Marketing of Food Items – JSS3 Home Economics Lesson Note (Third Term)

Marketing is the set of business activities that direct goods and services from the producer to the consumer, so that consumers are satisfied and the producer’s objectives are met. It is guided by four principles, known as the 4 P’s: product, price, place and promotion.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. define a market and marketing;
2. list the four principles of marketing (the 4 P’s);
3. explain product, price, place and promotion;
4. state the factors to consider when creating a product;
5. relate the principles of marketing to the selling of food items.

What is a market?

A market is a place where goods and services are exchanged.

• Buying and selling: a market is an avenue where buyers and sellers meet.
• Wider meaning: it is any place, point or means of communication through which ownership of goods and services can be transferred.
• Examples: a village market, a supermarket, a roadside stall, and buying and selling over the telephone or internet.

What is marketing?

Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from the producer to the consumers or users.

• Aim 1: to satisfy the consumers.
• Aim 2: to accomplish the producer’s objectives.
• Scope: it covers all activities aimed at making exchange easier.
• Simple meaning: it is the science or art of understanding what a group of consumers want and how to get it to them.

What is the difference between a market and marketing?

A market is a place or means of exchange. Marketing is the set of activities that move goods to buyers.

What are the four principles of marketing?

There are four basic principles of marketing, known as the 4 P’s: product, price, place and promotion.

1. Product: what is sold to the consumer.
2. Price: how much the consumer pays.
3. Place: where and how the product reaches the buyer.
4. Promotion: how the buyer is told about the product and persuaded to buy.

What is a product?

A product is what a marketer or seller sells to the consumer.

• Test of a good product: it is judged by how well it satisfies a need and gives value to a group of consumers.
• Need: it should meet a perceived need and offer what the consumers want.
• Food examples: bread, moimoi, puff-puff, packaged groundnut, bottled zobo and fruit juice.

What factors should be considered when creating a product?

• Name: a short, clear name that buyers can remember.
• Packaging: a clean, safe wrapper or container that protects the food and attracts buyers.
• Usage: how the product is to be eaten or used, and how long it can be kept.
• Warranty terms: the seller’s promise to the buyer, where applicable.

What is price?

Price is how much consumers pay for the product.

• Test of a good price: it is judged by how well it maximises profit for the seller.
• Demand: as prices drop, demand tends to rise, but profit per unit falls.
• Rule for the producer: fix a price that consumers can afford and that still gives the seller a profit.
• Food example: a baker who sets the price of bread too high may lose buyers to other bakers.

What is place?

Place is the distribution channel, that is, where the product is sold and how it goes to the market.

• Why it matters: consumers cannot buy products that do not reach them.
• How it is judged: by ease of use and reliability, which make a product desirable and easy to get.
• Food example: a farmer sells tomatoes in a market, in a shop or through a trader.

What are the common distribution channels for food?

What is promotion?

Promotion is communicating with consumers to make them aware of a product and persuade them to buy it.

• Purpose 1: to create awareness of the product among consumers.
• Purpose 2: to persuade consumers to buy.
• Advertising: the best-known form of promotion.
• Range: it includes print and media advertising and direct selling.

What are some ways of promoting food items?

• Print advertising: posters, handbills and newspaper adverts.
• Media advertising: radio and television adverts.
• Direct selling: the seller speaks to buyers face to face, as in a market stall.
• Free samples: buyers taste a small portion before buying.

How are the 4 P’s applied to selling food items?

A food seller who applies the 4 P’s attracts more buyers and earns a fair profit.

Evaluation

1. Define the term ‘marketing’.
2. List and explain the four principles of marketing.
3. State four factors to consider when creating a product.
4. Relate the importance of marketing principles to the selling of food items.

Assignment

Choose one food item you can prepare, such as puff-puff or zobo. Write one sentence on how you would apply each of the 4 P’s to sell it.

Reading assignment

• Home Economics for JSS1-3 by Elizabeth U. Anyakoha, pages 169-172.
• Home Economics New Concept Book 2 by Popoola, pages 127-134.