Question about hot dog sales for those that have any knowledge:
I’m working on a ‘mock biz plan’ for a Hillshire farms product that doesn’t exist for my MBA marketing class.
We (from Chicago) are pitching a “Chicago style” dog, refrigerated and prepackaged with bun and condiment options… HOWEVER, it became ‘options’ because through surveys we found some people like Coney Island dogs. As of now its a beef dog with bun, with included potential toppings of yellow mustard, onions, chili, ketchup, cheese.
Was curious who you think would be most likely to buy this, how often, and any other knowledge/tid-bits that might enlighten us in our pitch and biz plan.
I know, its lame, but any insight helps.
Not Liking Finals Time 🙂
Dana
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Hi Dana,
I’m going to ignore the fact that your ChiDog has ketchup on it… If you are going to market it as a Chicago Style Hot Dog you MUST get the toppings right or the purists out there will hunt you down. Just sayin’ that for your protection. 😉
But – any project that involved a Chicago Style Hot Dog can’t possibly be lame!
This is intriguing.
So if I’m understanding this correctly, I would go to the refrigerated section of my local supermarket and there I would find a package with one hot dog, one bun, and all the condiments necessary to create a Chicago dog or a Coney in little single serve compartments or condiment packages.
Kind of like Snackables, but with a hot dog. (Dogables?!!!)
That would be good for an office worker to take to work and stick it in the fridge until lunch I suppose. I can’t see myself purchasing this for home use though. I would rather make mine with fresh ingredients.
How about it Slingers? What’s your take on this?
I’ll give you 4 credits toward your PHD (Doctor of HotDogology) for your participation in Dana’s pursuit of higher edumacation.
Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
-Steve
I can see it selling, but I also agree with Steve in the fact it would be more of a office worker or kids school lunch kind of the thing. However, you never know and those lunchables things have been around for years including one with a pizza you make and eat cold! So do not get discouraged. Also I am with Steve on the notion of getting toppings for a regional dog correct. Here’s another idea for you if it makes millions I want a cut, a N.Y. Rueban sandwich kit. Buying all the stuff just to have one is a pain maybe that would sell? Just a thought. Good luck!
Rueben kit – I LIKE it!
If it’s really a Chicago Dog, there has to be the neon green relish and the celery seed–if not on the bun, sprinkled on top. People really are definite about the ingredients!
Since this would be a premium item, selling for more than the typical snack, customers are going to want a good reason to buy it. They don’t want to spend top dollar and be disappointed. They KNOW they can get a real Chicago Dog from their local cart.
So, Hillshire Farms is going to have to sample the product. It’s expensive, but it does work. But rather than sample it at grocery stores, why not hire slingers in some major markets? HF could provide the slingers with a logo umbrella, product and coupons for purchasing it in the stores. Everyone that walks by gets a couple of bites, a pitch from the slinger, and a coupon.
Great test marketing idea Gordon.
Looking for a cart for Los Angeles County, California
, large use hot dog cart
. Thank you
Bob Moss
Hi Bob ,
Would you mind posting a picture of it and describing the cart ? I live in the county of San Bernardino . Do you know if they share the same requirements by chance ? My husband and I are still in phase one you could say . Like most other newbies , we are on a shoestring budget for now .
Thanks for your time .
Marie Gracie
Steve, you have to call Oscar Meyer with the “dogables” name. My son loves lunchables and I’m sure O.M. would figure a way to sell these.
Dana, this would work in a vending machine for adults trapped in cubicles all day. Most lunch rooms in offices have a microwave. I know I’ve seen refrigerated sandwich vending machines.
Best to all!
If someday you are walking the grocery isle and you see a package of Dogables, you’ll know where you saw it first, lol 😉
Hmm, I have mixed feelings on this one. I worked in a shop for many gazillions of years and would have loved having a product like this at lunchtime or anytime. On the other hand, I love fresh ingredients. I agree with you Steve, I would not use it at home. On the business side, I have no problem with it as it will never replace the experience of walking up to a cart, talking with the vendor, buying a freshly made dog. That’s my take. ~BobD
Me too Bob.
It would be hard to know how many would purchase, simply because i think it would be regional. Purist living in Chicago, most likely would never buy a prepackaged Chicago Dog, or new york as well. However if you put it in a location where hot dog carts are not all over the place, you may have some success. Of course your price point would need to be high enough to have a good profit margin, when you put in your hard and soft cost. (shipping, packing, etc, etc..) Those are likely to cost you more than the ingredient for the “dogable”. You may get some sentimental purchasers who may have lived in chicago, but where they are now cannot find one on a regular basis. However i believe the biggest drawback to it all is competition. Why would i pay X amount for your product, when most likely it will be in the lunch meat section of the local grocery. There i can buy an entire pack of dogs for 99 cents? so your going to need premium ingredients to set yourself apart. This would probably work great however in a vending machine or something like that.
You are right Beau. The regional nature of a product like this makes the marketing somewhat tricky.
If you walked into a Detroit area “Coney Island” restaurant, and ordered a Coney dog, it would be served without ketchup. Of course you can have it anyway you like, but a traditional Coney has no ketchup.
Selling Coneys in a vending machine is a great idea;however, you would need to package the condiments separately, or else the bun would be soggy. Think in terms of a process similar to salad with the salad dressing on the side. Chili used for hot dogs here in Detroit have no beans. In fact, the chili is called Chili sauce.
Marketing idea: You can offer a “coney kit” like this company, http://www.nationalconeyisland.com through the mail. Many people who grew up on and love coney dogs cannot get these dogs anywhere. So National, the biggest chain in Michigan for Coney’s have found another way to market thier product. If you go to the site and click on the “Coney Kit” you can see how it is prepackaged and marketed.
