Introduction
Al Yasra Food Company is one of the leading organic food companies in the Middle East. According to Kotler (2009, p. 89), the market for organic foods has been expanding rapidly over the years because people are becoming sensitive over what they eat. One of the most successful products of this firm is Farmrites, a packed vegetable that is ready for consumption. The firm prepares the fresh vegetables without using oil, packs the product, and then stores it under very low temperatures as a way of preserving it. Al Yasra Food Company has always propositioned this product as a healthy food that is free from calories found in vegetables prepared using fat. Although there are some strong market competitors in this local market, the performance of this product has been attractive. This makes it necessary for this company to move to other regional markets as a way of expanding its market share. The United Kingdom is the most attractive market that this firm should consider taking this product in its expansion strategy. The market is large enough to sustain the firm’s operations, and people in this country prefers organic foods, especially the green vegetables. This research paper outlines the plan that would be used by this firm to introduce Farmrites into the market in the United Kingdom.
Situation Analysis
In order to make this product successful in this new market, it is important to ensure that the management understands its internal and external environment. To understand the internal and external environment of this firm, SWOT and PESTEL analysis would be appropriate.
PESTLE Analysis
The management of this firm must understand the external environment in order to make Farmrites successful in the new market. The political environment in the United Kingdom has been very stable over the years. The country’s political regimes have been changing from one party to another in a very peaceful way. When Farmrites is successfully introduced in this market, it stands to benefit from this political stability. The political leaders have also avoided any direct interference with business society. This means that the product will find a leveled ground where it would be able to compete with other similar products that are already in the United Kingdom’s market.
The economic environment in the new market has been characterized by both positive and negative growths. The United Kingdom is one of the developed nations in the world. The country’s population has one of the highest purchasing power (Kotler & Keller 2012, p. 56). During the 2008/2009 economic recession, the economic growth slowed, and the purchasing power of its populace also reduced. The management of Al Yasra Food Company should know the most appropriate ways of dealing with such situations if they arise when it has already introduced Farmrites in this market.
The United Kingdom is home to many people from various parts of the world. According to Kotler and Cunningham (2004, p. 45), this country has generally been seen as a one with a social culture that is very accommodating. Most of the world’s major religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Hindu, and Buddhism are practiced in this country. The marketing team of Farmrites must be able to understand the way religious beliefs shape consumer culture in this country. It is a fact that Farmrites may be considered as a universal product that can be consumed by people of different races, religion, or other different social settings. However, it is important to ensure that each social groupings is analyzed as a different entity in order to understand how they can be given high value when they buy this product.
Technology is one of the most important environmental factors that this firm must be ready to deal with. According to Chandrasekar (2010, p. 90), technology plays a very important role in the current business environment. Online marketing has gained a lot of popularity in the recent past among the consumers in this country. They consider it the easiest way of getting what they need from the market. Farmrites should be marketed using digital platforms that are popular within the new market.
The legal environment also plays a pivotal role in the normal running of a firm. The management of this firm must understand the legal environment, and align its operations as per the requirements of the law (Kotler 2007, p. 70). Issues regarding taxation, registration with relevant authorities, and matters concerning ingredients of its foods must clearly be observed in order to ensure that it does not contravene the law. It must ensure that Farmrites has ingredients that are permitted by the health departments and other regulatory bodies in this country.
In the current society, environmental concern has gained a lot of relevance in the corporate world. The management of this firm must understand that its emissions when producing Farmrites in this new market are within the permitted limits (Saxena 2009, p. 78). The firm must also be ready to participate in various environmental conservation programs as a way of promoting this new product.
SWOT Analysis
The internal environment of this firm will also determine its ability to operate in this new market successfully. According to the firm’s recent financial reports, Farmrites has been very successful in the past three years and it has been considered the top income earner of all the products of Al Yasra Food Company. This means that it has the financial capacity to support its move to this new market. Another strength that will make this product succeed in the market is its nature. The market in the United Kingdom is very sensitive of the foods they take. Organic foods are very popular in the market, and consumers are always willing to pay premium prices as long as they are assured that the foods they are offered are organic. Farmrites is one of the best organic foods that has always been considered healthy for consumption irrespective of one’s age. However, one weakness that this product may face in this market is lack of experience with the local consumers. Al Yasra is getting into a new market with new consumer culture that is different from that in the home country. This means that it will take time for this firm to learn the market trends in order to be able to offer superior value on this product.
The new market in the United Kingdom offers some opportunities that this firm cannot afford to ignore. The organic foods market is not saturated because most of the food companies rushed to stock inorganic foods due to their cheap prices. This means that this firm has the opportunity of expanding the market share of Farmrites at a rapid rate during its early periods in the market. However, it should be aware of the market threats that may inhibit the speed of its market growth. Competition is the main threat that this firm must deal with in order to achieve success in the market. Some of the leading organic food companies in this market include Plant Organic, Organic Fresh Food Company, The Better Food Company and The Real Food. This firm must define a way in which it would deal with this threat in the market.
Market Segment
According to Sharma (2009, p. 82), it is always important to define the market segment when planning a new market entry. This helps in designing products in a way that would meet market’s interests optimally. This way, a firm will be able to attract consumers to its products at a faster rate than when it attempts to attract the entire market. The marketing team of Al Yasra Food Company will conduct a research in order to identify market segment that can be satisfied with this product. Farmrites is a healthy food that is appropriate for people of all ages. The product is also not discriminated against by any religion or culture. However, it would be necessary to select a segment that is most attractive for this product. In this market, the segment that is targeted would be the vegan. They are considered attractive because they do not eat any animal products. Given that Farmrites is prepared without any animal product, it would be very appealing to this market segment.
