Mam Foodco LLC Company - Case Study Example

Mam Foodco LLC Company College: Mam Foodco LLC Company Introduction In the contemporary business environment, product marketing has become a critical aspect of any organization. Marketing involves all the activities of an organization meant to roll out the organizational products to the customers within the respective target markets. In a competitive 21st century, the ability of an organization to position its products in the market in highly dependent on the customer approach methods, and its ability, not only to reach out for its customers, but also to maintain their loyalty. For a consumer product company, customer loyalty ensures that an organization achieves both its short and long-term goals that are highly dependent of customer response. The developments of dynamic market as well as new approaches of marketing have made marketing a complex issue for organizations. For instance, the evolution of technology in the current century has made it easy for organizations to reach the global market and to target global customers. However, the application of technology in marketing has become a complex issue for organizations, making it crucial for organizations to remain up-to-date and flexible to new approaches of winning market competition. The MAM FoodCo Company is a UAE private company, owned by the Mohamed Aaly Maghrabi and Sons that offer a wide range of produces. The company launched its food and beverage stores in Dubai with the intention of providing high-quality foodstuffs for the Dubai consumers. Some of its products include the Halawa spread, Pizza, Kizardy and carlite noodles. The company’s vision is to set up high standards in the food and beverage industry to outdo the tough market competition that is now building in the Dubai hospitality industry. Since its launch in 1979, the company has achieved various goals including the construction of a number of shopping malls and hotels in Dubai. For instance, the company opened the first air-conditioned shopping mall in Jeddah. The company has used a wide range of marketing approaches including media marketing, internet strategies, and customer-based approaches of modern marketing. While the company has successfully penetrated the Dubai market, it is clear that market pressure is building up, and there is need for the organization to remain focused on market possession to remain profitable in the long-terms. As competitors turn to the Middle East as one of the most growing business markets, it is clear that the company is under threat from multinational organizations. This article aims at evaluating the effectiveness of MAM Foodco marketing strategies, and to suggest new ways that the company can position its business in the dynamic market. MAM FoodCo Marketing Strategies Mam Foodco targets the United Arab Emirates hospitality industry, with the aim of providing the citizens with “better-for-me” high-quality food and beverages (MAM Foodco, 2014). The organization is directly involved in the sale of foods and beverages, manufacturing and distribution of product to all its stores. The company brands include Pizza, kizardy, Carlite and noodles and the Halawa spread. So far, the organization has limited its operations to the local UAE market but with future plans of focusing to international markets. The company targets the young people and wishes to provide the best taste, high-quality products to this generation. The organization has partnered with international companies to launch its products within Dubai, as one way of building its name. In 2012, Papa Murphy International partners with Mam Food co LLC to open 100 Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza outlets in GCC region (Malik, 2012). Since Papa Murphy enjoys a good international image, the Dubai Company intends to use this name to create its position in the UAE market. In addition, this may be a milestone in designing an internationalization strategy for the organization. Engaging in international business is crucial as this helps in expanding the size of target market, hence the number of customers. Market Characteristics For any organization, the market characteristics are an important factor while launching a business within any target market. The market characteristics define the customer behavior, ease of entry into market and the benefit that a company gains after investing in the market. Currently, the UAE market is one of the fastest growing business markets in the global business space. For a long time, international organization have resisted from entering this market due to the existence of market barriers such as strict government laws and unstable politics. Therefore, there is low market competition from international investors. However, in the past five years, there is evidence that the market has become more attractive for investors. This implies that there is likely to be an increase in new market entrants and hence the chances of rise in competition. Therefore, the market is favorable for new investors and it is possible for MAM Foodco to position itself in this market before the onset of competition. Customer Characteristics Evidently, majority of the population in UAE is rising to middle-income earners due to an increase in the proportion of working population (United Arab Emirates Business Forecast Report, 2014). The economic ability of customers is crucial for an organization as this defines the purchasing power of the population. The rise in the proportion of middle-income earners in UAE implies means that there is going to be increased spending on food stuffs and other luxurious products. On this note, it is likely that opening up a pizza shop in Dubai is a perfect positioning strategy for the UAE Company. The company has introduced the Halawa spread, one of its quality chocolate products to target the rising demand for quality products in the UAE market. The two products target the increase in customer spending in the UAE market. However, the UAE population is embedded in traditional culture and they are less likely to shift to new eating habits. Therefore, it is likely that the company needs to engage in active customer contact to roll out their products to the people. From a different angle, being a local company, it is likely that the organization will enjoy trust from the customers, positioning it in a fairer position than its competitors. Market Position Efforts Marketing strategy analysis is crucial in evaluating a company’s ability to conquer its target market. While UAE is potential business market, the unique culture and behavior of the consumers makes it a complex market that demands strong marketing strategies to win the customers. Company branding is an approach that