This graduation project carried out within the master ‘Strategic Product Design’, deals with the strategic expansion of Salmari into the German market. The company Salmari, a salmiak liquor, is increasingly popular and growing in the Netherlands. The company has a short-term ambition to increase sales in the Netherlands by 2023 and a long-term ambition to grow into a global brand.

The project involved in-depth preliminary research that began with a comprehensive analysis of geography, distribution, competition, market share, culture, taste preference and trends. This analysis revealed that northern Germany, particularly the cities of Hamburg and Berlin, offered significant potential for Salmari due to the striking similarities in culture, atmosphere, audience and product affinity between the two cities.

The focus of the project was explicitly on Hamburg and Berlin, with the primary objective being to develop a launch strategy that would enable Salmari to launch successfully in these German cities, with a particular focus on a new, chosen target audience.

The analysis is followed by creating a market segmentation and interviews with the German target audience. This led to identifying crucial ‘touchpoints’ that would significantly impact Salmari’s marketing efforts. Based on these selected ‘touchpoints’, a detailed launch strategy was developed. The strategy began with creating a new ‘buyer persona,’ the ‘night badger,’ and included a roadmap with three phases: visibility, expansion and commitment. Each phase was supported by a comprehensive launch campaign focusing on specific communication platforms and options between Salmari and its new target audience.

A vital aspect of the strategy was building brand equity for Salmari by positioning it as a drink that promotes social interactions and unique experiences. The brand is presented as inspiring and in line with the target audience’s values.

Recommendations for further action included are included in the report, such as
Additional validation with the target group in Berlin, maintaining close contact with the target group and monitoring changes in the market.

Finally, the effectiveness of the launch campaign was tested using the ‘communication optimisation model.’ With validation based on criteria such as desirability, feasibility and viability, the final design can be presented. This final design is the starting point for Salmari to successfully enter the German market and ultimately achieve its long-term goals.