Targeting and positioning
Farmrites would be targeted to the vegans in the middle class. This market segment prefer organic foods because they believe that it is good for their health. Vegans’ basic meals are always characterized by vegetables. Farmrites would be an attractive product to this group if they are convinced that it offers them the right value. As Jayachandran (2004, p. 57) says, after understanding the right market segment, the marketing team should then define an appropriate positioning strategy that would attract the chosen segment. For Farmrites, its positioning strategy will emphasize on the fact that this is a healthy food prepared without any animal product, making it appropriate for vegans. When entering this new market, the management should avoid any direct confrontation with other existing firms because this rivalry may affect its ability to be sustainable in the market. It should avoid pricing as a way of gaining competitive edge over its competitors with this new product. Emphasis should be on providing high quality Farmrites.
Objectives
Financial objectives
Farmrites has been successful in the home market. It has been one of the leading income earners for this firm. The management should set specific financial objectives that should be met by this product after a given timeline. For instance, there should be a stated period when the firm should expect to break-even in this new market. This way, it would be easy to determine the profitability of the product after the specified timeline. This would help in determining the viability of the product in this market.
Marketing objectives
Marketing objectives should also be stated in order to understand the path to be taken by the marketing team. It is recommended that the firm starts by using mass media before shifting to the social media. Mass media would be appropriate in creative an impact in the market. It will take a shorter time to reach customers with the message that Farmrites is now available in the market. This would then be followed by social media marketing which would act as a constant reminder to the market that the product is available and offers superior value to consumers.
Societal objectives
The societal objectives would define issues such as corporate social responsibility that this firm seeks to engage in within this market. The firm can develop a strategy which would specify how frequently it plans participate in such programs. This would help in marketing Farmrites. Consumers would have a positive image of this product if they come to know the brand through chartable programs.
Marketing strategy
In order to achieve the above objectives, the management must develop an appropriate approach that would provide maximum value to consumers of Farmrites. It should take an outward-in approach of marketing in order to deliver maximum value. This means that it would need to understand the needs of the market, and then design this product in a manner that meets these needs. The delivery approach should also be based on a clear market research to ensure that this product remains fresh when it is finally delivered to the consumers. The firm should also use the emerging technologies to improve the value of its products in the market. It is important to understand that the consumer culture in United Kingdom is very different from that in the local market. For this reason, the design of Farmrites, and its ingredients may need to be adjusted in order to reflect the needs of the new market.
Marketing programs
The marketing team of Farmrites must have clear marketing programs that should be implemented when entering this new market with this product. The first activity will involve market research. The research will determine the potential of the market, and the possible manner in which it would respond to this product. The research should also identify some of the appropriate outlets through which this firm will sell the product. The next activity would be to develop marketing campaigns based on the market research and the firm’s product offering. The campaigns should target the specified market segments. The sales team should then ensure that the products of this firm are readily available in the market. Distribution should be done through the outlets that were identified during the market research process. A follow-up market research would be necessary in order to determine market’s response to the product delivered (Mathur 2006, p. 113). If the follow-up research confirms that Farmrites has not been received positively in the market, the firm would need to redesign the product and organize a new re-launch campaign.
Metrics and Implementation Controls
When the management is fully convinced that it is ready to enter the new market, it should have a monitoring and control department that would be evaluating the activities of this firm in the market. This team will ensure that all the planned activities are conducted in the right manner based on the firm’s internal and external environment. Controls would be needed in cases where the firm goes off the plan, or when it is realized that part of the plan may not work in this new market as was initially expected. This would help ensure that everything is running in a smooth manner.
Conclusion
The decision of this firm to move this product to the United Kingdom market is timely given the size and the purchasing power of the people in this country, but it is important to understand that success of this product in this new market will depend on the internal and external environmental factors that may affect its operations either directly or indirectly. The strategy taken in this new market should be sensitive of the firm’s internal and external environment. The management must ensure that Farmrites meets the needs of the new market.
Executive Summary
The market in the United Kingdom is very attractive for this product. However, the management of this firm must understand some of the environmental factors that may affect its ability to launch this product in this new market successfully. It is clear that both the internal and external factors should be analyzed in order to understand their impact on this product in the new market. This analysis also shows that the management should define the most desirable market segment for Farmrites in order to deliver superior value to them. The chosen market segment are vegans in the middle class aged over thirty years. This group prefers organic food, and they have the purchasing capacity for these products. The proposition should reflect the nature of the product based on the needs of the market.
References
Chandrasekar, K 2010, Marketing management: Text and cases, McGraw-Hill, New Delhi.
Jayachandran, S 2004, Marketing management text and cases, Excel Books, New Delhi.
Kotler, P & Cunningham, P 2004, Marketing management, Prentice Hall, Toronto.
Kotler, P & Keller, K 2012, Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, New York.
Kotler, P 2007, Marketing management, Prentice Hall, New York.
Kotler, P 2009, Marketing management: A South African perspective, Pearson Prentice, Hall New Delhi.
Mathur, P 2006, Sales and marketing management, Isha Books, Delhi.
Saxena, R 2009, Marketing management, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi.
Sharma, K 2009, Marketing management: How to create, win and dominate markets, Global India Publishers, New Delhi.
