Wing Barn Company Analysis

Executive Summary

Wing Barn is preparing to launch a new line of low-calorie wings called “Yum-Yum Light Wings”. Although the fast food market is starting to go to a healthier style of eating, wings are a staple in American culture and food. Yum-Yum Light Wings will be positioned by the slogan “Lighter and tastes even better”. This slogan indicates that the wings will taste even better but be healthier for the customer. Wing Barn is taking advantage of the great support they have built in the valley allowing them to spread to five different locations.

The American public loves chicken wings at it is one of the staples of our food culture here. According to the New York Post “The average carnivore devours twenty-four wings per month, equating to 290 wings a year, according to the figures. And, when projected over the average adult lifetime, that amasses to a whopping 17,653 chicken wings consumed per person overall” (SNS 2017). With this ridiculous number of wings being consumed yearly per person it makes for a very competitive market.

Wing Barn is a locally owned business here in the Valley that competes with wing giants such as Wing Stop and Buffalo Wild Wings. Since wing barn is a locally owned company here in the valley, they will be able to ship and distribute the new wings using the same channels they have been. Wing Barn will continue to use the same shipment methods but will need to meet with their manufacturer to be able to produce mass quantities of these wings.

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Company Description

Wing Barn first opened their doors in May 2010 in Brownsville Texas. Their goal was to create great tasting wings and a fun and pleasant dining experience. Wing Barn has now branched out to five separate locations across the Valley. The restaurant carries wings, Onion Rings, Fries, Sweet Potato Chips, Texas Poppers, Fried Pickles, and Fried Mushroom. They also carry burgers, original salads, wheat wraps, lettuce wraps, hotdogs, chicken sandwiches, and Turkey and Veggie Burgers. The mission statement coming straight from their website is, “At Wing Barn, we are a family owned and operated business. We provide a rustic, country style dining room with plenty of high definition big screen TV’s, perfect to watch the big game, kick back and take in some “DANG GOOD” food with friends and the whole family” (About).

Marketing Objectives

Wing Barn’s marketing strategy will be developing a “healthier and tastier” positioning based on extra benefits of these wings. The brand will also establish a channel differentiation because it will only be available in the five locations in the valley where no other wing restaurant here will have these wings. Wing Barn will focus on the average American trying to eat healthier while still being able to enjoy great food.

Situation Analysis

The key to the wing market is all about the quality and taste of your wings. With staples such as regular buffalo and barbeque wings, it is important for you to also have unique and great tasting flavors. Customers of wings here in the United States are very familiar with them so it is very important you have a great tasting product or else you will not be in business for long. Some customers look for the best value for their dollar, while other customers might be looking just for the best quality and tasting wing. Wing companies offer both boneless and bone in wings depending on the preference of the customer.

Wing Barns market for customers are regular everyday people in the Rio Grande Valley that love great tasting wings. This new product line will offer the same great tasting wings that customers love but with half the fat and half the calories. This product will tap into the market of wing lovers that are health conscious. This market is for people that are trying to eat healthier while not having to break the bank in order to do so. No other competitor in the market has this feature and Wing Barn will be the first. Wing Barn has a very strong customer loyalty base as they have been able to expand to 5 locations in the last 8 years which will help these wings become a success.

Strengths

Yum-Yum Light Wings can rely on many great strengths. The first strength is the superior taste to any other wings that these will have. Another strength will be the expertise in marketing that Wing Barn’s team has. The other strength is the antiestablishment image they posses, and customers supporting local businesses instead of chain restaurants.

Weakness

Some weaknesses will include the lack of product awareness and the cost of Light Wings. A major threat of these wings not being successful is that big chains stealing the idea and Wing Barn losing its first to market advantage. Another potential threat is customers not wanting a healthier wing perhaps.

Marketing Plan

Market Opportunity

Healthy eating is a continued problem in the US. People recently have become more health conscious and are trending more to healthy eating. America is the unhealthiest country in the developed world with the most obese people living here. Therefore, this idea of a healthier wing could not have come at a better time. No other restaurant wing chain has ever tried to make a low-calorie wing. This will give customers who want to eat a delicious wing a chance to do so without feeling guilty.