many organizations use to leverage customer loyalty within the market. Mam Foodco LLC has used strong branding strategies to a creative an attractive image that attracts its target customers. The company terms its products as “better-for-me” foods and beverages to describe its objective to provide customers with high-quality products that are better than any other. From a close look, the organization has strived to maintain high-quality as one way of living to its motto. The Kizardy brand reflects on the company’s commitment to remain innovative. Kizardy is a canned flavored product that aims at meeting the high demand for take-away foods. Therefore, the company has leveraged on innovation and high-quality as one way of providing products that appeal to the global consumers. In addition, the Halawa spread has given the company popularity within the public. Halawa spread was designed with the aim of targeting the growing demand for pure, low fat products. In the UAE, the increase in information access has resulted to awareness of healthy eating habits. This explains why Halawa has become an attractive product within the company. Additionally, the organization has a plan to develop a “state-of-the-art” manufacturing plant (MAM Foodco, 2014). The manufacturing plant will help the company to produce low price, high-quality products at minimal cost. Specifically, the company intends to develop the Kizardy canned products and distribute them in wholesale across the UAE. This plan will enable the company to move the Kizardy product across the Middle East, which is crucial for the organizational branding. This expansion strategy will allow the company to move its four brands across the world with much ease. The organization branding strategy is appealing and briefly describes the objectives of the organization. Generally, customers demand products that are well branded and from companies that strive to produce high standard products. On this note, Mam LLC has effectively communicated its strategy, which is crucial in organizational branding, one of the supportive marketing tactics for modern companies. In an era of heightened market competition, brand positioning has an important aspect of business launching strategies. Brand positioning refers to the placement of a business within a specific market segment in relative to competing brands. Brand positioning ensures that a brand occupies a competitive position to last in the market. Although competition is minimal in UAE, it is clear that many investors, both local and international are planning to enter into the market. Therefore, competition is one of the future threats that the organization has to prepare for. Mam Foodco positioning can be evaluated in terms of market timing. On this light, it is clear that Foodco has opened up its business when the demand for restaurants is growing. As industrialization gains ground in UAE, more citizens are acquiring jobs and hence rising to middle-income class. Therefore, their purchasing power is growing and Mam Foodco is intending to take advantage of this potential. As the population get to the middle-income class, the quality of the product becomes an important issue for them. Mam’s Motto has been ‘providing the high quality, better food and beverage experience” (MAM Foodco, 2014). Therefore, company has used perfect timing to gain ground before the onset of competition. By the time other organizations get to the market, Mam Foodco will have established its ground and will have leading competitor in the market. The organization’s launching approach contributes to its marketing strategic management. The fundamental purpose of marketing is to build the name of the organization and to create product awareness in the public. The organizations idea to partner with Papa Murphy to enter the Dubai market is an ideal marketing strategy (Malik, 2012). Papa Murphy enjoys a unique popularity in the global market due to its high quality bakes. Therefore, partnering with this company gives Mam Foodco a good image within the public domain. Since Papa Murphy has already marketed its product within the international market, Mam Foodco will leverage this status and become popular within the international market. In addition, this is a creative market entry strategy that ensures that its object to provide quality products is accomplished. Partnering with an experienced company helps to acquire the relevant skills and experiences that are crucial in maintaining high-quality products. In a risky business market, the go-it-alone launching strategy has its challenges that might jeopardize its market positioning. On this note, Mam’s strategy to partner with Murphy helps to diversify its business risk and to promote its product. Marketing Mix Strategies Mam FoodCo has used a wide range of market mix strategies to attract customers to its business environment. The market mix refers to a set of controllable, tactical marketing tools which an organization applies to excite their customer and elicit a desirable response. The main purpose of marketing mix within a company is to positively influence the market demand for its products or services. Numerous approaches are available while evaluating an organizations marketing mix. The Four P’s of marketing mix is one of the approaches that business analysts use to evaluate the marketing strategies of organizations. The four Ps of marketing refers to the product, price, place and promotion of the specific organizational product (Richter, 2012). The method evaluates the organization’s efforts to create demand by providing quality products, desirable prices at the right place and promoting these products. The four P is a tool for the management to analyze the effectiveness of its marketing approach. In Mam Foodco, the ability of the organization to produce high-quality products in the market is an important marketing tool for the organization. The organization has partnered with Papa Murphy to produce “better-for-me” pizza products to create demand within the UAE market (Malik, 2012). The product means a commodity that satisfies the company customer value. Product diversity is one of the strategies that the organization has used to satisfy the diverse customer tastes. For instance, the company offers three Kizardy products, with different flavor to give the customers a chance to choose the product that best suits them. Similarly, the company has three Carlite noodle flavors including onion, spicy and garlic, which are the three preferred tastes in the UAE. However, the organization seems to have neglected the price aspect of the marketing mix. In comparison with other companies, the organization sells its Pizza at a much higher price, hence turning off their target customers. As