Market analysis - Essay Example

Market Analysis Table of Contents Core Market of Butter 3 Market Segmentation 3 Target Market Segment Strategy 5 Buying Patterns 5 Competition 6 Differential Advantage 7 References 8 Core Market of Butter Butter represents one of the quickest growing segments in the dairy industry of the United Kingdom. The market of butter is widespread with high penetration rate and growing per capita consumption. From 1998 to 2008, the average quantity of purchase of butter in the UK had increased by 11%. The geographic expansion of butter industry closely replicates the distribution of organisations which produce and market butter products in the UK.

In butter industry, robust growth occurs from soft, natural and processed cheese sections. The South West region of the UK generates majority of income of the butter industry. Dairy business is particularly imperative in Devon and Dorset area, which is considered as the second biggest dairy farming region in the UK (IBISWorld, 2012). Market Segmentation Market segmentation denotes grouping the entire market according to specific customers. These grouping are often regarded as niche markets or speciality markets.

Due to intra-group resemblance, a specific market segment in different nations can be incorporated equally in the marketing strategy. A particular market segment is likely to have related conception about the marketing approach of a specific product or service, sold at specific rate, distributed in a specific manner and promoted in a certain method (Oxford University Press, n.d.). The objective of market segmentation is to recognise target customers, which helps the organisations to get maximum yield from an estimated marketing budget.

The market of Meggle butter can be segmented in four ways with respect to consumption. Kids Segment Kids segment denotes the customers who are within the age group of 10 years. For kids’ customer segment, Meggle butter provides products such as milk, cream, butter and range of drinks with different fruit flavours (Meggle, n.d.). Health Conscious Segment Meggle butter can also target health conscious people. The lactose free milk of Meggle butter is aimed towards people who are highly concerned with their fitness.

It is helpful for those individuals who seek for decreasing the consumption of sugar and replace it with healthy drink. Youth Segment For youth customer segment, Meggle butter provides variety of products such as yoghurts and desserts along with several chilled products. These products come with the virtues of natural components with good taste. Family Segment Meggle butter can target the family customer segment. Its spreads, curds and butter speciality items are targeted for the use of whole family.

Meggle butter also segments the market in domestic and commercial sections. The domestic customer segment comprises family customers and commercial customer segment consists of business sectors such as caterers, hotels, cafes and restaurants (Fintrac Inc., 2002). Target Market Segment Strategy Organisations can use four different approaches for reaching out their products to the target market such as mass marketing, differentiated marketing and niche marketing (Oxford University Press, n.d.).

Meggle butter uses mass marketing for the target customer segments. The products of Meggle butter such as milk, butter and drinks among others are not designed for certain specific customer; instead anyone can enjoy the products of Meggle butter. However, to a certain extent, Meggle butter also uses niche marketing strategy for target customers. There are few products of Meggle butter which are designed for niche customers, such as lactose free milk which is targeted especially for health conscious people.

Buying Patterns The buying pattern of customers significantly has an impact on the marketing decisions for an organisation. For instance, higher concentration on dieting habits can impact on the eating behaviours of people and thus influence on purchasing of food products. Furthermore, the product ingredients can also impact on the food purchasing habits of the people in the UK. Product cost and time also impact on the buying patterns of people with respect to food products. As majority of food shopping is conducted by women customer segment, thus their working hour and availability of Meggle butter products in retail and convenient stores can have an impact on the purchasing decisions.

The UK is an affluent country, thus majority of families can easily afford to spend money on the products offered by Meggle butter. Unlike other nations, majority of people in the UK do not have a habit of three times meal in a day, rather this habit has been swapped by five snacks in a day which are as follows: Early morning snack Mid-morning snack Lunch time Day end snack Return home time (Huxley, 2003) According to the British Potato Council, the period of 10 PM to 11 PM is considered as an appropriate time for enjoying in-house snacking food and the period 1 PM to 2 PM is considered as a convenient time for outside food.

The early morning time is generally one of the busiest periods for people where products of Meggle butter can be consumed by them. Besides, the refreshment products of Meggle butter can also be used in the period after returning home (Huxley, 2003). The working environment is a major factor for buying pattern of food products of people in the UK. People seek for convenience food items which can have an impact on the products of Meggle butter (Huxley, 2003). Competition Presently, there is enormous demand for dairy products in the market of the UK.

As the demand of customers increases, it will be beneficial for Meggle butter to sale their products in the market of the UK. Similar to other markets, the butter market is also consisted of numerous competitors such as Nestle, Kraft Foods, Unilever and Danone. These are the major competitors for Meggle butter that have strong presence in the market of the UK (3A Business Consulting, 2012). The major strength of competitors is strong brand reputation. These brands are common in the UK as well as in many other nations.

Besides, these brands constantly develop new products and increase the product portfolio. The major weakness of these brands is low profitability due to high operational expenses. Furthermore, due to international distribution, these brands at times cannot concentrate much on the desired characteristics of any specific geographical market segment. Differential Advantage The major differential advantage of Meggle butter is its brand image. Unlike other major competitors, the brand Meggle butter is highly concentrated on only dairy products.

Therefore, it can position itself conveniently in the market of the UK as compared to other competitors who deal in numerous products. Meggle butter has good reputation in terms of providing dairy products in other nations and it provides more varieties in this segment in comparison to the certain other competitors. Thus, it can differentiate the brand in a better way by providing superior product quality with numerous product offerings. References 3A Business Consulting, 2012. With Large Market Potential, Milk Supply Is A Real Challenge.

Eastern Europe Dairy Market Report 2006-2012. [Online] Available at: http://www.3abc.dk/Report%20information%20-%20Eastern%20Europe.pdf [Accessed May 10, 2012]. Fintrac Inc., 2002. Buying and Selling Shea Butter. United States Agency for International Development. [Online] Available at: http://www.gasselconsult.net/shea/sheadocs/Buying%20and%20Selling%20Shea%20Butter%20Fintrac.pdf [Accessed May 10, 2012]. Huxley, R., 2003. A Review of the UK Food Market. Objective One. [Online] Available at: http://www.

objectiveone.com/ob1/pdfs/uk_food_market_review.pdf [Accessed May 10, 2012]. IBISWorld, 2012. Butter & Cheese Production Market Research Report. Industry Analysis. [Online] Available at: http://www.ibisworld.co.uk/market-research/butter-cheese-production.html [Accessed May 10, 2012]. Meggle, No Date. The Meggle Dairy. Products. [Online] Available at: http://www.meggle-products.com/home.html [Accessed May 10, 2012]. Oxford University Press, No Date. What is Marketing? Marketing: The Fundamentals.

[Online] Available at: http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199557448/palmer2e_ch01.pdf [Accessed May 10, 2012].