IV.

MARKETING FEASIBILITY

A. Customer Analysis

Maseabass! main target markets are restaurants in Dagupan and Baguio City.

Because of its low supply in the market the researchers are targeting those restaurants

that offer sea bass in their menu and also introduce sea bass to other restaurants, wet

markets and super markets. Although buyers in wet markets and super markets may not

be the target market since sea bass is quite expensive and its serving is not fit for a

household, they are still potential customers.

Other potential customers are the restaurants that have not yet served sea bass.

These include restaurants in Dagupan City such as Ciudad Elmina, Matutinas Seafood

Haus, Jacobo, and Mang Pepings Restaurant. Quattro Grill also expressed a positive

response in adding sea bass to their menu if it becomes available.

The researchers have conducted interviews and surveys to assess the feasibility

of selling sea bass in target markets.

Interview

The researchers interviewed famous restaurants in Baguio City currently serving

sea bass. The table below shows the quantity of sea bass each restaurant wants and

the frequency of delivery.

RESTAURANTS KILOGRAMS / MONTH

Rasa Pura 60
Chefs Home 30
Le Chef 30
Total 120kg
According to the interview conducted by the researchers, sea bass is often easily

sold out. Because of its high demand, restaurants are in need for additional supply.

Quantity demanded by restaurants interviewed amounted to 120 kilograms per month.

 Survey

In a survey conducted by Maseabass!, 59 of the respondents were female and

41 were male with ages ranging from 11 and above. When asked about how often they

eat fish, majority of them answered every day which composed 36% of the total

population.

Consumers consider the quality of a fish as their major priority when buying one.

Survey revealed that size, nutrients, price and availability are also considered in the

manner that they were stated. 72% of the population are willing to pay more than

Php300. This means that since quality is the first priority, buyers are willing to pay for a

large amount of money as long as they are ensured with the quality that they paid for. It

also means that most of the respondents eat high-valued fish such as lapu-lapu, maya-

maya, salmon, talakitok, malaga, and sea bass but survey reveals that 34% of the total

population is not familiar with sea bass.

 Out of the 66 people who are familiar with sea bass, 37 of them have eaten sea

bass in a restaurant at a price of Php500 and above, 14 of them was delivered by a

fisherman, 11 was given as a gift and only 3 were bought from the wet market at a price

of Php401 and above. Respondents were also asked if they would want the sea bass to

be available in the market and 65% answered yes while 35% were neutral about the

availability of sea bass in the market.

Respondents in Baguio answered a ranking question regarding their preferences

of high-valued fishes. They prefer salmon over all of the high-valued fishes and sea bass

came in second. Below is an image of the result.

 The opinions of respondents in Dagupan were also taken into consideration and

survey shows that salmon remains to be at first place with lapu lapu replacing sea

bass as the second preferred fish. This reveals that most of the respondents from

Dagupan are not familiar with sea bass.

The proponents have analyzed the results and it is possible that the reason why

people in Baguio are more familiar with sea bass than people in Dagupan is because

many fine dining restaurants are found in Baguio such as Rasa Pura, Cotterman, and Le

Chef.

B. Marketing Mix

1. Product

Maseabass! will be selling three types of

products. One is live sea bass which will be

transported using oxygenated polyethylene bags.

The business decided to sell live sea bass because

some restaurants store their supply of fishes in an

aquarium to serve as a display.

 The place where the sea bass will be distributed can be reached in less than four

hours. Using oxygenated plastic bags is a cheaper and more convenient way to

transport fishes alive. Each bag will have a measure of 23 centimeters and will support

one fish and water amounting to four times its weight. Oxygen will fill up two thirds of the

bag to ensure the survival of the fish.

The second type of product is freshly

harvested nonliving sea bass. These will be

transported in ice boxes to restaurants not requiring

the fishes to be alive. The business would like to

provide sea bass at a lower price than the one set for

live. This product is also for restaurants and wet

markets that do not store sea bass in an aquarium.

The last product is sea bass fillet which

will be packed in a plastic container. Sea bass

fillet may be sold in restaurants but the main

target markets are the supermarkets. Fillets will

mainly be sent for consignment to different

supermarkets such as CSI Mall, SM Mall, Nepo Mall, and Robinsons Mall. These malls

were interviewed regarding the product. Malls do not charge a person or supplier if

consignment has been made and there is no maximum or minimum unit of product to be

consigned. Sea bass fillet can last for 2 to 3 months if stored in a freezer; otherwise, it

can only last for 7 days.