Product Strategy

Yum Yum Light wings will have all the features talked about in the Product Review section. When they become more popular and accepted, Wing Barn will introduce more flavors then the basic ones they are starting out with. A lower calorie side fries’ option will be added eventually to pair with the Light Wings for healthier alternatives. All parts of the marketing mix will be the same positioning as Wing Barn’s open atmosphere. The products concept is a healthier less fatty and less calorie wing that will still taste great. Four delicious flavors will be included in this line including Buffalo, Hot, Barbeque, and Parmesan Garlic. One Wing will contain about 42 calories compared to about 82 calories of a regular wing. One Light wing will contain 3 grams of fat rather than almost 6 grams of regular unhealthy wings. These light wings will be just as filling as other fattier and unhealthier ones. The way Wing Barn will make them healthier and taste great is by frying them in a special proprietary healthy Coconut oil rather than regular unhealthy oil. Wing Barn is planning tight control measures to make sure to watch product quality, taste, ingredients, brand image, and customer satisfaction. By watching these things closely, it will allow for Wing Barn to make any changes that might be needed in order to help the product succeed. Other things that will be monitored is monthly sales to make sure the Light Wings are performing well in the market. Given the markets unpredictability backup plans are in place in case of competition from other companies or a shift in customer wants.

Pricing Strategy

Light Wings will be a little more expensive than normal fattier and unhealthier versions. Due to the fact more, expensive ingredients must be used to make the wings we will still be a cheaper option then going to a healthy expensive restaurant. They will follow a competition-based pricing strategy and make sure these wings are not too expensive. The reason they do not want them premium priced is so families and the average working-class people can afford them and become healthier. Wings are usually priced around a dollar a wing unless if it is on the special $0.50 wing night. On regular days, Yum-Yum Wings will be sold at $1.15 per wing. This is obviously a little pricier but not unaffordable by any means. On cheap night it will be sold at $0.60.

Distribution Strategy

Wing Barns distribution strategy will remain the same with the current manufacturers they use since there are only five locations all within the valley. They will however have to bring the new manufacturing process up to speed on how to make the light wings and be able to distribute alongside the normal products and shipments. Since Wing Barn is the first company trying to come up with a healthier wing it is all about getting to market fast and growing it and proof of concept. It is important for the distribution network to be able to add this new skew of product and to be able to keep up with demand.

Marketing and Communication Strategy

Like how Wing Barn started it will take the approach of word of mouth and growing organically but will also invest in mass-marketing. They will start with commercials and ad advertising all around the valley. Promotional resources will focus on these three areas:

Commercials: By wanting to allow families and more people to come try the wings commercials will be an effective way to bring product awareness. This product is so new it is going to take time educating and explaining the concept of Light Wings and a commercial is a good place to start.

Sample Marketing: Just like at Costco and Sam’s Club when they want you to try a product, they offer samples and that is what Wing Barn will do. Every person will be able to sample a Light Wing as soon as they walk in the door. This will show people that it is very good and encourage them to purchase a meal.

Online Marketing: Online marketing and social media is probably the most effective way to reach people. Since everyone owns a phone and has access to the internet, they will push online advertising creating ads on Facebook and other sites to educate potential customers.

Financial Projections

Wing Barn has a goal of Light Wings being 10 percent of total sales for the upcoming year. They also have a goal of generating $350,000 dollars of revenue from light wings. A projected retail price of $1.15 per wing for a total of 304,348 units sold to reach that goal. Wing Barn expects to break even at the end of the first year. Wholesale cost of $0.65 per unit, and an variable cost of $0.05 with a total of estimated first year costs of $250,000.

References

1. “About.” Wing Barn, www.thewingbarn.com/about.
2. Swns. “Americans Are Chicken Wing-Eating Maniacs.” New York Post, New York Post, 26 July 2017, nypost.com/2017/07/25/americans-are-chicken-wing-eating-maniacs/