Good luck with your marketing project. I just went through a similar project a couple years ago in my marketing class, and I earned an A.
Have fun!
Good points Jill. I give you an A too.
Jill – fantastic marketing idea. We considered the ballpark traditional market – but not mail options… must take another look. Nathan’s does a great marketing job too through Julty 4th eating contest… if not mistaken they just have or are going to open a Nathan’s in the Chicago area
i believe she should do great if she market
the product and sell it in vending machines
SAMS club sells White Castle hamburgers and also a “Pierre” Angus Cheeseburger which are already on a bun and are pre-cooked and come in boxes of 8 or 12… My freezer always has a couple boxes in it as even though they are not great, they are not horrible…
So the concept is good, because I would feed a hotdog on a bun to my family if someone didn’t like our dinner… You always have a few choices in the freezer so no one starves… Also, I’m not busting open a new pack or box of dogs for onesy, twosies…
tape condiments in a separate bag to rip off the hotdog wrapper, and you’ve got the answer… I’ve thought of this for a few years, but I’m not in Grad school, so I’m glad someone’s going to get rich partnering with Walmart 😉
Dana I think if you sealed the chili and weiner in boil bags,longer shelf life and you can slit and microwave them, and put the condiment packs in with the bun it could be a contender but forget about the chicogo dog the fresh veg would only last three or four days and thats to much stock loss.To me this is a snack for at work or after schoole but with three teenagers I dont think I could keep enough of them in the house.
Dana, I agree this would be great in vending machines on college campuses or in dorm halls. Adults attending night classes after work spend big bucks in vending machines.
PS I hope you are at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, good luck.
Tonie
Gonna toss my 2 cents, in for what it’s worth: I am happy whenever I see more types of food items introduced in stores (or wherever) that fit into the hot dog / food cart category for lunches and here’s why….. In my opinion mass produced food items like this will never have the taste or the experience of getting a great Chicago dog served to you at a cart. If people like the new prepackaged Chi-dog, Coney-dog or whatever….. that fact will only enhance our sales, not take away from our sales.
And then there’s the guy like myself that likes to mix up his lunches on a regular basis. I love the idea of offering at least one menu item that is outside the hot dog category to see how it does. I plan on keeping the items that are popular, and discarding the flops. Just my 2 cents,……. okay, maybe a nickel. 🙂
Thanks so much to Steve and all who commented… would like to clarify a very important thing so i am not stoned by the general public here… I’m from Chicago and think ketchup is a moral sin! NO WAY 🙂 I am a traditionalist and have done 3am Wiener’s Circle runs
However, through survey “top six” condiment requests + factoring in children as a good market – ketchup came in strong. The winners by request and catering to popular styles of hot dog turned it into an optional coney/chi-dog DIY package… mustard, onion, relish, ketchup, chili, cheese.
I love the input!! BIG HELP! Found this more complicated when it came to options and target market. I was overruled regarding including all condiments already ON the prepackaged hot dog vs. offering included packets (I fought for separate; no soggy bun!). I’m loving the help from everyone so please keep it coming! Also making me VERY hungry….
Grateful, hungry, and curious for any more…
Dana
I don’t know. This is just my personal opinion, but it seems as you are doing market research here, everyone’s opinion helps. I wouldn’t buy it myself, only because I’ve tried to heat up hot dogs in a microwave with bad results. Today’s ovens are much better than they were when I tried it, but somehow I am generally turned off to pre-packaged sandwiches of any kind. But again, that’s just me, and from the comments above, I’m in the minority. But for what it’s worth, I will tell you that NO questions about selling hot dogs is lame! A lot of people make a ton of bucks doing this at carts all over the world. But frankly (no pun intended) I don’t think it would be a tremendous success in the venue of your study except, as someone suggested, a place where hot dogs and unique varieties of preparation don’t exist.
Chicago dog won’t work. Raw onion, relish, tomato, etc. are cold condiments. You have to nuke the dog and the cold condiments get heated. You can package the condiments separately but that is a hassle. When marketing a new product remember the needs of the customer. Don’t complicate their lives. A New York dog or a chili cheese dog is easier. Everything is hot. Microwave, open and eat. By the way there is a chili dog that comes 2 to a package available in some quickie marts. Taste awful, but some people buy them. Rethink the problem and follow KISS, not the rock group. Keep It Simple Stupid! Good luck!!!
Hey Gordon,
Not to be a perfectionist but we in Chicago put CELERY SALT on our wienies..
not CELERY SEED as you suggested just saying..go CHI-TOWN.!!
Jill Babe…Thank you for the information on National Coney. I have been looking for a way to test market my brand of hot dogs via overnight services. I was not aware of the National and will test the results through them.
Dana, Best of Luck with your project!
It’s certainly not a bad idea to market the hot dog kit. I love kits! How about adding a heating element to it for the outdoors enthuiest. Boaters, hunters… that don’t have access to microwaves. These are used by the military in there MREs. Just add H20 and bingo, a steaming hot lunch. A cold hot dog just doesn’t appeal to me at all. Good Luck
Wow. Interesting! HDRE?
Steve, It all sounds good. There is a but there, that is how are we street dog vendor people going to make it? We will be told why should I buy from you when I can purchase it at the supermarket for the same price or cheaper. This will have a impact on street vendors.
I respectfully but totally disagree George. There is no way a pre-packaged hot dog could compete head to head with the real deal from a street cart. The freshness factor can’t be duplicated. And even more importantly, neither can the experience of standing next to the cart, watching the owner do his thing, having a chat – it’s ALL about the experience.
I don’t think this product is being positioned as a direct competitor to street cart dogs. It is an option for those who don’t have access to the real thing.