Some Insights from Our Survey

Using SPSS to do some cross-comparison of our survey data yields some interesting findings. For instance:

Some people might question the viability of Happy Pills opening up in Singapore, stating that perhaps the demand for sweet stuff amongst Singaporeans is not as pronounced as that of the Spaniards.

We split up our respondents based on their country of origin: Spain vs. Singapore (to be fair, the group "non-spaniards" includes people from other countries as well, but they are an almost-negligible minority), and looked at their frequency of candy consumption/purchase. The relative distribution of the bars (note that Spaniards were a smaller sample, that is why their bars are all much shorter) seems to suggest that Singaporeans are purchasing at least an equal, if not larger, amount of candy. Singapore thus appears to be an attractive market to enter into.



We next split our respondents up into those who had seen/heard of Happy Pills before, and those who didn't, and compared their results on their SFU ratings for Happy Pills. Very clear differences emerged between those who had actual exposure to the brand, and those who were merely asked to guess based on photographs of the product and store.

*A t-test confirmed at the 5% confidence level that all differences between means were significant.

*A t-test confirmed at the 5% confidence level that all differences between means, except for "nice-tasting", "extroverted and social", and "medicinal", were significant.

*A t-test confirmed at the 5% confidence level that all differences between means, except for "nice-tasting", were significant.

In general, those who had actual encounters with the brand and product tended to rate Happy Pills more favourably. Those who were more exposed to Happy Pills stated that it was more full of happiness, more suitable as a gift, more innovative, and more nice-tasting than those who weren't. In addition, Those who did not have prior exposure rated Happy Pills as more "medicinal" (an undesirable characteristic). This perhaps suggests that in entering the Singapore market, we should opt to emphasise the fun nature of Happy Pills more than its original clinical and medical theme.

Our Survey Results At A Glance

We set up a survey online on Qualtrics, and asked our friends to take a few minutes to fill it up. A total of 151 respondents replied; the infographic below will tell you the rest. Raw survey data is available upon request.

 

Exploratory Interviews

Hear what others have to say about Happy Pills!

Happy Pills TVC

Here's one of Happy Pills' television commercials, emphasising how Happy Pills are a source of comfort on bad days.

What is the Happy Pills experience like? Take a look!

What is shopping at Happy Pills like?

After entering the sweet pharmacy, the adventure starts by choosing a prescription. The size of the bottle can be freely determined - of course the bigger the better. Filling the bottle with a selection out of a hundred sweets is the fun part, and after all crucial for the treatment of the sickness. As there is no doctor who prescribes you the drugs, it is in your full responsibility to choose the right mix. For lovesickness, we suggest a mix of red and blue berries. For all kinds of trouble at work, we recommend filling the box with yellow jellies. You will need to rely on your own intuition for rare concerns.

Word Cloud

Looks like people online aren't saying anything much about Happy Pills at the moment - according to social media tracker www.socialmention.com; random words are mentioned like "clara" and "miscarried"...

Word cloud tool: www.wordle.net

Hopefully that will change should Happy Pills set up a shop in Singapore!

#1 What is Happy Pills' positioning?

Target Market

At the moment, Happy Pills appears to target only one specific market segment. The average Spanish customer of Happy Pills appears to be a:

• Teenagers, working adults and the young at heart.
• of middle to high income, and is
• sociable,
• seeking gifts for those close to them, or
• seeking fun relief from the stresses of life.

However, age and income are less of divisive factors; young, old, and rich customers of Happy Pills exist as well. In coming to Singapore, Happy Pills would likely appeal to a similar segment.

Who are the competitors?

We define our market as confectionery or food items which can be gifts (“gift food”) that are of a mid-range price level of $5-$30.

At a primary level, we include specialty confectionery shops like Candy Empire and Cocoa Trees, which sell generic confectionary brands like Hershey’s.

1. Candy Empire
   Singapore's biggest selection of chocolates, biscuits and gourmet snacks. Confectionary wise, it has a wide range of jelly beans, marshmallows, liquorice and other suger free choices, all sourced from quality manufacturers in Australia, USA and Europe.
2. Cocoa Trees
   
   Over 40 international renowned brands (mostly slightly premier chocolate) to choose from including Toblerone, M&M's, Ritter Sport, Hershey's etc.
   On a secondary level, specialty food shops like Garrett Popcorn, Mrs. Fields, Royce Chocolate are competitors as these stores are harder to find, and tend to be more costly than confectionary shops. In addition, these stores charge a premium on their quality, service and customization where applicable.

