Week 2-Discussion Forum; Week 2-Discussion Forum This week\'s discussion forum i

Question

Week 2-Discussion Forum; Week 2-Discussion Forum This week's discussion forum is based on a real visit to my local supermarket. While shopping for food, I realized that a popular soup brand had two soup options-one regular and the other was 99% fat free. As a market research professor, I naturally started reading the nutritional facts on each can and I was just as surprised as you are. After viewing the file containing a picture of both cans and reading the nutritional facts, answer the following questions: a. If you were to buy one of the two cans of soups before you read any of the nutritional facts, which one would you be more inclined to buy and why? b. After reading the nutritional facts on both cans, what is your reaction? c. Do you think that the marketing practices the company is involved in are ethical? Why or why not? d. What advise would you give consumers when shopping for food or any other product? Discussion Forum Guidelines:

Explanation / Answer

a. Before reading about the nutritional facts I will be more inclined to buy the 99% fat free soup. This is because I will be under the impression that the 99% fat free soup is a healthier option and hence will be good for me.

b. After reading the nutritional facts on both the cans my reaction will be a combination of a shock and an unpleasant surprise. The fat free soup while being free from trans-fats does have saturated fats in it. In fact of a total calorie of 60 (per serving) the fat free soup derives 20 calories from fats itself. This is a significant 33.33% (20/60 = 33.33%). Besides the fat free soup also has, as one its ingredients, enzyme modified butter fat and oil.

c. No, the marketing practices of the company that is involved here is not ethical. This is because they are positioning their 99% fat free soup as a healthy option while in reality these soups are not really all that healthy. Thus the marketing practices are, in a way, misleading the customers to buy these soups by falsely impressing upon them that these soups are healthy for them.

d. My advice to customers who are shopping for food and other products is that they should not get swayed and influenced by the marketing practices and brand positioning being done by the companies. Often companies leverage marketing practices to mislead and misguide consumers with the intention of propelling them to make a purchase. Thus customers should acquire knowledge about a product before buying it. This can be done by reading its packaging for ingredients and nutritional facts. Alternatively consumers can also use the internet to gather information about a product before buying it.

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