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Hélène Klimsza is Product Manager with responsibility for the drinkware segment in the Marketing Department of the Food Service Division (Hotels-Restaurants-Catering).
Appealing to a range of customers
Hélène’s main responsibility involves improving sales for the product range that she manages but also, and above all, promoting new glassware items to her clients, who include hotel and restaurant professionals and managers of mass catering operations (in schools, hospitals and company canteens, etc.)
The client base is spread around the globe and has very specific requirements. The products must combine aesthetic criteria with high levels of technical performance, in consideration of the professional environment in which they will be used. They must be highly shock resistant, be able to withstand repeated dishwasher cleaning and be completely safe to use.
A team effort
Hélène and her colleagues from Food Service Marketing develop one new collection a year. Each new collection is the result of a lengthy collaboration between several different departments within the company :
- Design puts forward new product designs,
- Product Development conducts the feasibility study
- The pricing unit determines optimum price positioning
- The graphic design agency develops the packaging along with key selling tools
- R&D may intervene at an earlier or later stage of development depending on the specific project
Weekly updates
Each week, Hélène touches base with the relevant designers and project managers to review progress on each of the projects in development. As an indication, there are no fewer than 150 projects currently in the research stages for the 2008-2009 collections. For each of these projects it is necessary to study the models carefully, review feasibility and, if necessary, look for alternative solutions.
Sharing information
In order to reduce capital expenditure, Hélène regularly meets with BtoB and Consumer Goods brand managers, and in particular the LUMINARC brand manager. She is also kept up to date on ongoing trials and their progress. She is currently very interested in the progress of trials for a new stemware item. If the product is successful at the trial stage, it will be launched as part of the collection.
October – launch month
Once the development projects receive approval, Hélène follows up with the different contributors and takes the necessary steps to ensure that the items are in stock at the beginning of October in time for the launch. In October, the sales force receives a special preview of the collection at its annual convention, before the product is unveiled to consumers. The collection is marketed to potential clients by means of professional trade shows and other events in the professional caterers’ and vintners’ calendar.
Paying attention to the market
Hélène really enjoys the dynamic aspect of her work. It’s essential to be continually looking ahead, on the look out for new concepts and shapes. Part of her work involves establishing numerous contacts both within the company and outside it. Indeed, in order to develop products aimed at professionals, it is essential to take on board their expectations. Hélène meets with chefs, oenologists, and barmen in order to keep up to date with the latest developments. Cooking, much like oenology and cocktail bartending is in a state of constant change and is affected by trends that the industry must respond to by offering products which characterise those trends. Every establishment is looking to set itself apart from the competition. Thus, increasingly, professionals are paying attention to the way that food and drink is presented, where appealing to each of the senses can help to turn a meal or a drink into a truly captivating experience. So, when Hélène thinks about a new glass, she has to consider both the primary and secondary functions of that glass, as a verrine, a vase or an ice cream bowl – there are simply no limits to the professional imagination.
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