On a secondary level, we also take into consideration gourmet food stores and specialty stores that charge a premium for their specialty. These shops typically concentrate on selling only 1 brand.

1. Garrett Popcorn
   A Chicago tradition since 1949, Garrett popcorn is gourmet popcorn that makes use of highest quality ingredients in its secret family recipes. Introduced to Singapore only this year, to date they have more than 5 outlets island-wide.
2. Mrs. Fields
   Famous products include cookies, brownies and muffins, which are baked continuously throughout the day and served fresh at all locations.
3. Famous Amos
   Signature cookies made with a passed down family tradition since 1975. Synonymous with the name are the crunchy cookies and irresistible smell.
4. Royce Chocolates
   Founded in Sapporo in 1983, Royce produces premium chocolates made with painstakingly sourced ingredients to ensure quality. with a wide range of snacks such as chocolate potato chips and nama chocolate.
5. Sticky
   Sticky specializes in high quality, hand-made rock candy style lollies and sugar art, that is highly customizable according to customers' wishes
6. Chocolate Research Facility
   100chocolate flavours in award winning and unconventional packaging, Chocolate Research Facility stems from the idea of chocolate for any occasion.

Going beyond "gift food", we could also consider other gifts as competition; such as flowers, greeting cards, souvenirs, and other gift shops.

Nature of Competition

The best way to visualize the nature of Happy Pills' competition is with a Venn diagram:

This diagram is important because you can't just think of Happy Pills as solely a gift, or solely a candy product - it straddles both categories. Its primary competitors are thus companies that sell confectionery designed for gift purposes (the companies listed in the middle ground). However, in a broader sense, companies placed in only one circle are also likely to compete with Happy Pills at some point or another. Within the gift-confectioneer section, its closest competitor is most likely Candy Empire. Happy Pills is on par with Candy Empire on several points, but also has its own differentiating points as well.

Positioning Strategy

Increasingly, we see more confectionery players opening their own speciality stores, overcrowding that space. Moreover, with the world becoming more affluent, confectionery brands are becoming more gourmet, with their target market as people with high disposable incomes.

We feel that Happy Pills is competing in a space that is relatively isolated, with a lot of room to grow. Differentiated by its innovative packaging and its idea of selling happiness rather than just candy, in addition to being one of the only 'pick n mix' candy company in Singapore, Happy Pills is almost in a 'Blue Ocean'. With moderate price points, Happy Pills is an affordable treat that caters to the 'mass-tige' crowd.

Points of Parity

• Wide variety of candy products
• High quality of candy, sweets generally perceived as nice-tasting
• Similar price range

Points of Difference

• Unique packaging, product is tailored specifically for gift-giving.
• Customisable selection of candy
• Meant for sharing joy with others

#1 How do we build the Happy Pills brand?

The Happy Pills customer-based brand equity pyramid is strongest at the meaning stage. Although the salience is currently low, it is definitely possible for Happy Pills to enter the market and easily gain greater awareness in the "gift food" category. Being a fun and creative product that allows customisation, Happy Pills is a great affordable treat for any occasion and for anyone. Happy Pills has successfully focused on the feelings and imagery associated with the product without compromising on the performance and quality.

Customer Based Brand Equity Pyramid for Happy Pills

Being a new brand, it is difficult to estimate the number of loyal customers and repeat purchases of Happy Pills in Spain, no less in Singapore. However, we predict Happy Pills would be a product that people would have high affiliation with, it would see a loyal following of people who love the idea of Happiness packaged as a cure for all things. Happy Pills is the quick fix to comfort a friend, a way to show care and concern and a means to spread joy.

Brand Mantra

Happy Pills is more than a product. It is an experience that is driven by consumer emotions, which cause customers to purchase the product for the fun of it, or with hopes to make themselves or others feel better. The brand’s proposition of selling feelings of happiness and friendship act as the benefit to serve experiential needs of its consumers.

Whether you are feeling down, lonely, disappointed, angry or heartbroken, Happy Pills is the Cure-it-all.