TERM OF REFERENCE (TOR) TO RECRUIT A CONSULTANT

TERM OF REFERENCE (TOR) TO RECRUIT A CONSULTANT

Title of the assignment: Market Feasibility Study and Consumer Feedback Assessment for Launching a Fruit-Mixed Cereal Product in Addis Ababa

Program/Project Title: Economic Growth through Fruit Transformation

Duty Station: Addis Ababa

Duration of the assignment:  January to April 2025

Expected Starting Date:  End of January 2025

Introduction

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with governments, businesses, and civil society, we aim to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious foods for all people, especially the most vulnerable.

Background

The “Economic Growth Through Fruit Transformation” project is one of the projects being implemented by GAIN Ethiopia. It focuses on improving access to safe, and nutritious dried fruit-based snacks by developing a comprehensive fruit processing value chain. This initiative creates job opportunities and income generation along the fruit value chain in Ethiopia.

The project employs a public-private partnership approach to test, pilot, demonstrate, and scale up market-ready fruit drying solutions and fruit-mixed snack products. To ensure the initiative’s success and foster an enabling environment, the project supports capacity building and provides policy assistance to both public and private institutions.

Globally, the demand for healthy and natural food products is on the rise, driven by consumer preferences for nutritious, convenient, and innovative options. In response to this trend, a papaya-mixed cereal product is being considered for introduction to the Addis Ababa market as a pilot phase. This product is being developed in collaboration with TruLuv Granola aiming to offer a healthy and acceptable alternative for breakfast or snacks, catering to modern, health- conscious lifestyles.

As Ethiopia’s capital and economic hub, Addis Ababa presents a dynamic and diverse market. To ensure a successful product launch, it is crucial to understand the city’s consumer behaviours, competitive landscape, and feasible distribution channels for the product. This feasibility study seeks to provide data-driven insights, actionable strategies, and consumer feedback to guide the effective market entry and positioning of the product.

Objective

General objective:

To assess the market feasibility and acceptability of a fruit-mixed cereal product and provide strategic recommendations for its successful introduction into the Addis Ababa market.

Specific objective:

• Assess consumer demand and product acceptability for fruit-mixed cereal products by conducting product sampling palatability and packaging, tests, and gathering feedback to refine product attributes and enhance market readiness.
• • Combine insights from target demographic analysis and competitive landscape evaluation to identify and prioritize strategic opportunities for dried fruit-added cereal product positioning and differentiation.
• Evaluate viable distribution channels and retail networks for product placement.
• Identify potential barriers to entry and propose strategies to mitigate them.
• Provide recommendations on product pricing, packaging, branding, and marketing approaches tailored to Addis Ababa’s market.

Scope of the assignment

The task will be conducted in Addis Ababa, focusing on various target groups based on demographic data. The scope of the assignment includes the following key components:

• Development of a comprehensive research framework and plan that incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
• Conducting a market assessment and identifying consumer preferences.
• Conduct product sampling event in the appropriate place to conduct product acceptability and packaging tests by potential target consumers.
• Carrying out primary and secondary data collection, data analysis, and marketing strategy development.
• Validating the findings and preparing a detailed report with actionable recommendations.

Tasks and Responsibilities of the Consultant Research Planning:

• Develop a detailed research framework, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
• Design and test data collection tools such as surveys, interview guides, focus group templates, and feedback forms for consumer sampling.
• Obtain a support letter from the concerned government sector

Market Assessment:

• Conduct primary research through interviews with consumers, retailers, distributors, and industry experts.
• Facilitate focus groups to explore consumer preferences for fruit-mixed cereal products.
• Organize product sampling events for acceptability and packaging tests in diverse locations across Addis Ababa, including supermarkets, community hubs, schools, and fitness centers.
• Collect real-time feedback during sampling events using structured surveys and interviews.
• Analyze secondary data, including market reports, economic trends, and historical sales data for related products.

Analysis and Strategy Development:

• Segment the target market based on demographic and psychographic insights.
• Assess competitors on aspects such as pricing, branding, and market share.
• Develop/revised marketing strategies based on the feedback.
• Evaluate distribution channels, including traditional retail outlets, modern trade stores, and online platforms.
• Integrate consumer feedback from sampling events (acceptability and packaging test) to refine the product’s flavour, packaging, and pricing strategies.
• Identify market gaps and opportunities for differentiation.

Reporting and Recommendations:

• Prepare a comprehensive report covering market demand analysis, consumer segmentation, competitive landscape, distribution strategies, and marketing recommendations.
• Provide a strategic roadmap for the product launch, including timelines, estimated costs, and performance metrics.
• Incorporate feedback from key stakeholders to finalize the report.

MAJOR DELIVERABLES

Responsibilities of GAIN

GAIN will provide the necessary information and project documents. In collaboration with project partners, GAIN will review and provide feedback on the research/assessment plan, methodology, tools, strategy, and report, and it will cover the logistic cost of the validation workshop. Additionally, GAIN will issue a support letter to facilitate the task and organize the validation workshop.