Marukan: Driving Higher Promotional Sales and 120% ROI with Smarter Trade Management

Summary

With centuries of heritage and a growing presence in U.S. retail, Marukan needed a more efficient way to manage trade promotions, reconcile deductions, and measure promotional effectiveness. Partnering with Promomash, the vinegar and sauce brand combined managed deduction services, trade promotion management software, and integrated sales data to improve operational efficiency and make more profitable trade decisions. The results included stronger promotional sales, meaningful deduction recoveries, and smarter trade planning.

The Challenge

Marukan relied on spreadsheets, manual processes, and disconnected data sources to track trade spending and retailer deductions. Matching deductions to promotions was difficult, and limited visibility into promotional performance made it challenging to evaluate results, control spending, and optimize future trade investments.

The Solution

Marukan implemented Promomash's CPGenius platform and managed deduction services, supported by a dedicated team of trade experts. The solution brought together deduction validation and recovery, promotion planning, trade spend reporting, and performance analytics. Daily sales and shipment data from Crisp provided more timely visibility into promotional results, helping Marukan's team make data-driven decisions and improve financial forecasting.

The Results

• Over 120% return on annual service costs: Invalid deductions recovered in 2024 exceeded 120% of Promomash's service fees for the year.
• Higher promotional sales contribution: Promoted sales increased from 12–15% to consistently 20–25% of total sales over the reported 52-week period.
• 2–3× higher promotional lift with advertising: Marukan discovered that temporary price reductions (TPRs) paired with ads generated significantly stronger lift than TPRs without advertising, informing more efficient promotional plans.
• Improved operational efficiency: Automated data integration and managed deduction services reduced manual work, improved financial visibility, and helped the team identify potential variances earlier.

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