A truck will be rented to distribute these products to the designated places selling

or serving sea bass.

2. Promotion

Sea bass is already famous in high end restaurants. It is often sold out fast which

causes the need for additional supply. Maseabass! will be supplying this fish and will

offer it in different types allowing the restaurants and consumers to buy the product

according to their preference. Giving more choices will attract more customers. Some

restaurants want their sea bass alive to ensure its customers that their sea bass is fresh

and of good quality. Some may also want it as fillet because it is more convenient and

does not need additional work to clean the fish. Maseabass! will be able to serve any of

these customers by offering its product in three different ways. Listed below are ways to

sell the product.

Selling directly from the farm; Being able to talk to the customers directly and

show them the methods of farming, first hand.

Customer Referral Incentive Program

o For every new buyer referred by an existing customer, the existing

customer will receive a 30% discount in their next order of sea bass. The

customer referral incentive program has been widely used to encourage

current customers to refer new customers to a business.

Loyalty Card

o A loyalty card will be given to a customer if he reaches a cumulative order

of 2,500 kilograms. The card will give a customer the privilege of buying

any product of Maseabass! at its off season price even when it is the peak

season. This card will be valid for 2 years. Below is an image of the loyalty

card.
 Business cards

o When selling directly from the farm, setting up a stall or developing

relationships with restaurant owners, a business card will be given in order

to provide the recipient a list of information such as the contact number and

address of the business. The benefit of an impressive business card is that

it continues to market the business because it will be handed over from one

person to another, putting the business in front of additional prospects.

Gain Some Kilograms

o For every purchase of 20 kilograms, the business will give away two

kilograms of sea bass for free. So when a buyer purchases 40 kilograms,

he will receive four kilograms for free.

3. Price

The increase in fish farming has helped stabilize the prices of many species of

fish, making it affordable for all types of restaurants and institutions to offer fish.

Availability of a steady supply of larger quantities becomes important when considering

the financials of a business. Customers in restaurants tend to order what is native to the

area regardless of price and they tend to accept what is made available at a competitive

price. As the market price changes for non-farm raised fish, Maseabass! is in better

position to maintain costs and thus maintain the price levels of fish sold to restaurants or

markets.

PRODUCT PRICE / KILOGRAM PRICE / KILOGRAM

(Off Seasons) (Peak Seasons)

Live Sea bass 400 450 500 550

Fresh nonliving sea bass 350 400 450 500

Sea bass fillet 370 420 470 520

Maseabass! will use different prices for the three different products. As presented

in the table, live sea bass has a higher price compared to the two products. The price

was based on an interview with Rasa Pura which is a restaurant that buys live sea bass

from suppliers for Php 500 600. Transporting live sea bass will require materials such

as polyethylene bags and oxygen. The price will compensate for the additional costs in

transporting the sea bass alive.

The fresh nonliving sea bass has a lower price than the live sea bass because it

does not require oxygen, water and bags. According to an interview with Chefs Home,

they buy nonliving sea bass from suppliers for Php 400 500. With these pieces of

information, researchers decided to lower prices in order to be competitive.

 Sea bass fillet will also incur additional costs for deboning and for packaging

which will use biodegradable food trays and cling wraps which is why it is slightly higher

than fresh nonliving sea bass.

The prices set may increase by at least P50 during peak seasons which is during

February to May and December,. These are the times where people go to Baguio for

holidays, for the festival or to escape the summer heat.

4. Place (Distribution)

Several food service operations located in Baguio experienced high sales in

offering sea bass dishes like Chef's Home and Rasa Pura where the researchers

conducted an interview. According to these restaurants, customers often look for sea

bass and the supply of the fish is not enough to serve their customers. Some restaurants

in Baguio even had to remove sea bass from their menu due to its unavailability in the

market.

Maseabass! aims to supply sea bass to restaurants through pick up or delivery;

the choice belongs to the customer. In delivering the sea bass to restaurants, the

business will rent a truck for Php700.00 and will pay a drivers fee of Php500.00. The

minimum order for delivery is 90 kilograms. In one month, delivery will be made twice

which is on the second week and fourth week of the month or earlier if the minimum

order has already been met. Previously interviewed restaurants were asked if they

usually need to get their orders as soon as possible and they answered that they do not

rush their suppliers. If some customers do make rush orders, Maseabass! will charge a

delivery fee of Php50.00. So if they order 30 kilograms of live sea bass, the amount that

should be paid is the price of the sea bass which is Php12,000.00 and the delivery fee of

Php50.00.