the business competition escalates, price becomes an important factor that influences the demand of any product. As competition grows, the organization’ bargaining power reduces while the customer’s bargaining power increases (Richter, 2012). Resultantly, the customers tend to demand quality, low-priced products. Considering the fact that Mam Foodco targets the young generation, which a medium income, price is still an important issue to consider. Therefore, the organization needs to strike a balance between quality and prices of their products. It is ideal for the company to minimize its prices so as to attract more customers within its restaurants. To achieve this, the organization requires find cost minimization strategies to ensure that the company lowers its product prices without sacrificing quality. Apart from this, the company has used customer-valued based model of marketing to ensure that it has met the diverse needs of the society. The company has used a wide range of products to meet the customer’s satisfaction. To be precise, the company recognizes the diverse customer tastes and strives to meet them. For instance, the company offers three different flavors for its Carlite Noodles brand including, onion, garlic and spicy (MAM Foodco, 2014). The use of different flavor shows the organizations effort to satisfy different customer tastes. Secondly, it provides three different flavors for the Kizardy product as part of its effort to satisfy consumer tastes. From this point of view, the company main goal has been to develop brands that satisfy its customer’s tastes, which is crucial in winning their loyalty for long-term performance. The idea of the company to launch a manufacturing plant is crucial in cost minimization as it will reduce the cost of production. If the company successful completes its “state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility, it will be possible to offer their customer attractive prices, hence streamlining its marketing mix. From this angle, the organization has a long way to go in offering competitive prices, which is essential for attracting demand within the organization. In terms of place, Mam Foodco has opened over 100 Pizza stores in UAE as one of the strategies to reach out its products to the customers. The company has a plan to introduce Kizardy, Carlite noodles and Halawa Spread to these stores to make sure that all their brands are accessible to the customer within its stores. The ability of an organization to take their products to the customers is an important aspect of the organization marketing mix. The fourth P of the marketing mix strategy refers to product promotion strategies. To achieve product promotion, the organization has used integrated market communication strategies to ensure customer understand their products (Kotler & Keller, 2013). Mam Foodco has used advertisement as one of the ways to create product awareness in the public domain. Advertisement ensures that customers become aware of the product and where they can get it. The organization has used banners to advertise its four products within its stores and bill boards. In every store, the company has a banner of a customer enjoying Pizza or noodles, or a customer sipping its Kizardy canned products. This advertisement strategy is crucial in ensuring that the customers know all its brands and from where to obtain them. Secondly, the organization has used a customer-value based approach in offering its services to the customers. The company ensures that the employees advertise the products by speaking to the customers and understanding their feedback. Customer feedback allows the organization to understand the customer values and to work towards achieving them (Richter, 2012). When organizations know exactly what the customers need, it is possible to offer efficient services, hence raising the product demand. Finally, the organization has leveraged technology in promoting its products online aiming to broaden its number of customers (MAM Foodco, 2014). In the 21st century business environment, the emergence of computer, internet and mobile technology has seen organization push their marketing strategies online. Unlike other methods of product promotion, online marketing is economical, efficient and beneficial to an organization. Foodco has launched a unique online presence by using social sites such as Facebook and Twitter to communicate to its target customers. For instance, the Halawa spread has more than a million likes, depicting its popularity as well as uniqueness in the market. From a critical point of view, the organizations online strategy is pivotal in creating product awareness. As the mobile industry expands in UAE, more customers are gaining access to smart phones and computer every day. The young generation has become an internet-aware generation who has almost daily access to the internet and social media. Since Man Foodco targets this population, creating an online awareness is a huge mile stone in its marketing mix. Conclusion In conclusion, Mam Foodco is one of the best positioned consumer product companies in the UAE that offer a wide range of products. Among its popular products includes Pizza, Kizardy, Halawa spread and Carlite noodles. The company has entered the hospitality industry at an opportune moment when the UAE market is becoming a favorable business market. Therefore, by creating a high quality brand for its four products, the organization will acquire a competitive position before the entry of new investors. Its partnership with Papa Murphy will ensure that it gains popularity within the shortest time hence creating demand in the market. Its ability to create a unique product in an appropriate place and to promote it contributes to its design of an efficient marketing mix plan. However, there is evidence that the organization has minimally focused on the price aspect of the marketing mix. Therefore, the organization has a challenge to offer attractive prices to its customer to raise the demand of its products. References Richter, T. (2012). International marketing mix management: Theoretical framework, contingency factors and empirical findings from world-markets. Berlin: Logos. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2013). A framework for marketing management: Fifth edition, Global edition. Beijing: Zhongguo ren min da xue chu ban she. United Arab Emirates Business Forecast Report. (2014). UAE Business Forecast Report, (4), 1-53. Malik, R., (2012). Papa Murphy’s International Heading towards Dubai. Retrieved from :< http://www.uniqueauction.ae/blog/papa-murphys-international-heading-dubai/5047> MAM Foodco, (2014). MAM. Retrieved from:< http://www.mamfoodco. com/links/manufacturing.html> Read More