles. IBISWorld, Sept.
2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
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Market Analysis:
Clif Bar Consumer Insights and Demographics | InfoScout.co." Infoscout.co. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
Oct. 2016.
Day, Beth. "Fit Club: Tracking Nutrition Bar Trends." Fit Club Tracking Nutrition Bar Trends.
N.p., 1 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Lockard, Pamela. "Study: The 3 Most Effective Ways to Reach Baby Boomers." Digital & Direct
Marketing Agency. N.p., 10 Mar. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Smith, Cooper. "Gen X and Baby Boomers Present a Huge Opportunity for Online Retailers."
Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"United States Nutritional and Cereal Bars Market Report 2015-2019." United States Nutritional
and Cereal Bars Market Report 2015-2019. Research and Markets, 12 June 2015. Web. 12
Oct. 2016.
Competitive Analysis:
"About PowerBar | PowerBar." PowerBar. N.p., 28 Apr. 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"Building Momentum." Driving Execution for Breakthrough Results Innovation Engine (2013):
93-109. Web.
"The Evolution of PowerBar." Food and Beverage News, Trends, Ingredient Technologies and
Commodity Markets Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"Inside the Transformation of Power Bar." Food Business News. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Nature Valley Brand." Prezi.com. N.p., 13 May 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
SWOT Nature Valley "Nature Valley Strategic SWOT Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats of Nature Valley. Find 100,000 More Report." Nature Valley
Strategic SWOT Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats of Nature
Valley. Find 100,000 More Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
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"Post Holdings Annual Report 2015." N.p., n.d. Web.
"PowerBar Shakes Things Up." PowerBar. N.p., 03 June 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"Q&A: Inside the Transformation of PowerBar." Food and Beverage News, Trends, Ingredient
Technologies and Commodity Markets Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"A Report on Market Potential of Mars Chocolate in India." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Schultz., E.J. "Snickers Surging to Top of Global Candy Race." Advertising Age News RSS. N.p.,
20 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Schultz., E.J. "Snickers Surging to Top of Global Candy Race." Advertising Age News RSS. N.p.,
20 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"Target : Expect More. Pay Less." Target : Expect More. Pay Less. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"2015 Global Top 100 (25-1)." Candy Industry RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
SWOT Analysis:
AP. "Wyclef Jean's Charity Under Scrutiny." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 19 Jan. 2010. Web. 08
Oct. 2016.
Clif Bar & Co. "Clif Bar - Nutrition for Sustained Energy." Clif Bar. Clif Bar & Co., n.d. Web. 08
Oct. 2016.
Clif Bar & Co. "Clif Bar - Nutrition for Sustained Energy." Clif Bar. Clif Bar & Co., n.d. Web. 08
Oct. 2016.
FDA. "Clif Bar & Company Issues Voluntary Recall of Three Flavors: CLIF BAR Nuts & Seeds
Energy Bars, CLIF BAR Sierra Trail Mix Energy Bars, and CLIF Mojo Mountain Mix
Trail Mix Bars Due to Possible Health Risk." Clif Bar & Company Issues Voluntary Recall
of Three Flavors: CLIF BAR Nuts & Seeds Energy Bars, CLIF BAR Sierra Trail Mix
Energy Bars, and CLIF Mojo Mountain Mix Trail Mix Bars Due to Possible Health Risk.
N.p., 2 June 2016. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
Mintel Academic. "Snack, Nutrition and Performance Bars - US." Mintel Academic. N.p., May
2016. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
Mintel Academic. "Snacking Motivations and Attitudes - US." Mintel Academic. N.p., Apr. 2015.
Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
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Nutraceuticals World. "BOOST Nutrition Bar Provides Nutrition To Seniors." Nutraceuticals
World. N.p., 11 June 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
PR Newsware. "Millennials and Organic: A Winning Combination." Yahoo News. N.p., 22 Sept.
2016. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
Reed, Kate. "Clif Bar CEO Shares His Company's 'Five Aspirations'" EcoWatch. N.p., 08 Sept.
2016. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
WSJ. "On-Site Child Care: It's Paying Off at Clif Bar." On-Site Child Care: It's Paying Off at Clif
Bar. N.p., 26 Sept. 2016. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
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